There will always be birthdays, holidays and countless other excuses to release some steam and have a good time. Those situations call for parties, parties call piñatas and ABC Party HQ is coming in clutch once again with a piñata for our times.
The family-owned Oak Cliff party supply store recently shared a custom piñata depicting an ICE agent wearing military gear, dark sunglasses and an unsuspecting smirk. ICE raids and mass deportations have struck fear into communities across the country, including right here in Oak Cliff. Recently, Dallasites have taken to the streets to protest on several occasions, including as part of the nationwide No Kings protests, but sometimes relief is more cathartic when you can smash an inanimate object with a stick.
(As it currently stands, we’re pretty sure a piñata counts as a peaceful protest protected under the First Amendment, but don’t quote us on that. It’s getting dicey out here.)
This is far from ABC Party HQ’s first foray into piñata-as-protest-art. The store has previously achieved viral attention and acclaim for its political piñatas, including Ted Cruz's infamous Cancun trip look, Bernie Sanders, the literal coronavirus and, most recently, Elon Musk. Donald Trump is unsurprisingly a big ticket item and accounts for more than 3,000 units sold in the last decade.
That may seem like an unfathomable amount of Trump-related carnage (at least from an arts and crafts perspective) at the hands of children and adults seeking political catharsis, but the papier-mache figures have apparently come to transcend their original purpose.
“I have no doubt in my mind that some people have them in their offices,” owner Carlos de la Fuente told the Observer in March. “It’s a piece of art that people talk about.”
Time will tell if the ICE piñata achieves the same viral success as its predecessors. Just in case, though, we would advise officers in the area to steer clear of any birthday parties, lest the stick swingers get confused.
