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UPFRONT
CURRENT AFFAIRS
DAY OF THE PIÑATA With Día de los Muertos around the corner, Ecuadorean piñata creator Verónica Fink-Gonzalez spills the jelly beans on her passion for these must-have papiermâché party paraphernalia.
October 2017
L
ast October, Verónica Fink- Gonzalez completed her most challenging but rewarding piñata project--the creation of Catrina for Luxembourg’s Día de los Muertos celebrations. “Catrina is an iconic figure from Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations. Originally she was created to satirise the Mexican aristocracy in the pre-revolutionary era, and she didn’t wear any clothes, only a French hat with ostrich feathers,” she explains. “Today, Catrina can be found wearing the most elegant clothing, and there
are even contests to find her most original representation.” Fink-Gonzalez launched her piñata business in autumn 2015 with a distinctive proposition. She wanted to create something special and unique and therefore no design challenge was too hard to craft. She lovingly creates bespoke piñatas for adults and children, and her repertoire includes everything from Frozen’s Elsa to Donald Trump, Darth Vader to Lord Voldemort, and countless yellow minions, unicorns, dinosaurs and disco balls.
Verónica Fink-Gonzalez poses with some of her recent creations in a portrait by Mike Zenari
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