Culture has a history all its own and fosters great creativity. This week, there was no shortage of creativity as Mayes Elementary as the campus celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month by hosting their first annual piñata design contest. Students and their families created more than 120 piñatas and brought them to campus where they lined the halls for all to see. From giant tacos to life-size robots, and Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos) masks to flags representing South American countries, each piñata was unique and carefully crafted with love and attention to detail.
“In Mexico, it is a symbol of celebration. They will create piñatas for a fiesta or holidays like Christmas time. Any celebration, they have piñatas. And, so we are celebrating our bilingual program during National Hispanic Heritage Month with our first piñata design contest,” Mayes Elementary Bilingual teacher Erika Navarrete said.
Hispanic Heritage Month is a month-long celebration of Hispanic and Latino history and culture from September 15 to October 15. It is a time to give extra recognition to the many contributions made to the history and culture of the United States, including important advocacy work, vibrant art, popular and traditional foods, and much more. And, piñatas are an important element of the creativity of the Hispanic and Latino culture.
“We have our bilingual students and their culture that they bring to our campus, and there’s not a lot of times where we get to share that,” said Mayes Elementary Assistant Principal Lisa Kusch. “It was great for them to bring something to us that we could share, that we could all do, and that we all appreciated. This project was fun and brought families together. So, not only did it bond our students and our teachers and our faculty, but it also bonded our families.”
Hispanic Heritage Month provides an additional opportunity to explore the incredible impact Latinas and Latinos have had on the United States for generations. Students did research and watched videos as to how a piñata is constructed and decorated. The goal was for them to create their piñata from scratch. Students like Angel Yaxon created his Guatemalan flag piñata, and Edgar Convento designed his Calavera (Day of the Dead mask) piñata, and Evelyn Izaguirre built a taco-shaped piñata that included the cheese, the lettuce and the tomato.
“It was fun to see them this morning walking in with their piñatas, and they were so proud. It’s a symbol of celebration that makes them feel included and welcome. That can that can be a challenge for a Hispanic student to feel like they’re part of the culture, like they’re part of the world they’re in right now. That was our goal with celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and just sharing our culture,” Navarette said.
