Stories Along The Way

If you’ve ever been to a Mexican birthday party, chances are you’ve seen a piñata.

Piñatas are a big part of our celebrations. They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors—stars, animals, cartoon characters, and just about anything you can imagine.

Today, there are piñatas you can open by pulling or twisting a string.

Personally?

I don’t like either one. 😂

Give me the good old-fashioned piñata—the kind hanging from a rope while someone pulls it up and down, making it harder to hit.

The younger children usually get a little help. When the bigger kids take their turn, out comes the blindfold.

And then everyone starts singing:

“Dale, dale, dale, no pierdas el tino…”

There’s laughing, singing, and yelling while the child swings and someone moves the piñata around.

Then it happens.

The piñata breaks. Candy falls everywhere, and everyone runs!

It’s loud. It’s chaotic. It’s fun.

And it’s a tradition I remember fondly from my childhood in Mexico.

Three Piñatas

When I was about seven or eight years old, I had a birthday party in the very small town where we lived.

I didn’t have one piñata.

I didn’t have two.

I had THREE!

I can’t remember what all of them looked like, but I clearly remember one was the traditional star shape.

The children from town came to my party. Gifts were simple. Some brought me a soda or candy.

And that was enough.

There were no expensive presents or elaborate parties. We had friends, candy, piñatas, and the freedom to simply have fun.

More than forty years later, I don’t remember most of the presents from that birthday.

But I remember the piñatas.

I remember the children.

And most importantly, I remember how happy I was.

It was one of the best birthdays of my life.

Maybe that’s the beauty of traditions. Years later, a simple song or a colorful piñata can take you right back to being a child.

My birthday was simple.

The gifts were simple.

But the memory is priceless.

And if you give me a choice between a modern pull-string piñata and the old-fashioned kind?

Hand me the stick.