Guatemalan Diaries: The Piñata Party

Hanging up the piñata

Helga Knapp, my English teaching colleague at UVG, invited me to come to her daughter's birthday party on Sunday, February 8th. Helga's daughter, Maria Sara, was turning 10 and over 40 children from her class had been invited. There was going to be two piñatas at the party, one for the girls and the other for the boys. The party was supposed to begin at 3:00 but most people trickled in within the next hour. Most Guatemalan birthday parties are outside in the garden with chairs set up in a circle. There were balloons everywhere. Helga had prepared a special treat for Maria Sara and her guests. She had hired a professional clown who arrived shortly afterward with his two assistants (one was his son). The clown had us all in stitches with his antics. It was particularly amusing to watch how he very cleverly enticed the children to join him in the merry-making.

The second boy from the right is Helga's son, Juan Miguel

The second girl from left is Helga's youngest daughter, Olga Teresa

One of many memorable acts

Then came the time for the piñata. Maria Sara was the first of course to be blindfolded and handed the stick. As she swung the stick around, the clown's assistants purposely moved the piñata with strings, making the task of breaking it even harder. Finally, after all of the girls took a turn, one returning combatant successfully whacked the piñata, so that all of the goodies (hard candy) inside it spewed onto the ground. Shrieking gleefully, all the girls fell to the ground to grab as many candies as they could. The boys were next with their piñata.

Getting her ready for combat

Helga is standing in the background. The girl on the far right is Maria Sara.

During the final stage of the party, Maria Sara blew out the candles on the exquisitely decorated cake that her mother baked just for the occasion. Immediately afterward, the children behind her pushed her face into it! Apparently this is custom in Guatemala. Everyone was served multi-colored jello, birthday cake, and soda. The party ended around 6:00. I thanked Helga for giving me the opportunity to witness such an intimate cultural event.