{"id":322028,"date":"2026-05-19T00:43:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T00:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/322028\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T00:43:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T00:43:13","slug":"sacramento-art-exhibit-puts-a-smash-ing-spotlight-on-pinata-culture-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/322028\/","title":{"rendered":"Sacramento art exhibit puts a SMASH!-ing spotlight on pi\u00f1ata culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

The history of the pi\u00f1ata dates back centuries with its origins shrouded in mystery \u2014 either being brought by Spanish conquistadors and missionaries to Mexico, or with roots dating back to Aztec<\/a> or even ancient Chinese cultures<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These colorful, treat-filled containers have become a staple of Latino culture, and a common sight at birthday parties and other celebrations. But a new art exhibit is highlighting the pi\u00f1ata\u2019s power in an unconventional setting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

SMASH! A Pi\u00f1ata Exhibition<\/a> opened earlier this month at Prism Art Gallery in Midtown, curated by Bridgett Rex and Vianne De Santiago. The exhibition runs through May 30 and will close with a smashing of selected pi\u00f1atas.<\/p>\n

SMASH! brings together amateurs, professional pi\u00f1ata makers, and artists from across disciplines, and invites the audience to look beneath the tissue paper and papier-mache.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see pi\u00f1atas as vessels of joy, grief, [they] can hold anything you want it to,\u201d Rex explained, adding that she and her co-curator wanted the show to be accessible to anyone, regardless of age.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want people to look at pi\u00f1atas when they go to the store as something actually precious and beautiful,\u201d Rex said.<\/p>\n

SMASH! is De Santiago\u2019s first curation after graduating college. She recalled getting artists to participate in the display.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey would be like, \u2018oh, I don\u2019t really know what to make,\u201d De Santiago said. \u201c And I would try to tell them it\u2019s something that\u2019s beautiful, but also with the purpose of being destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of the artists attended the May 8 opening celebration, and spoke with CapRadio about their designs and inspirations.<\/p>\n

Andres Alvarez: \u201cIn ixtli, in yollotl\u201d
\n\"AndresAndres Alvarez\u2019s pi\u00f1ata is titled \u201cIn ixtli, in yollotl\u201d (the face, the heart.) It features a stack of books, representing works by Latino and Chicano authors, wrapped in hojas de maiz (corn husks) as a symbol of culture.Sarit Laschinsky\/CapRadio<\/p>\n

Andres Alvarez had never heard of a pi\u00f1ata exhibition before, much less participated in one. \u201cI\u2019m a painter and photographer, not a sculptor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His pi\u00f1ata,\u201cIn ixtli, in yollotl\u201d (the face, the heart), showcases a stack of books resting against one another. All are covered in hojas de maiz (corn husks), used for tamales. Alvarez said using husks dates back to a barrio art class he took, where he was introduced to using nontraditional materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sort of wrapped in culture\u2026 very symbolic of the culture as far as food, but also in terms of practice, engagement, connection with family, conversations in the kitchen,\u201d Alvarez said.<\/p>\n

The design pays homage to the books by Latino and Chicano authors that inspired him. \u201cThe idea of anthologies, of histories and storytelling, storymaking, memories, that took over and became the books that I wanted to explore,\u201d Alvarez said.<\/p>\n

Alvarez was fascinated to see artists weaving together traditional and new elements, particularly materials found around the home. \u201cWe can explore pi\u00f1atas in a whole different way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gilbert Rangel
\n\"GilbertGilbert Rangel\u2019s piece is a tribute to his mother and other women that nurtured him throughout his life. He says the exhibition\u2019s pi\u00f1atas reflected the colorfulness of Mexican culture, and the finality of life.Sarit Laschinsky\/CapRadio<\/p>\n

Gilbert Rangel said his daughter, Bridgett, asked him to submit a pi\u00f1ata for the exhibit \u2014 the first one he ever made. What emerged was a stove clad in dark and lime green tissue paper, a silver grate, and a small pan holding a tortilla.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rangel\u2019s design was inspired by memories of his mother and other women that supported him. \u201cIn Mexican culture, cooking is very important,\u201d he explained, reminiscing about a childhood visit to his aunt\u2019s house.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though she had a bunch of kids\u2026 she would make stacks and stacks of tortillas while we played marbles in her kitchen,\u201d Rangel recalled. \u201cSomeone nurturing you, in every possible way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rangel said the diversity of pi\u00f1atas \u2014 and knowing many will be destroyed \u2014 represented the colorfulness of Mexican culture, and how to think about life. \u201cYou just get that day; it has to be great and that’s all that counts\u2026 it doesn\u2019t last,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His stove will go the same way. \u201cIt\u2019s what it\u2019s meant to do; it\u2019s going to serve a purpose,\u201d Rangel mused.<\/p>\n

