What is "pinata"

1887, from Mexican Spanish piñata, in Spanish literally "jug, pot," ultimately from Latin pinea "pine cone," from pinus (see pine (n.)).

n. (context Latin American culture English) A doll or other decorated container that is filled with candy and hit with a hammer or a stick by blindfolded children during birthday parties or other celebrations until the candy falls out.

n. plaything consisting of a container filled with toys and candy; suspended from a height for blindfolded children to break with sticks

A piñata ( , ) is a container often made of papier-mâché, pottery, or cloth; it is decorated, and filled with small toys or candy, or both, and then broken as part of a ceremony or celebration. Piñatas are commonly associated with Mexico. The idea of breaking a container filled with treats came to Europe in the 14th century, where the name, from the Italian pignatta, was introduced. The Spanish brought the European tradition to Mexico, although there were similar traditions in Mesoamerica, such as the Aztecs' honoring the birthday of the god Huitzilopochtli in mid December. According to local records, the Mexican piñata tradition began in the town of Acolman, just north of Mexico City, where piñatas were introduced for catechism purposes as well as to co-opt the Huitzilopochtli ceremony. Today, the piñata is still part of Mexican culture, the cultures of other countries in Latin America, as well as the United States, but it has mostly lost its religious character.

Piñata is an animated short film, produced by Act3animation in Australia, released in 2005. It received funding from the Australian Film Commission. It has screened at various festivals around the world, including the Annecy International Animation Festival and SIGGRAPH, both in 2005, and for the first time in Australia on free-to-air television on February 2007 on ABC2's short film series Short & Curly.

Piñata is the second full-length album of Mexican Institute of Sound and has samples of Mexican and Latin American folk music.

A piñata is a brightly colored papier-mâché, cardboard, or clay container, originating from Mexico.

Piñata may also refer to:

• Piñata: Survival Island or Demon Island, a 2002 horror film
• Piñata (animated film), a 2005 animated short film
• Piñata (Freddie Gibbs and Madlib album)
• Piñata (Mexican Institute of Sound album)
• "Piñata", a song by Chevelle from Hats Off to the Bull
• Piñata Records, an independent record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Piñata is the first collaborative studio album by Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs and California hip hop musician Madlib. The album was released on March 18, 2014, under Madlib Invazion. Entirely produced by Madlib, the 17-track LP features contributions from Raekwon, Earl Sweatshirt, Danny Brown, Domo Genesis, Scarface, BJ the Chicago Kid, Ab-Soul, Casey Veggies, Meechy Darko, Mac Miller and more. The album was recorded by Josh "The Goon" Fadem and Glenn "G-Wiz" Browder between January 2011 and October 2013. It was mixed and mastered by Dave Cooley for Elysian Masters, except for "Shame" and "Terrorist", mixed by Kelly Hibbert.

The album was preceded by three EPs including Thuggin' (2011), Shame (2012) and Deeper (2013). The album received widespread acclaim from critics, including an 82 score based on 19 reviews at Metacritic. It debuted at number 39 on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 9,000 copies in the United States.