Take a Swing!

I was in my twenties before I was even able to conceive of the idea of a birthday party without a piñata. The idea that one could even have a celebration WITHOUT a papier-mâché animal or cartoon character was completely unthinkable to me. It was my brother who told me about this inexplicable horror. He had been seeing a young lady from Orange County who was of Scandinavian descent and this aberration of nature said that she’d only once had a piñata at Mexican themed birthday party. Nonplussed I simply stared at her. She may as well have told me that she had webbed toes. Keep in mind this is the same young woman whose family was also blissfully unaware that torillas are supposed to be warmed up before serving. For those of you who are only supposedly Mexican and do not have guac and beans running through your veins, piñatas are a mainstay of birthday parties. Like cake, ice cream, gifts, and a drunk uncle surrounded by empty cans of Bud Light, it is one of those items that without it, it simply isn’t a real birthday party.

Would you believe me if I told you that we have the Chinese to thank for the piñata? I don’t mean the Chinese working in the Toy District of Downtown Los Angeles, I mean the actual people of China! I wouldn’t have believed it either but it turns out that the people who brought us fireworks, Mao, delicious takeout, and the 2008 Olympics also gave us the gift of the piñata. According to Marco Polo (not just a fun game to play in the pool, my friends), the Chinese fashioned paper ox, cows, and buffalo, and filled them with different kinds of seeds. They were broken apart with different colored sticks and this was usually done in celebration of the New Year in hopes of bringing about a bountiful growing season. Along with silk, spices, and pasta, Mr. Polo brought back his writings which include this idea of the piñata which, in Italy, is referred to as a pignatta. By the 1300s the piñata was incorporated into Lent and, because Christianity had spread all over Europe, it is no surprise that this included Spain and by extension would reach the New World.

To say that all the credit goes to the Chinese and Europeans would be misleading. The ancient Mexicans did have similar concepts for quite a while before the Europeans arrived. It is the Mayans we can thank for the concept of blindfolding the participant before they take a whack at the piñata. If America’s Funniest Home Videos had been around back then we could have crotch shots on record going back over 1000 years. The Aztecs also had a tradition of honoring the god Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war (think the Aztec Apollo), with clay pots filled with all sorts of goodies by laying them at the altar and then smashing them. I don’t really get it either but I suppose someday people will look back and wonder why I would eat cookies and wine every Sunday morning. Speaking of which, once the Europeans arrived they wanted to spread Christianity and did so by appropriating many of the native celebrations into Christian ones. Around the world most of the pagan religions revolve around the seasons and nature and in order to persuade people to convert they would give them a way to mingle the religions to the point where they could be celebrating two things at once. This is why we have All Saints Day at the end of the Harvest and Lent and Easter at the start of the growing season.

Over the years the piñatas did take on multiple specific Christian connotations. Everything from the seven deadly sins to man’s eternal struggle with temptation (I know, what?), stepping up to swing a bat a paper Optimus Prime full of candy was an entire Sunday School lesson. Needless to say, those days are long gone. In Mexico the busiest time for piñata makers is during the month of December for the Posadas, the nine days of celebration leading up to Christmas. In America it’s all about the birthday parties and celebrations of Cinco de Mayo.

My family has had them for every possible celebration- anniversaries, Fourth of July, Christmas, you name it. As you get older you are kind of forced to outgrow the piñata. This is never your own choice but the result of Mexican families being so big and everyone having so many damn kids. The ideal piñata age to be is about 10-13 years old. When you’re the youngest around you get the first swing but you’re not strong enough to do any real damage. Too old and you’re way at the back of the line and you’ll be lucky if you even get to take a swing. By the time you hit your late teens and you’ve got just the right amount of angst and hormonal frustration where beating a paper Ninja Turtle would be the best thing for you, you’re too big and too old to do it. And you probably have braces so you can’t enjoy the candy either so you just go to your room, pull down the shades, listen to some Nine Inch Nails and throw The Crow into the VCR. Ah, to be young again…


See that girl all the way over on the right? She probably never got to take a swing



So there you have it, your history of the piñata. Also, for those of you playing Words with Friends, Huitzilopochtli will earn you something like ten thousand points.

Do They Celebrate That Over There Too?

Throughout my life I have often been unable to answer the question, “Do they celebrate that in Mexico”? With so many holidays throughout the year I’ve had that very same quandary myself. Of course certain American National holidays like 4th of July and Presidents Day are exclusive to these here United States while Mexico celebrates the anniversary of their own independence and has their own set of national holidays. Others that are founded in the Christian tradition are also pretty obvious as those who colonized the Americas from one end to the other were all Christian. Of course, as demonstrated with Christmas, the extent to which these events are celebrated may vary. There are some holidays that one might think are great big festivals in Mexico (like Cinco de Mayo), but they are not. And then there are those that fall in to a gray area. Canada celebrates Boxing Day but we don’t. We celebrate Labor Day and Valentine’s Day, one a secular holiday and the other a semi-Christian holiday, but what about other places?