Mat Cusick: \u201cSpace Cowboy\u201d
\n\"MatMat Cusick originally created his pi\u00f1ata for a picnic between Amazon worker organizers. His design features Amazon founder Jeff Bezos riding a rocket and holding a cowboy hat, mimicking a scene from Dr. Strangelove.Sarit Laschinsky\/CapRadio<\/p>\n

Mat Cusick never made a pi\u00f1ata before, but said art was always part of his upbringing. \u201cI was raised by a ceramics teacher\u2026 I used to go to Second Saturday with my mom and I would just walk around all the galleries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His pi\u00f1ata features Jeff Bezos, dressed in a flight suit made of Amazon packing tape, holding a cowboy hat and riding a rocket. Cusick said it was inspired by the movie Dr. Stranglove, along with Bezos\u2019 2021 spaceflight as Amazon workers were unionizing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe flew up, came back down and said, \u2018I want to thank the Amazon workers because you guys paid for all of this,\u2019\u201d he explained. \u201cWe didn\u2019t like that very much.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cusick\u2019s work was not originally intended for the exhibit, but he was glad to see the pi\u00f1ata in the gallery among many different forms of personal and cultural expression.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if we had something symbolically [where] you could confront the boss, wield your strength and take them down,\u201d Cusick said. \u201cIt is an art form that has a really deep tradition, and I think it\u2019s amazing to see all the things that you can do with it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ismar Yanalt\u00e9 Quiroz: \u201cMiss You: Esperame en el ceilo, corazon\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IsmarIsmar Yanalt\u00e9 Quiroz drew on her personal experiences with grief and her work in a morgue for her pi\u00f1ata, called \u201cMiss You: Esperame en el ceilo, corazon\u201d (wait for me in heaven, my love.)Sarit Laschinsky\/CapRadio<\/p>\n

Ismar Yanalt\u00e9 Quiroz\u2019s pi\u00f1ata includes black and white cones, covered with ribbons and dark lace, clustered around a small altar. She said the design took inspiration from her work in a morgue, and from her own life experiences.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of influence [came] from my own grief journey, and how I lost my sister and a lot of dear friends close to my heart,\u201d Yanalt\u00e9 Quiroz explained. Her design is meant to capture the opposing feelings of joy and mourning.<\/p>\n

Yanalt\u00e9 Quiroz made pi\u00f1atas as a child with her father, but mainly started after her sister died during the pandemic. They are her only art form, serving as an outlet for the heaviness of different emotions.<\/p>\n

Yanalt\u00e9 Quiroz said the gallery felt like a community, and gave her a sense of pride. \u201cI love seeing how everybody uses this art to process their own feelings,\u201d she said. \u201cI see so many journeys and lives people have walked, just looking at these pi\u00f1atas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yanalt\u00e9 Quiroz is not sure what her pi\u00f1ata\u2019s fate will be. But if it is smashed the act will be in private, with her family.<\/p>\n

Andrea Lizalde-Valencia: \u201cQuedito\u201d
\n\"AndreaAndrea Lizalde-Valencia\u2019s piece follows the pi\u00f1ata\u2019s traditional seven-cone shape, but features a crying face made of clay and seven fabric cones, each highlighting a different aspect of her life.Sarit Laschinsky\/CapRadio<\/p>\n

Andrea Lizalde-Valencia\u2019s pi\u00f1ata follows the traditional seven-cone shape introduced by Spanish colonists. \u201cThe priests were trying to convert people and they had pi\u00f1atas,\u201d she explained. \u201cThe seven cones were supposed to be the seven deadly sins, and then people beat them.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the material is anything but standard, featuring stuffed fabric and a crying face made of oven-baked clay. Each cone represents aspects of Lizalde-Valencia\u2019s life \u2014 her children\u2019s handprints and drawings, the punk-rock aesthetic of her younger self, cyanotype fabric made by her sister.<\/p>\n

She said the pi\u00f1ata\u2019s name, and the crying face, came from the phrase \u201cp\u00e9game poquito, p\u00e9game quedito\u201d (hit me only a little bit, hit me softly.)\u00a0 \u201cImagine someone getting hit, or a pi\u00f1ata getting hit, there\u2019s always this discomfort of waiting for the hit to come, and then you\u2019re bracing for it,\u201d Lizalde-Valencia explained.<\/p>\n

