During the 2016 Presidential Campaign, a high level Democrat in New Mexico was chastised for bashing a piñata bearing the image of Republican candidate Donald Trump. I’m not going to dip into the political issues involved in this story except to say that piñatas are essential parts of our New Mexico heritage, often used to express things that are of current topical interest.
We should appreciate the clever examples of this tradition that show up on hanging from the ceilings or on the shelves of various arts and crafts stores, grocery stores, convenience stores and yes, even Wal Mart stores. I’ve seen dangling images of “Frozen” characters, Batman, monster trucks, “Despicable Me” guys and yes, maybe even Nancy Pelosi portrayed as an evil character worthy of bashing.
So when a mother went shopping for a piñata in Clovis at the local Wal-Mart store in 2010, she found more than she wanted in the paper stuffed inside the candy pouch of the traditional looking piñata. The newspaper pages used to construct the piñata were replete with “girly” photos of half-naked women, showing their eye candy to anyone who might have ripped open the mangled object in search of more “candy.”
The woman immediately complained to the store manager, who promptly removed all of the offending works of cultural art, leaving future piñata purchasers with empty shelves or without offensive hanging objects. Okay, you can insert your own offensive comment here. “:^)
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