Battered down by pandemic
With parties on hold, piñata makers in Mexico feel beaten personally and financially
MEXICO CITY — The sight is jarring against the backdrop of smog and concrete that marks this part of Mexico City, a tangle of freeways and overpasses with old buses rumbling by and belching smoke.
But there, bursting like flowers amid the ashen buildings, they hang in row upon row: piñatas, painted every color, from bright fuchsia to midnight blue to Baby Yoda green. On the sidewalk, a Spider-Man piñata stands beside Batman, while Mickey Mouse leans against Sonic the Hedgehog.
And included among the cartoon characters, superheroes and doe-eyed Disney princesses is a more recent addition to the Mexican piñata repertoire. Painted limegreen with a gold crown, spikes erupting in all directions, the coronavirus glares at passersby.
The pandemic piñata is one of his most popular options, said Ivan Mena Alvarez, who runs one of the oldest stores in the Cuauhtemoc neighborhood known for its piñatas.
Transforming a deadly virus into a comic effigy might strike some as a risky business move, especially in a country with the world’s third-highest COVID-19 death toll. But Mena said his customers welcomed a chance to pummel a stand-in for an adversary that has wreaked havoc on the economy and devastated whole communities.
“We Mexicans laugh even at death,” Mena said. “It’s become just another monster.”
Piñata makers, often close-knit families whose business depends on the social gatherings that have largely halted during the pandemic, have, like much of the country, suffered both financially and personally for the past year.
Mena said that his sales had plummeted, putting him in a dire economic situation, but that the personal losses had been even worse. Eleven members of his extended family have died of COVID-19, as well as more than two dozen others he knows of in the industry.
“It’s so hard for a lot of us,” he said. “It just never crossed your mind that there would be so many dead in so little time.”
Last month, the Mexican government updated its official figures, showing that the virus may have claimed more than 300,000 lives, an astonishing toll for the country of 126 million people.
The effect of the pandemic on the economy has been almost as ruinous. Last year, Mexico suffered its biggest annual economic slump since the Great Depression, and the financial fallout may push millions into poverty.
The piñata trade, a national tradition in Mexico dating back to the 16th century, has been largely idled by the restrictions on birthday parties and other get-togethers, where cracking open the treat-filled figures is a central part of many celebrations.
Nothing could prepare Mena for the devastating impact of the pandemic. When much of the country shut down at the end of March last year, sales dropped by 90%, he said. Five workers had to leave Mexico City after being furloughed.
While the present situation remains grim, Mena is feeling more optimistic about the future. With vaccines rolling out, although slowly, he believes his business, and the centuries-old industry he is so proud of, will finally start to recover.
“Like a phoenix from the ashes,” he said, “the piñata trade is starting to pull through.”