Looking at the other pi\u00f1atas in the exhibition, Lizalde-Valencia said while she does not know all the other artists personally, she feels a sense of cari\u00f1o (fondness) for all of them. \u201cI love you guys; I don\u2019t know you, but your art is awesome and I\u2019m just really excited,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Serena Madrigal: \u201cPi\u00f1ata de Pastel\u201d and \u201cPi\u00f1ata de Duvalin\u201d
\n\"SerenaSerena Madrigal submitted two pi\u00f1atas for the SMASH! exhibition — one inspired by cake, the other by the Mexican candy, duvalin. She said she draws inspiration from colors and tones that bring back different memories.Sarit Laschinsky\/CapRadio<\/p>\n

Serena \u201cEspinas\u201d Madrigal submitted two pi\u00f1atas for the exhibit. \u201cPi\u00f1ata de Pastel\u201d (Pinata made of cake) is a group of lacy white cones wrapped in red ribbons, resembling frosting. \u201dI did it super white with hints of red just to make it feel really dramatic, almost like you want to take a bite of it,\u201d Madrigal explained.<\/p>\n

The second \u2013 a hanging star colored brown, cream and pink \u2014 is \u201cPi\u00f1ata de Duvalin,\u201d named after a type of Mexican candy. Madrigal said she draws inspiration from different colors and tones.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes when I think of colors together, I retrace it back to memories or objects I love,\u201d she said, noting how duvalin was her favorite candy growing up.<\/p>\n

Madrigal made pi\u00f1atas as a child, and for her wedding three years ago. \u201cThat\u2019s the first time I experimented with lace and tissue paper, and since then I just kept getting inspired,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Madrigal was glad to see how the pi\u00f1ata has been reimagined as an art form. \u201cIt\u2019s something that you can have forever; you don\u2019t have to break it [or] destroy it, you can just have it as a memory,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Iris Hernandez
\n\"IrisIris Hernandez (left) and her mother Lorena Raya (right) run a custom pi\u00f1ata business. Their design reflects Hernandez and Raya\u2019s shared journey, from coming to the U.S. and working different jobs, to their bond as mothers and women.Sarit Laschinsky\/CapRadio<\/p>\n

Iris Hernandez\u2019s mother Lorena Raya started making pi\u00f1atas in Mexico, and continued the tradition after coming to the U.S. \u201cIt just started from having to have some sort of income while she babysat my daughter while I went to work,\u201d Hernandez explained.<\/p>\n

Raya and Hernandez now run a custom pi\u00f1ata business, Pi\u00f1atasaurus<\/a>. Their design \u2014 a dark brown vase filled with colorful flowers and small items \u2014 reflects their shared journey.<\/p>\n

Hernandez said a broom and mop, \u201crepresents when we first got to the U.S., we used to clean offices and wealthy homes for a living as a family \u2014 my mom, dad, brother and I.\u201d After the Great Recession, Hernandez\u2019s family sold tamales and donuts, also represented in miniature.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The vase\u2019s markings include a Celtic mother symbol, a large flower and small hummingbird for Hernandez and the opposite for Raya. \u201cJust interconnected in life; both of us being mothers, and our relationship together,\u201d Hernandez explained.<\/p>\n

She saw a common theme in the other artists\u2019 works as well. \u201cI see a lot of childhood memories in every single one of these,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cSomething that’s rooted not in adulthood, but looking back in our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luis Garcia: \u201cI set a federal vehicle on fire and there ain\u2019t **** you can do about it\u201d
\n\"LuisLuis Garcia said his pi\u00f1ata captures street aesthetics and is meant to be a symbol of resistance against federal crackdowns targeting Latino and immigrant communities. His pi\u00f1ata will not be smashed at the end of the exhibit.Sarit Laschinsky\/CapRadio<\/p>\n

Luis Garcia\u2019s pi\u00f1ata stood in the center of the exhibit. A vandalized ICE vehicle, propped up on cinder blocks with flames pouring out the back windows. For the Sac State art professor, it is an expression of resistance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in the \u201890s in Los Angeles; I experienced Prop 187 [and] 227, and in 1992 the LA uprising because of the Rodney King case,\u201d Garcia explained. He said those experiences helped him understand \u201cthat historic forms of racism have impacted our communities today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia wanted to use his position to express how he felt \u201cabout our current circumstances, our communities that are under attack.\u201d He said the pi\u00f1ata\u2018s \u201cstreet aesthetics\u201d captured his own cultural knowledge and political experience.<\/p>\n

