Stamps celebrate Hispanic tradition
ALBUQUERQUE — The U.S. Postal Service on Friday rolled out its latest special edition postage stamps, paying homage to a tradition with global roots that has evolved over centuries to become a universal symbol of celebration.
The release of four stamps featuring colorful piñatas coincides with a monthlong national recognition of Hispanic heritage and the start of an annual festival in New Mexico where the handmade party favorites are cracked open hourly and children can learn the art of pasting together their own creations.
Piñatas are synonymous with parties, though their history is layered. It can be traced to 16th-century trade routes between Latin America and Asia, and the efforts of Spanish missionaries to convert Indigenous communities to Christianity.
It was through dance, music and the arts — including the making of piñatas — that biblical stories were spread throughout the New World.
Piñatas became a key part of celebrating Las Posadas — the festivities held each December in Mexico and other Latin American countries to mark the birth of Christ. The religious origins are evident in the classic piñata designs of the seven-point star and the burro, said Cesáreo Moreno, chief curator at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago.
“Those early missionaries really were creative in the ways in which they wanted to teach the biblical stories to the Indigenous people,” Moreno said.
“Nativity scenes, piñatas, posadas — all those things really worked well. They worked so well that they became a part of the popular culture of Mexico.”
The stamps were inspired y the childhood memories of graphic designer Victor Meléndez, who grew up in Mexico City and remembers spending days with cousins and other relatives making piñatas to celebrate Las Posadas.
His mother also would make piñatas for birthdays.
“That’s a dear, dear memory of just fun and happiness,” he told The Associated Press as he took a break from painting a mural in Seattle. “And I wanted to show a little bit of that and pay homage to some of those traditions.”