LITTLE VILLAGE — Omar Dominguez likes to boast that pinatas paid for his high school and college education.
Dominguez's mother and father, Araceli and Abelardo, founded A.M. Mexican Goods — sellers of custom-made pinatas — about 20 years ago. The sales of the popular Mexican party favor stuffed with candy and other goods helped Omar attend and graduate from Brother Rice High School and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
"My education was basically funded by these pinatas we make and craft to this very day," said Omar Dominguez.
Justin Breen says they've made nearly every imaginable pinata:
A.M. Mexican Goods stands for Abarrotera Mercantil, Spanish for "commercial grocer." The store, 2550 W. 26th St. in Little Village, started as such but evolved into a nearly pinata-only venture.
A.M.'s slogan is "if you can think it, we can create it," which Omar said his family fully subscribes to. The business will build any type of pinata, from 7-foot-tall, $200 bride-and-groom pinatas, to run-of-the-mill $5 hand-sized animals. Omar said the average pinata price is $35 to $50.
"My role at A.M. has taught me that a pinata can come to represent so many different things for a wide array of occasions, but one aspect is for certain: We are continuously amazed to see the ideas clients submit and that we turn around and create," Omar said.
Omar said some of the pinatas that have stood out include NSFW-themed creations, one of Mexican poet Frida Kahlo, characters from the movie "Frozen," and what he described as an "animorph pinata" that was part alligator, part bear and covered with glitter. The custom-made editions take several days to make.
Omar said business has grown considerably in 2014, since the store started marketing itself on social media.
"There is something intimate and rewarding to be a part of these parties or events that happen all the time in Chicago," Omar said. "It's a great place to operate in, and we are glad to be invited to the occasion."
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