Unlike other pi\u00f1atas, Garcia said his will not be smashed. \u201cI think it makes a stronger impact for this pi\u00f1ata to be seen,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe can smash it but then at that point, the political statement ends.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wants to keep the art intact to send a future message. \u201cWe can draw on our own cultural knowledge to speak up against our current political climate,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n

Ramona Garcia: \u201cLas ni\u00f1as que llevamos dentro\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RamonaRamona Garcia usually makes Lupita dolls out of papier-mache, and her pi\u00f1ata features two small Lupita dolls inside a larger one. She said the design is meant to symbolize preserving tradition and childhood.Sarit Laschinsky\/CapRadio<\/p>\n

Ramona Garcia\u2019s pi\u00f1ata reflected her artistic experience making Lupita dolls out of papier-mache. She said these dolls were traditional Mexican playthings, but these traditions were discontinued or lost with the introduction of newer toys.<\/p>\n

Her pi\u00f1ata is a giant Lupita doll with a smaller mother and baby doll nested inside \u2014 one sitting in a chair, the other cradling a heart. She said the artwork is about \u201cnurturing that child, but also nurturing traditions and keeping them alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Its name speaks to that ideal: \u201cLas ni\u00f1as que llevamos dentro\u201d (the children that we carry inside.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe heart is supposed to represent the love for our culture and traditions,\u201d Garcia said, pointing to one of the small figures. \u201cI think in times like now, we need to celebrate our culture especially when there\u2019s so much persecution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia said the exhibit itself is a larger form of remembrance. \u201c[It\u2019s] not just about highlighting all the hardships that our communities are going through, but also celebrating all the beauty and the culture of them,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Christina Marenco: \u201cPan dulce con amor\u201d
\n\"ChristinaChristina Marenco\u2019s colorful pi\u00f1ata drew on a childhood memory of a pan dulce van bringing baked goods to her family home. She said the design reflected her whimsical remembrance and served as a symbol of togetherness.Sarit Laschinsky\/CapRadio<\/p>\n

Christina Marenco\u2019s pi\u00f1ata is hard to miss: a multicolored van hanging from the ceiling, sporting a large pan dulce on its roof and a window full of sweet treats. The professional pi\u00f1atamaker<\/a> said the design draws on a childhood experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cA pan dulce van used to come over to our house almost every week, and we would come out as a family from the house and choose,\u201d she explained. \u201cPrimarily my grandma would always make sure that there was pan dulce at the house, so this is mostly dedicated to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marenco said the colors of the truck reflect her \u201cfun, whimsical\u201d memories of that van. \u201cIt made me feel bright, colorful, glittery, all the things,\u201d she explained. A feeling that also influenced the piece\u2019s name: \u201cPan dulce con amor\u201d (Pan dulce with love.)<\/p>\n

Marenco said as an art form, pi\u00f1atas carry strong symbolism \u2014 like the pan dulce on her childhood table. \u201cIt\u2019s a symbol of togetherness and celebrating,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like it should be more celebrated in our world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Disclosure: The CapRadio Insight team was also asked to submit a pi\u00f1ata as part of the SMASH! exhibit. Host Vicki Gonzalez said\u00a0the invitation was a \u201cfull circle\u201d moment after showcasing creatives on the program. \u201cBridgett went from being an Insight guest to inviting us to take part in her latest exhibit, \u201c she explained.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe CapRadio Insight team submitted its own pi\u00f1ata for the SMASH! exhibit inspired by the show\u2019s color scheme, the tower bridge, and the medium of radio.Sarit Laschinsky\/CapRadio<\/p>\n

Insight spent the better part of a month exercising its \u201ccreative muscle,\u201d with Gonzalez acknowledging that \u201cthere was some atrophy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

What started with a rough sketch and a roundtable conversation about capturing the spirit of Insight and the region transformed into a visual representation of the station\u2019s flagship program \u2014 a blue-and-yellow boombox pi\u00f1ata, with a real mini AM\/FM radio inside of it.<\/p>\n

\u201c[It] was a memorable bonding experience with a lot of laughs throughout the pi\u00f1ata-making process!\u201d Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n

Senior Producer Andrew Garcia and his family, whom he described as \u201cquite crafty,\u201d were also crucial to get the project over the line. \u201cWe had three generations of us all at the kitchen table making the frills, fluffing them up, and gluing them on,\u201d Garcia explained. \u201cThe craftiest of us all, my aunt, put the finishing touches on the Tower Bridge piece on top that serves as the radio’s ‘handle.'”<\/p>\n


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