Papel picado

The designs are commonly cut from as many as 40-50 colored tissue papers stacked together and using a guide or template, a small mallet, and chisels, creating as many as fifty banners at a time.

Papel picados are commonly displayed for both secular and religious occasions, such as Easter, Christmas, the Day of the Dead, as well as during weddings, quinceañeras, baptisms, and christenings.

[1] Near the middle of the nineteenth century, Mexican people first encountered tissue paper at hacienda stores and adapted it to the craft.

San Salvador Huixcolotla is a municipality in the Mexican state of Puebla and is considered the birthplace of papel picado.

Over time, the tool used to make papel picado has changed from scissors to chisels because of the greater precision and detailing they allow.

[2] Using a small mallet and chisels with variously shaped tips, the artist then cuts out pieces of the paper from the stack.

[4] One of the most recognizable types of papel picados are those hung during the Mexican holiday Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead, 1 November).

Papel Picados used in Dia de Muertos are often cut with patterns of skulls and strung around altars (ofrendas).

[5] It is believed that if someone wanted to improve a relationship, better their crops, or receive assistance in a particular area of their life, they would go to the shaman (someone thought to have contact with the spirits[9]) who would cut a figure into a papel picado themed to the person's specific need, which would help their situation.