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by Ryn Gargulinski | Blogski Archives, crime, danger, gross stuff, immigrants, life, stupidity | 15 comments
Piñatas get no respect to begin with.
The cheerful, colorful beauties are meticulously created – only to be destroyed.
Their lot in life consists of getting battered, bruised and beaten by blindfolded folks with sticks.
If that’s not enough, people routinely abuse piñatas, forcing these papier-mâché masterpieces into illegal activities.
Such activities tarnish the piñatas perky image and wrongfully ruin their rosy reputation.
Smuggling drugs is one of the most common piñata abuses, but the cute little critters can also be stuffed with other stuff that’s illegal to take over the border.
One of the infamous piñata abuses was the PowderPuff Girls piñata that had its own little girl inside.
This particular piñata was in the back seat of a car driven by two U.S. citizens with California plates back in 2004, according to an article at Sign On San Diego. The couple was hauling a whole load of piñatas from Mexico through the Tecate Port of Entry.
“Officers began to take the piñatas out of the back seat, and one seemed to be much heavier than the others,” the article quotes Vince Bond, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “This one had a little girl of approximately 4 or 5 years of age inside it.”
Even the less creative piñata abuses can be just as illegal. Arizona’s very own Douglas Port of Entry U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers recently busted a whole tractor-trailer load of piñatas that were violating intellectual property rights, according to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The 108 piñatas were Disneyland character rip-offs – maybe about the same caliber as those faux Rolex watches or fake Gucci bags that say “Gulli.”
“The piñatas may have an appearance of innocence,” the release quotes Eli Villarreal, assistant port director and overseer of all commercial operations, “but the aggregate shipment of illegal merchandise on a national scale can undermine the stability of our nation’s economy; a vital element in national security.”
The economy could have gone further under, worse than it is, with that truckload of phony Plutos and counterfeit Mickey Mouses.
What do you think?
Are such illegal activities ruining piñatas good name?
Do you even like piñatas?
Do you have any fun piñata tales or piñata horror stories? Do tell.
leftfield on 06/22/2010 at 8:18 am
I think pinatas are great.  You should always have at least two for a really good party.  Since times are hard and good pinatas will set you back some, I’m going to ask Russell Pearce and Joe Arpaio if they would mind dressing up in colored paper and standing in for pinatas at my next birthday.  That way they would finally be performing an actual public service of some kind.
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Rynski on 06/22/2010 at 8:34 am
i agree, leftfield, pinatas are awesome!
…although i will never again try to make one ever since my middle school pinata project ended up somewhat fiasco-ey.
i am also unsure about your people-as-pinata project – didn’t someone get into a lot of trouble just running around with a fake head of a political/authority figure? probably using a real one as a pinata might bring all kinds of weird charges – like murder or something (haha).
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Carolyn Classen on 06/22/2010 at 8:48 am
“Artistic Tucson” (Charlie Spillar) wrote a great blog about the pinatas in town last fall:
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Rynski on 06/22/2010 at 10:25 am
i thought of charlie’s pinata blog when i was writing this up – it IS a cool one!
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azmouse on 06/22/2010 at 9:41 am
Oh leftfield….pent up anger! LOL Although I wouldn’t mind a Bill and Hill Clinton pinata couple at my next gathering. Maybe 4th of July? Why just have them at Birthday parties, right?!? HAha
Pinatas are cool, but cramming a little kid in one is nauseating. Can you imagine how traumatic that could have been?
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leftfield on 06/22/2010 at 10:17 am
On this we can agree, although for the 4th, it might be more apropos to simply attach them to a very large fireworks rocket, light the fuse and watch the fun.
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Rynski on 06/22/2010 at 10:28 am
aw, c’mon now – the pinata would burn to a crisp before it even got off the ground – hahahhahah
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Rynski on 06/22/2010 at 10:27 am
hhahahah~ glad you’re a pinata fan, too, azmouse –
i also agree that cramming a kid into one is sickening – at least the article from whence the info came mentioned she had no trouble breathing during the ordeal.
why do pinatas always seem to have only crummy candy in them (although that does not, of course, diminish the fun)?
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Hugh Holub on 06/22/2010 at 1:21 pm
Great post….had to run with the security aspect of being saved from the pinata invasion….
now a big problem with pinatas is when you are standing near them and the kid whacks you instead of the pinata….
…and a great line in a police brutality artickle…”they turned the suspect into a human pinata”….
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Rynski on 06/22/2010 at 5:29 pm
thanks, hugh – it IS a good thing were saved from such invasion – whew, close call! hahahahh.
as per your second line in comment, about kid whacking nearby folks rather than pinata – eek! – the same type of tragedy may occur with pin the tail on the donkey, no?
…and yes – ‘human pinata’ is a very colorful way to describe someone ripped and beaten to a pulp!
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jhall on 06/22/2010 at 2:24 pm
Why don’t we just make them here in the US, then we wouldn’t need to allow them to be shipped in from Mexico.  I know a lady who makes beautiful ones here in Tucson and at very reasonable prices.
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Rynski on 06/22/2010 at 5:29 pm
cool you know a great pinata maker here in tucson, jhall – do tell!
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radmax on 06/22/2010 at 6:33 pm
Howdy Rynski! I got a great idea; let’s have a citizenship fiesta! We could put citizenship candies in the pinata!…of course those not favored with the lucky confections would be immediately deported if not legally here. Adios
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Rynski on 06/22/2010 at 7:24 pm
what a great idea, radmax!
it serves to both uphold the law – while having some fun.
please make sure to put some of those butterscotch candies in there – those are delish (and they remind me of my dear departed grandpa p).