The simple and boring thing to do would be to make a list of all the holidays that are celebrated both here and south of the border but no one wants that. Instead how about we just look at a couple of the ones that come to me off the top of my head?

Valentine’s Day happens to be one of those special occasions that comes into question and, as a matter of fact, it is celebrated in Mexico though the emphasis is a little different. Dia del Amor y la Amistad has it right there in the name: Day of Love and Friendship. While there is the romantic aspect of the holiday, where couples make the extra effort to be that much more amorous with one another, the day is also a celebration of platonic relationships where friends may simply do a few extra nice things for each other.

Mexico has a version of Labor Day recognized on the first of May. They also celebrate Columbus Day on October 12th. Is Flag Day a real holiday? I don’t have an answer for you guys on that one but it is on the calendar both here and in the United Mexican States. Because America has exerted such cultural influence worldwide many of our celebrations have been adopted or emulated across the globe. Unfortunately it doesn’t go the other way quite so much and that’s a shame because I think we’re missing out on so many potential days off. Mexico has so many more days dedicated to saints than we do; we really only get Saints Valentine and Patrick while they get Antonio de Abad (where you can bring in your animals to the church to be blessed- how has this not caught on in San Francisco or the Upper East side?), Saints Joseph, John the Baptist, and of course All Saints Day.

One on which I get questions every year is Cinco de Mayo. The assumption is that this is a huge, nation-wide celebration that unites all of Mexico. This is not really the case. When this day approaches I will tell you why this is the case and explain why Americans partying on Cinco de Mayo is sort of like if Canadians suddenly started drinking every January 8th to commemorate the Battle of New Orleans at the end of the War of 1812. Until then, just sit tight in knowing that it is not Mexican Independence Day (September 16th).

In the mean time, I encourage you all so find any justifiable occasion to raise a glass and say "Salud!"

Felize Navidad

Mexican Christmas is definitely more fun that American Christmas. This is not a subjective statement but one that is made on purely objective observations. Holiday shopping, taking your picture with Santa, getting a Christmas tree and decorating the house; these are all the staples of a typical Christmas in an American household. There is no disputing the value and enjoyment of caroling and making hot cocoa and sipping a bit too much eggnog at the office party or ugly sweater party. But when it comes to your typical “White Christmas” it’s really just one day of celebrating. You either have a Christmas dinner on the eve of the holiday and spend the 25th relaxing and perhaps heading out to a movie, or you do it all on the 25th. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It’s a lovely way to spend a day with family and friends. You might even make it out to Church for midnight service. It’s lovely, but it’s just one day. Not so with the Mexicans. Just like any other celebration, if it only lasts for one day (this is anything from a wedding to a baptism) it is a pretty small celebration.

Keeping in step with the commitment to a party, Christmas in Mexico has at least a solid nine days of celebration. There are more if you want to commit to them but it can get exhausting. One word that everyone who is supposed to be Mexican must know: Posadas. This bumps up one day of Christmas to nine days of going door to door looking for a place to party- it’s supposed to symbolize Mary and Joseph’s arrival in Bethlehem and looking for a place to stay; luckily we never had to spend the night in the stables. I don’t have a lot of experience with the Posadas. I remember as a kid, a couple of times we went up to the California Mission of San Juan Bautista to catch a Christmas play about a miracle, the appearance of the Lady of Guadalupe on the cloak of Juan Diego. Sometimes we’d get there a few days early to see the town, grab a bite to eat, and of course join in some of the singing and walking from place to place in the nights leading up to the performance. It was cold and sometimes wet but the town was decorated from top to bottom as we’d march along with a Styrofoam cup of champurrado in my hands. My brother and I, as well as the two children of the family friends that would often accompany us, would more often than not complain but the truth is it was fun we all have fond memories of looking down the valley from the mission over the San Andreas fault, piling in to the chapel at night to catch the show which we caught sometimes in English, sometimes in Spanish.

But I digress… One think I want to mention before I forget is that piñatas are not just for birthdays. Piñatas are great for any occasion! Sometimes I’d like to bring one home and tie it up in my apartment just because it’s a sunny Tuesday. Sadly I don’t have a bat to swing at it. Christmas piñatas are not out of the ordinary and if you see one as a party, be nice and let the little kids go first. Their tiny, ineffectual little swings are no threat to you. Once it starts getting to the bigger kids, the ten year olds, if there are more than a couple of them then you may as well have a seat because there is no way you’re getting a swing.

