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Thursday, March 28, 2024
NEWS  |  CAMPUS

UF organization continues to host pinata-making workshop Saturday

Six-year-old Alessandra Quintana dipped her fingers into glue and spread it onto newspaper.

“It’s goopy,” she said with surprise.

The Mexicans in Gainesville Student Association hosted a piñata-making event last weekend as the first of a two-part workshop scheduled to continue at 9 a.m. Saturday in Frazier Rogers Hall. Attendees can complete the piñata-making process by adorning their handiwork with paper cones, tissue paper and streamers.

Newcomers are welcome but will have to pay $15 to take home the candy-carrying creation.

Last weekend, four people of varying ages and backgrounds met to learn about the history and importance of the activity to Mexican culture before creating their own craft.

“When they go out and see a piñata, they will understand our culture,” said 29-year-old Melissa Ramirez, president of Mexicans in Gainesville Student Association and second-year agricultural and biological engineering Ph.D. student.

Traditional Mexican piñatas have their roots in Catholicism, with each of the seven decorative peaks — or cones — representing one of the deadly sins, said Hilda Patricia Rodriguez-Armenta, treasurer of the organization and third-year horticultural sciences Ph.D. student.

“When you break the piñata, you’re breaking the sins,” Rodriguez, 30, said.

Each aspect of the craft symbolizes an individual’s struggle against sin, the piñata itself representing evil disguised as good. The blindfold and stick used to hit the piñata symbolize faith and virtue, respectively. As a reward for defeating evil, the individual receives candy, Ramirez said.

Organizers said they completed the first step of the process a few days prior by gluing a few layers of newspaper onto balloons. Last Saturday, the attendees attached a rope and plastered on about three more layers of paper with paste.

Ramirez said all proceeds will be donated to the Angel Tree project, and any completed piñatas not bought at the workshop will be sold to support the charity.

Twenty-six-year-old Li Zhang, a third-year agricultural and biological engineering Ph.D. student, wasn’t familiar with the charity but came because she wanted to “do good.”

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“I like to help,” she said while bunching up pink and red streamers.

For Alessandra, deciding on the best part of piñatas was simple.

“Getting the candy,” she said.

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