Last 9th of December, the Mexican Student Association (MEXA), in collaboration with the International Student Organization Wageningen (ISOW) and the Mexican Talent Network in the Netherlands (RdTM-NL), organized a Piñata Workshop. Mexican culture is well known worldwide, but we also desire to let the people experience our celebrations and traditions in their skin. To achieve this goal, we organize workshops and activities to spread Mexican culture amongst Universities.
December is a synonym for gathering and celebration for many families, but also Piñatas. Piñatas pop up around the streets of Mexico as an element of Posadas, but when you are far from there, finding them may become a challenge. In other words, you must put your hands on it to enjoy the rain of candies over your head when a piñata breaks.
On this occasion, Wageningen was the location where our plantation of piñatas took place. As a fruit, a balloon must mature to hide enough candies in its pulp, especially for those who want heavy rain that floods over their feet. The soft peel of the ballon became harder as onion layers of paper grew, but you need to be wise. If a piñata grows with a few layers, it will be too weak that only a few smashes will uncover the pulp, and not everyone will have the opportunity to give a blind hit. But if the piñata grows too hard, it will be almost impossible to break it in the air, and someone will need to get their hands dirty to open it.
After the piñata gets a hard paper peel, they can take different forms. The spiky piñatas are commonly growing, but you can find shapes as people's thoughts. Some piñatas can take the form of an animal, a popular character, or even your local (un)popular politician. This year, the spiky piñatas were selected to shine as stars on the quiet nights of Wageningen, with the surprising visit of some special guests.
I hope to see you in the future to enjoy a ponche together.
Until next time,
Noé