The issue of Santa Claus is an interesting one. Traditionally it is Nino Dios, baby Jesus, who brings gifts to all of the good boys and girls but Santa Claus has Hollywood backing him so his presence is felt more and more throughout the globe. Also, while a Nativity Scene is standard at any Mexican home, the baby Jesus is placed in the manger on Christmas Eve to commemorate the completion of the celebration.

As far as food goes I can’t think of any that are Christmas specific. Certainly there are decorated treats like cookies and cakes but nothing like the Yule Log in France or eggnog here in America. By the way, why is eggnog only available around the holidays? Is it something specific to the recipe? And why are there no other types of nog? I’m sure vanilla nog or orange nog or chocolate nog would be quite delicious. Anyway, as far as Mexican Christmas goes one of the foods that remains a constant is tamales. These require plenty of preparation and it is something in which everyone can get involved. The night before Christmas one can find all the women of the family making the tamales in the kitchen whilst the men are outside squeezing limes and dashing salt on to their Tecate.

I know what you’re thinking, nine days of singing and drinking culminating in a day of tamales and piñatas; it’s more than the human body can take! But wait, there’s more! Once you’ve got the hang of Beginning Mexican Christmas and intermediate Mexican Christmas, next comes Advanced Mexican Christmas. The first day of celebration actually comes on December 12th, a full four days before the Posadas begin. This is the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe who I mentioned above. From there are the Posadas, then Christmas Eve. At midnight you see if anyone is sober enough to drive and whoever is closest gets to drive everyone to midnight mass. Christmas Day comes with tamales and piñatas but it isn’t finished yet. Dec 28th is the Day of the Holy Innocents where we commemorate the deaths of the children ordered by King Herod upon hearing that the King of the Jews had been born (are we remembering Sunday school, everybody?). For some reason this day is celebrated in the same vein as April Fools Day where people play practical jokes on one another. Maybe not the most appropriate way to recognize the deaths of thousands of children but what do you expect? Everyone has been drinking for nearly two weeks. New Years comes and goes but it’s still not over yet. The final day of Christmas celebrations comes on January 6th, the Day of the Three Kings. This is the day we recognize the Three Wise Men and the gifts they presented to the baby Jesus. It is not uncommon for this to be the day when children receive gifts as opposed to Christmas Day.

So there it is, nearly a solid month of parties and drinking and gifts. 8 days of Chanukah has got nothing on this. You can keep your Miracles on 34th Street and your Wonderful Life, I’ll take a brown Christmas over a white Christmas any year.

Why so many Kids?

It’s a stereotype that is not entirely inaccurate, that of a dozen kids piling into the car of a Mexican family. I myself only have one sibling and by Mexican standard that makes for a very small family. My parents also came from relatively small families- my mother as one of four children and my father the same. I do have a couple of aunts and uncles who have had five children and that seems to be a little more like it. But the ones who take the tamale have got to be my buddy David’s parents. His mother and father are one of seven and one of twelve respectively. I’ve got a total of over twenty cousins (just counting the first cousins) and on Christmas it does make for a full house. It was always a sad event find yourself at the back of the piñata line at birthday party because there was absolutely no hope of taking a whack at that thing. But I’ve been to David’s house on Christmas Eve and there are so many Mexicans there you would think they were giving away _______ (insert your own joke here- I suggest the following: Budweiser, Green Cards, jobs in front of the Home Depot, tacos… the possibilities are endless!).

It does beg the question: what’s up with Mexicans having so many kids?

This query does not have one simple answer but I have my theories. First, there’s the reason that all agriculture based economies had so many kids. Just like America prior to WW2, families on the farm needed the farm hands. Same goes for Mexican farms. But that isn’t the only answer. The second reason off the top of my head is Catholicism. There are some strict interpretations of the Bible that some argue prohibit any and all forms of birth control. The old catholic guilt will tell you that the only purpose for sex is to procreate. In fact the only reason a man’s seed should ever leave his body is for this reason otherwise he is guilty of onanism (which is just a fancy dirty word named after Onan, a guy from the Bible). Third, it’s just one of the dominant cultural values. Mexican families place great value on the family and on taking care of one another in a way that is very different from American values. It isn’t as common or acceptable for a child to go away to college far away and never return. Nor is it considered acceptable to place the old and infirmed in an old-folks home. The elders are to stay with the family and that’s that. This sense of family togetherness is related to the desire to have a large family.

