His Piñatas Are a Hit, but They’re Not Made for Destruction

Originally from Beeville, Texas, Roberto Benavidez, 53, moved to Los Angeles at age 28, working a corporate job to pay the bills while pursuing his passion for sculpture.

People ask what’s inside my piñatas, but I never say. I prefer letting them imagine what they want. It remains a mystery unless the piñata is broken.

When I began making these artworks at 36, my first thought was, What kind of piñata would I want for my birthday? I pictured a Hieronymus Bosch–inspired one, because the painter’s creatures are so crazy and fun. His odd birds had seeped into my imagination when I was a kid, leafing through encyclopedias. I came across The Garden of Earthly Delights, and the medieval aesthetic appealed to me, being raised Catholic.

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After my Bosch birds went semi-viral on Facebook, people began reaching out, wanting me to make them birds from nature. I resisted at first, but creating piñata birds was more fulfilling than a corporate job, which I’d done for 14 years. So I made cardinals, robins and kingfishers.

I was drawn to the medium because it’s affordable. When I started this work, I pulled all my materials from the pantry and the recycling bin: cereal boxes, newspaper, flour. Other benefits of papier-mâché are that it’s nontoxic and it’s not wasteful. In fact, you’re upcycling. You’re taking trash and turning it into something people can appreciate.

I see my art expanding the notions of what piñatas can be and where they belong. In the U.S., we expect Mexican food and crafts to be inexpensive. There’s a place for cheap tacos and disposable piñatas. But there’s room for fine-art piñatas, too.

Benavidez appreciates the affordability of his medium. “When I started this work, I pulled all my materials from the pantry and the recycling bin: cereal boxes, newspaper, flour.”

Gregg Segal

The Mexican piñata arose from a blending of two similar traditions: a Chinese one, brought to Europe by Marco Polo in the 13th century, and a Mesoamerican one, co-opted by European missionaries centuries later. Since my own heritage is a mix of Mexican and European, the multicultural background of the piñata suits me.

I follow my own path, and I’ve learned not to worry about fitting in. You don’t have to be A or B. You can be A and B.