“A piñata is a container often made of papier-mâché, pottery, or cloth; it is decorated, and filled with small toys or candy, or both, and then broken as part of a ceremony or celebration. Piñatas are commonly associated with Mexico. The idea of breaking a container filled with treats came to Europe in the 14th century, where the name, from the Italian pignatta, was introduced. The Spanish brought the European tradition to Mexico, although there were similar traditions in Mesoamerica. The Aztecs had a similar tradition to honor the birthday of the god Huitzilopochtli in mid December. According to local records, the Mexican piñata tradition began in the town of Acolman, just north of Mexico City, where piñatas were introduced for catechism purposes as well as to co-opt the Huitzilopochtli ceremony. Today, the piñata is still part of Mexican culture, the cultures of other countries in Latin America, as well as the United States, but it has mostly lost its religious character”. – Wikipedia

In this January 23, 2015 photo, Melesio Vicente Flores carries piñatas designed to look like Disney princesses Elsa and Sofia, to his truck as he prepares a delivery to market vendors, at his home in the Iztapalapa neighborhood of Mexico City. Despite some past problems with copyright infringement crackdowns, piñata makers say they have to make the characters their clients want. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

In this January 23, 2015 photo, Guillermo Luna Martinez, 36, carries freshly painted piñatas representing Disney's Frozen snowman character Olaf downstairs to where his wife Elvia Vicente Albarran will use paper to craft the character's eyes, teeth, and distinctive tuft of hair, at the family's workshop in the Iztapalapa neighborhood of Mexico City. Though Luna and his wife have chosen to work in the family business, they plan to let their children, Guillermo, 10, and Melissa, 9, decide for themselves. “Who knows if the business will last forever”, said Luna, “I'd prefer that they study and get a career, for them to have a better future”. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

In this January 23, 2015 photo, piñatas in various stages of preparation dry on the rooftop terrace of craftsman Melesio Vicente Flores and his family, in the Iztapalapa neighborhood of Mexico City. After drying in the sun, the piñatas are brought inside to be painted. It takes about two days to complete a piñata during the dry season, twice as long during the rains. With four people working, the family is able to make 40 to 60 piñatas a week. “You have to hang on in good times and bad”, said Vicente. “As for me, I like this work a lot. Really, I found satisfaction. I can't complain”. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

In this January 20, 2015 photo, Guillermo Luna Martinez smoothes strips of newspaper moistened with a glue made from wheat flour onto piñata molds for creating structured piñatas, which involve separate pieces that need to be assembled, on the rooftop of his in-laws' family workshop in the Iztapalapa neighborhood of Mexico City. Luna said an advantage of working with his family is that he can spend more time with his wife and children. But, he said, the job doesn't have the guaranteed paycheck that working for a company would. “Here if we don't work, we don't earn”, he said. “As long as we work very hard, there is enough to get by, to support ourselves”. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

In this January 23, 2015 photo, a piñata designed to resemble Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto is displayed with other piñatas representing popular children's characters, at a La Merced market stall run by Gerardo Moreno Alejo and his wife Edith. Piñata vendors keep the craftsmen apprised of the market. Moreno says that university students requested piñatas of Pena Nieto late last year amid anger over the disappearance of 43 students from a rural teachers college. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

In this January 20, 2015 photo, Cecilia Albarran Gonzalez, 54, smoothes layers of papier-mache onto the back of a horse piñata, in her home in the Iztapalapa neighborhood of Mexico City. Albarran and her husband Melesio Vicente Flores have crafted the papier-mache figures for 25 years in their four-story house. “It's hard work and there are lots of things to do”, says Albarran, “ so there is no chance of getting bored. Time flies”. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

In this January 23, 2015 photo, Jasmin Membrillo, center, accompanied by her daughter Cinthya Jasmin, picks out a piñata representing Disney's Frozen snowman character Olaf, for an upcoming birthday party, at La Merced market in Mexico City. Market vendor Gerardo Moreno Alejo and his wife Edith, at left, sell piñatas and avocados from their stall in La Merced, one of Mexico City's largest markets. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

In this January 20, 2015 photo, Cecilia Albarran Gonzalez, 54, lifts a freshly papier-mached piñata in the form of My Little Pony, to carry it outside to dry, at her family's home workshop in the Iztapalapa neighborhood of Mexico City. Competition from craftsmen using lower quality materials and techniques has cut their sales in half. But Albarran said some people still choose to buy their higher priced “artistic” piñatas. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

In this January 20, 2015 photo, Melesio Vicente Flores, 59, attaches a head to a structured piñata that when assembled and painted will resemble a Disney princess, in his family's workshop in the Iztapalapa neighborhood of Mexico City. Flores and his wife Cecilia Albarran Gonzalez have crafted the papier-mache figures for 25 years in their four-story house. While competition drives down prices, the cost of primary materials, such as newspapers, wheat flour and lard, has been rising. “It once supported us more or less. Today not any more”, he said. “There is no left over”. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

In this January 23, 2015 photo, Veronica Macias, right, accompanied by her son Yosef Alejandro Cruz, picks out a piñata resembling a pole dancing stripper for her nephew's 17th birthday party, at La Merced market in Mexico City. “Before, (piñatas) were just for Christmas parties”, said piñata maker Cecilia Albarran Gonzalez. “Now, at any party there is a piñata”. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

In this Friday, January 23, 2015 photo, Guillermo Luna Martinez paints the first layer of a piñata that will represent Captain America, at his in-laws' workshop in the Iztapalapa neighborhood of Mexico City. Luna hadn't intend to become a professional piñata maker when he came looking for work as a teenager about 17 years ago. “I only came to work for a while, nothing more, to get together some money”. But he quickly fell for the daughter of his employer. “Everything came together. I had money, I had a girlfriend, I had practically my whole life sorted out”. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

In this January 20, 2015 photo, a piñata resembling Sleeping Beauty stands among other partially finished piñatas, inside the workshop of Melesio Vicente Flores and his wife Cecilia Albarran Gonzalez, in the Iztapalapa neighborhood of Mexico City. Piñata vendors keep the craftsmen apprised of the market. Perennial favorites among the different figures include Spiderman, Mickey Mouse and Buzz Lightyear. Characters from the Disney hit “Frozen” currently appear to be top sellers in local markets, while Albarran says “princesses never go out of fashion”. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)