CHICAGO – Reyna Gonzalez, 49, by no means thought of herself an artist. Nonetheless, inside her Rogers Park retailer, Dulcería La Fiesta Inc., Gonzalez creates specialty, handmade piñatas day by day.
All through the shop, there are piñatas galore. Characters (like Barbie, Buzz Lightyear, Willie the Wildcat, and extra) cling from the ceiling. Gonzalez can remodel any character, mascot, or particular person right into a piñata.
Pictures Courtesy: Nicole Markus
“We at all times say, in case you don’t discover what you might be searching for right here, simply tell us, and we’ll create it for you with that theme,” Gonzalez stated.
Gonzalez purchased Dulcería La Fiesta Inc. in 2018 with the purpose of promoting Mexican candies, social gathering provides, and naturally, piñatas. There was one other social gathering retailer within the constructing earlier than she purchased the area, which made the transition a bit simpler.
“There are at all times birthdays, at all times events,” she stated. “I used to be like, let’s simply attempt it. I didn’t give it some thought, I stop my job, after which we purchased the enterprise.”
Gonzalez was born in Guerrero, Mexico, however her household moved to Rogers Park when she was one yr outdated. Though she doesn’t know the small print of her dad and mom’ immigration, she is aware of that it was a tough expertise for them. Her father was the primary to reach within the metropolis, adopted by Gonzalez, her mom, and siblings.
“It was 5 children for a mother by herself,” Gonzalez stated. “When my dad requested her to return, my mother stated, ‘I’m not leaving with out my children.’”
Her mom labored in a automobile components manufacturing unit, and her father at a chocolatier. She stated they didn’t have a lot cash however sometimes obtained a piñata to have a good time their birthdays.
“I feel as a result of we have been low revenue, it was extra of a luxurious to get a piñata,” she stated. “You have been fortunate in case you even obtained celebrated.”
Though it’s simple to search out star-shaped piñatas in social gathering retailer chains like Celebration Metropolis, Gonzalez makes her piñatas based mostly on buyer requests.
Gonzalez stated, “As an alternative of us shopping for, en masse, the identical generic piñatas that you simply see all over the place, I stated, ‘Why don’t I educate myself the best way to do them?’”
Gonzalez stated one shopper drove 5 hours merely for a specialised piñata design after seeing the shop’s Instagram account. Gonzalez hopes to develop her social media presence to entry a broader buyer base. She has even thought of closing her brick-and-mortar location and filling orders on-line as an alternative.
“Thank God for our customized piñatas,” she stated. “It’s what has taken us to completely different locations. It has landed us on TV! I’m nonetheless simply in shock.”
Cowl Picture: Reyna Gonzalez, Proprietor of Dulcería La Fiesta Inc. Pictures Courtesy: Nicole Markus
Evelyn Mulchrone is a senior within the Medill Faculty of Journalism at Northwestern College. Initially from Chicago’s South Loop, she has written for The Every day Northwestern and Menominee Nation Information. Outdoors of her journalism pursuits, Evelyn research theater and advertising and marketing.
Writer’s Notes: This story, amongst others, was produced by undergraduate college students within the bilingual reporting class at Northwestern College’s Medill Faculty of Journalism, Media & Built-in Advertising and marketing Communications.
Led by Prof. Mei-Ling Hopgood, the category goals to assist journalism college students observe delicate and moral engagement and reporting with multicultural communities in Spanish and English. College students visited the Illinois Chamber of Commerce Enterprise Expo at Navy Pier final fall and interviewed native enterprise house owners.
