Piñatería Ramírez

In Mexico, it’s common to find characters from Disney movies and other cartoons represented in traditional crafts like alebrijes and piñatas. But in the northern border city of Reynosa, Piñatería Ramírez has taken things a step further with piñatas that are inspired by internet culture and often irreverent.

The piñatería was started in the 1980s by Dionicia Ramírez and her husband, a party magician known by the stage name Mago Dalton. The workshop mostly specialized in traditional designs and popular cartoon characters until their son, Dalton Jr., made his first piñata at the age of 15: a pole dancer.

Aided by a strong social media presence handled by his siblings, Dalton Jr.’s piñatas quickly gained popularity among adults for their innovative depictions of memes and viral internet sensations. The workshop maintains an active Facebook page, where the posts are often irreverent and politically-minded.

With this in mind, it’s not surprising that Ramirez has piñatafied real life figures like Donald Trump and the candidates of the 2018 Mexican presidential election. Some of the other celebrities with papier mache avatars have been supporters of the workshop—the Mexican pop singer Thalía posed with her piñata likeness at her birthday party.

Along with their internet-inspired designs, Piñatería Ramírez continues to make many of the popular designs common in Mexico. But their innovative use of memes and viral characters has made them a trendsetter for modern uses of traditional craftwork.