By Julie Etra

The first time I saw them, I had no clue what these colorful and seemingly whimsical hanging, decorations were. Perforated placemats? Rectangular doilies?

Papel picado (literally, perforated paper), also known as banderitas (little flags), is the traditional hand-crafted, brightly colored decoration seen throughout Mexico. Papel picado is hung from wooden dowels or string, a bit like laundry on the line, during numerous celebrations and holidays, including patriotic/historical events, coming-of-age parties for girls (quinceañeras), baptisms, Christmas, and Day of the Dead (more about that later).

Amate – Early Mexican “Paper”
Before the arrival of the Spaniards, “paper” was derived from thin bark, called amate (amatl in Nahuatl), and was used primarily to create codices (pre-Hispanic manuscripts) common in the Aztec and Mayan cultures. Painted codices depicted history, customs, land ownership, sacred rituals, and a variety of other painted symbols. Most of the pre-Hispanic codices were destroyed by the Spaniards, although the creation of codices by both indigenous peoples and the Spanish continued.
Amate is derived from various fig trees; several species were used depending on the location. These included Ficus aurea, strangler fig, and Ficus cotinifolia, predominant in the Maya civilization. The oldest known amate paper in Mesoamerica was made in what is now the state of Jalisco from Ficus aurea, and dates to 75 CE. Other species of Ficus were used in what is now Morelos.

Pre-Hispanic peoples also used amate to decorate religious shrines and accompany burials – these decorations are thought to be the early antecedents of papel picado, and its use in Day of the Dead celebrations, although there is mixed evidence on whether their makers used cutouts as part of these decorations.

Today, amate is used not for papel picado, but in bark paintings, an artisanal, handmade traditional art form. Bark paintings depict culture and rural and folkloric life through colorful and vivid landscapes. Scenes portrayed include parties, parades, weddings, cock fights, and bucolic farms. No doubt you have seen these paintings for sale in Huatulco, in the zocalo in La Crucecita or Santa Cruz, and in many shops.
Historical records indicate that the bark from the small Jamaican nettletree (Trema micranthum) was also used to make paper; its use has been recently resurrected by the Otomi people of the altiplano (high plain) of central Mexico. Volcanic rock was and still is used to beat the bark, which is then soaked overnight to soften in preparation for painting or applying embroidery.

Papel Picado of Today
Forty-odd years after conquering Mexico and other areas of Latin America, Spain colonized Asia, ruling the Phillipines from 1565 to 1898. From there it began trade with China; one of its most interesting imports to Spain, and then Mexico, was papel de china, colored Chinese tissue paper, or papel de seda, silk paper from Japan.

Papel picado surged in popularity in the colonial era (19th century) in the state of Puebla. Indigenous workers on large haciendas, who were more or less indentured servants, were forced to buy what they needed in the “company store” on the hacienda. Tissue paper was often a form of payment to the workers, or they bought it themselves. Imported Chinese cut-paper stencils were also popular; Mexican craftspeople used them as the Chinese did, to create designs for painting and woodcarving – and for papel picado.

Papel picado in its current form most likely originated in the town of San Salvador Huixcolotla in the state of Puebla, east and south of Mexico City (Huixcolotla means “place of the curved spine” in Nahuatl). At least four artisans from San Salvador Huixcolotla are known to have developed designs and produced the cut-paper banners; as the Mexican revolution came to an end, papel picado production spread beyond Puebla into next-door Tlaxcala, and then beyond. On September 22, 1998, the state of Puebla published a decree that declared San Salvador Huixcolotla a Cultural Heritage site and the cuna (cradle, or birthplace) of papel picado.

San Salvador Huixcolotla is no longer the only town in Puebla where the papel picado artisans and workshops are located; other Puebla centers of production are San Martín Texmelucan, Zacapoaxtla, and Tehuacán. Indeed, papel picado is made in many Mexican cities and towns, as well as in the southern and southwestern United States.

Making Authentic Papel Picado
While mass-produced papel picado is often cut by machine, particularly when made in the U.S., and some papel picado is now made of plastic film for added durability, there are dedicated artisans still practicing the art of hand-made papel picado. Outstanding papel picado is characterized by the density of the cuts and the elaborate, diverse designs, which commonly include legends, flowers, animals, patron saints, and other religious figures depending on the event or holiday.

Up to 100 hojas (sheets) of tissue paper, or other thin papers such as rice paper, can be stacked up; sometimes they are folded, which makes matching patterns. The stencil pattern (patron) is drawn on sturdy manila paper, derived from hemp, which is placed on the top of the stack of hojas.
The stencil is then cut into the sheets with mallets and chisels (fierritos), which provide greater accuracy and more detail than scissors. Once cut, the sheets are separated and glued to threads, which can reach more than five meters (16.5 ft.) in length; these are called guides, strips or pasacalles (pass over the streets).
For Día de Muertos, papel picado is hung over streets and on the ceilings of shops, in homes and draped over ofrendas (altars commemorating deceased loved one). For this holiday, patterns of skulls and other objects typical of ofrendas, such as food, flowers, and alcohol (particularly tequila) prevail. Of the four elements (fire, water, earth, and air) that appear on the Day of the Dead altars, the banderitas represent air.
Red and green paper dominate Christmas papel picado, while weddings are dominated by white hojas, representing lace, and frequently depicted with doves, hearts, and other appropriate figures.

If you ever put on parties or events that reflect your Mexican experience, you really need to include some banderitas – you can buy a 14-foot plastic “paper full of wishes” banner on Amazon for $7.99. As for the bark paintings, we purchased two a few years ago in Oaxaca City. They are inexpensive and a lot of fun – and, they’re earthquake-proof since they don’t shatter and can be hung safely anywhere.