I don’t really think there is much else to it than that: the farm, the no-birth-control-of-any-kind, and the family togetherness. To those of you who are waiting to start a family I would suggest this: don’t even look at a Mexican woman the wrong way (especially if she still has her catholic school uniform) because you could end up a daddy before you know it.

Dia de los Muertos

Halloween is soon approaching and various costume shops have popped up all around town. Grocery stores and places like Target are stocked up on gigantic bags of “fun-size” candy and everyone is getting ready to trick-or-treat. Plenty of people engage in Halloween traditions like carving up a jack o’ lantern, playing practical jokes to frighten one another, and going to haunted houses. Those of you who paid attention in history class you’ll remember that Halloween is the word we have for the phrase “All Hallows Eve,” also known as the day before All Saints Day which falls on November first. All Saints Day is a catholic holiday and is followed by All Souls Day. This one-two punch of holiness is collectively known as The Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos.

Those of you who really paid attention in history class will know that most of our Christian holidays are placed around ancient pagan celebrations. This doesn’t mean Christian holidays are without significance but rather that their calendar dates were selected out of pragmatism rather than marking the yearly anniversary of an historic event. For instance, say you’re from Spain and trying to convert a bunch of Aztecs to Christianity. Rather than telling an entire nation that their belief system is ridiculous you say, “Hey, instead of sacrificing virgins to the volcano on this day we paint eggs and pretend a giant, mutant rabbit hides them for children to find. Doesn’t that sound much better?” At first people are hesitant to follow along but when they notice that all the hot, young virgins are into it then the guys tend to follow along. My conservative, Christian, jr. high school did something similar. On Halloween they would hold a “Harvest Festival.” It was not a Halloween celebration per se but everyone wore costumes and played games and avoided witches and ghouls and smashing pumpkins and sacrificing virgins.

Like so many other things Mexican, Dia de los Muertos has its roots with the Aztec civilization. The observance goes back to a festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl (great triple-word score for those of you playing scrabble!). She, along with her husband, Mictalntecuhtli, rule over the underworld and she, in particular, watches over the bones of the dead and together they make a lovely couple to have over for coffee and board games. She is the original form of a figure still looked to as Santa Muerte. Other indigenous civilizations such as the Olmec and Mayan and others had similar beliefs and observances but we’ll just lump them all together for now. Also, as I said above, Dia de los Muertos is typically celebrated on November 1st and November 2nd. That is because the first day is dedicated to remembering those who never had a full life, like children, and is thus more specifically referred to as the Day of the Innocents. Deceased adults are revered on the second day which is also called the Day of the Dead.

Despite what you may be thinking, Dia de los Muertos is not simply “Mexican Halloween.” Where Halloween celebrations tend to embrace and/or focus on the more macabre aspects of death with a play on fear and all things ghostly in a haunted house type of flavor, Dia de los Muertos is probably more akin to something like Memorial Day but rather than only remembering soldiers who have given their life it is a time to remember all those who have passed. The decorations associated with Dia de los Muertos do have some semblance to American Halloween decorations- skulls, tombstones, death, and things of that sort, they have a much less sinister connotation. Also, in contrast to Halloween where the point of the costumes is to trick or frighten lost souls back to their rightful place, Dia de los Muertos is a time to welcome visits from spirits of those who have gone on to the next life. During this visit you can ask the departed to relay messages and prayers. It is also customary to visit a grave and decorate it while bringing along some of that person’s favorite things and foods. This can also be done in the home. It is not uncommon to find a small altar with a picture of the deceased along with a cross and a picture or statue of the Virgin Mary. It’s a very interesting mix of how a pagan religious observance has melded with Christianity.

Another really cool looking aspect of Dia de los Muertos is the prevalence of skulls and skeletons. These are made in to costumes and decorations of all kinds. More importantly they are made in to candies and cakes. Take a walk along Olvera Street in Los Angeles, or though the Mission district of San Francisco and you will see people in costumes that resemble Jack Skelington from Disney’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” except that he seems to be wearing some sort of mariachi suit. Then, of course, you’ll have to get a sugar skull and maybe a tamale. There are festivals and parades and all that. What I’ve realized is that recently the practice of kids going trick-or-treating has become popular in Mexico- it’s fascinating how the two cultures are reflecting one another.

There is no one answer to the question as to what Dia de los Muertos is all about. The mishmash of indigenous celebrations combined with a European influence is similar to celebrations found all over the world. I grew up trick-or-treating but I would be the last to turn down a sweet, sugary skull.

-original artwork of a bitchin' Dia de los Muertos themed lucha libre costume provided by nate garcia