Each year, the celebration tests the creativity of piñata makers and sparks controversy over environmental damage due to the amount of smoke and toxic substances released.
The so-called ritual of cleansing the mind and home through fire seeks to eliminate evil, represented by the figure with a tail and trident, as a prelude to the Christmas holiday and an omen of a clean entry into the New Year.
For this big day, the piñateras sell a variety of “little devils” whose preparation includes black and red tissue paper along with the number 7 on the chest.
Tonight, however, not only were the typical figures succumbed to the flames, but several officers at neighborhood family gatherings were “burned” at the foot of the bonfires as a sign of social discontent.
Other piñatas showed Chapín’s ingenuity by rejecting the current judicial impunity, increasing the prices of the basic basket and fuel.
Over time, the celebration of December 7th has been stripped of its purely religious meaning and is now more responsive to cleansing and removing evil spirits from homes, or clearing away the old and making way for the new, a perfect metaphor to synthesize that Desire of the various social organizations that demand profound changes.
But the controversy also revolves around “the devil’s burning,” because sometimes instead of piñatas, bonfires are made with whatever useless things come out of the houses, like books and old papers, mattresses, nylon and plastic, polluting the air without the big fuss forgetting fireworks announcing the celebration at exactly 06:00 local time.
Nevertheless, under great surveillance by the municipal authorities, the fire brigade, the Red Cross and the police, the Guatemalans do not overlook the date, especially this year 2022, when the Covid-19 took a breather and the families came together again to celebrate the ceremony with their various characteristics to be enjoyed across the country.
jha/mmc