piata

The piata is a game in which a succession of blindfolded, stick-wielding children try to break a bright candy-and-toy-filled container (generally suspended on a rope from a tree branch or ceiling). It has been used for hundreds of years to celebrate special occasions such as birthdays and Christmas. Spanish colonizers are thought to have brought the piata to Mexico, then the tradition went on to the Italians. According to legend, Marco Polo introduced the piata to the Italians after discovering it in the Orient. Piata has come to mean the container itself. Piatas are made from easily-breakable materials, such as straw, papier-mch, or clay; traditionally they were made in the shape of human or animal figures (often a donkey) but, in recent times, vehicles, cartoon characters, or corporate mascots have gained in popularity. The word was also used for the process whereby Nicaragua's former Sandinista leaders held on to property they had nationalized while in power. The successor government accepted these appropriations. In Mexico, the piata is traditionally shaped like a six-pointed star. It represents the devil; hitting it with the stick makes him let go of the good things he has taken hold of. While hitting the piata the following rhyme is sung:

Dale, dale, dale,

No pierdas el tino

Porque si lo perds

pierdes el camino.

Ya le diste una,

ya le diste dos,

ya le diste tres

y tu tiempo se acab!

which translates as:

Hit it, hit it, hit it

Don't lose your aim

Because if you lose it