Woman Helps Children 'Beat the Heck' out of Coronavirus

 

When the coronavirus pandemic began last year, Carolina Tolladay Vidal's party business suffered immediately. People cancelled parties and no one was buying pinatas from her business in the American state of Alaska.

A pinata is a container usually filled with small treats -- like candies, fruits, or gifts. It is hung up at parties or celebrations. A person, likely a child, with eyes covered would hit a pinata with a stick. And the objects inside would fall to the ground for everyone.

Tolladay Vidal told Alaska Public Media recently that many of her projects were moved to other dates. "Many," she added, "were canceled."

She had to find new ideas to bring back her business. So, Tolladay Vidal decided¹ to make large, red pinatas shaped like the coronavirus.

After she shared an image of her handmade coronavirus pinata on social media, she said the orders started pouring in.

She explained why so many people want to beat up a coronavirus-shaped pinata. "I think you really smash² them and break them and hit them with meaning," she said, "because it has been tough for everybody."

Rose Consenstein, age 8, agrees. She said, with her eyes covered, she could not see it. But that did not stop her from "beating the heck" out of a coronavirus pinata at her birthday party.

Tolladay Vidal started her pinata business about four years ago. One of her daughters wanted a pinata shaped like "Cloud Guy," a character from the movie Trolls.

She said she could not find one in stores or online. So, she said, ‘Well, you know, it shouldn't be so hard to make up a pinata."

Tolladay Vidal grew up in Mexico and spent years creating pinatas with her family. She said, "I have a memory of my grandma setting³ up all the grandchildren and helping⁴ her make a couple star pinatas with the seven points."

Kate Consenstein is Rose's mother. She said the coronavirus pinatas were perfect for her daughter's outdoor, socially distanced birthday party.

"Coronavirus," she said, "is the perfect villain⁵ for children." Children can "understand that this is the thing we want to defeat. There was so much cheering," she said, "when it exploded."

Words in This Story

candy –n. a sweet food made with sugar or chocolate

stick –n. a long thin piece of wood

smash –v. to hit (something) violently and very hard

tough –adj. very difficult to do or deal with

heck –informal noun⁶ : used as a more polite form of "hell⁷"

character –n. a person in a story, play, or movie

grandma –informal noun : the mother of one's father or mother

couple –n. two persons married, engaged, or otherwise romantically paired

outdoor –adj. done, used, or located outside a building

villain –n. a character in a story, movie, etc., who does bad things

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 smash   

v.粉碎，打碎；n.轰动的演出，巨大的成功

参考例句：

• We heard the smash of plates breaking in the kitchen.我们听到厨房里盘子破碎的声音。
• The gifted author wrote one smash after another.这个天才作家创作了一篇又一篇轰动一时的作品。

3 setting   

n.背景

参考例句：

• The play has its setting in Vienna.该剧以维也纳为背景。
• Where and when a story takes place is called the setting.故事发生的地点和时间称为故事背景。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

6 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

7 hell   

n.地狱，阴间；用以咒骂或表示愤怒，不满

参考例句：

• It's a hell of a hike from Sydney to Perth.从悉尼到珀斯的徒步旅行简直苦死了。
• The boss really gave me hell today.老板今天着实数落了我一通。