{"id":5063720,"date":"2025-01-13T19:47:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-13T19:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/illatinonews.com\/?p=5063720"},"modified":"2025-01-13T19:47:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-13T19:47:00","slug":"one-stop-party-shop-dulceria-la-fiesta-inc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/2025\/01\/13\/one-stop-party-shop-dulceria-la-fiesta-inc\/","title":{"rendered":"One Stop Party Shop: Dulcer\u00eda La Fiesta Inc."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CHICAGO – Reyna Gonzalez, 49, never considered herself an artist. However, inside her Rogers Park store, Dulcer\u00eda La Fiesta Inc<\/a>., Gonzalez creates specialty, handmade pi\u00f1atas daily.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the store, there are pi\u00f1atas galore. Characters (like Barbie, Buzz Lightyear, Willie the Wildcat, and more) hang from the ceiling. Gonzalez can transform any character, mascot, or person into a pi\u00f1ata. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Reyna Gonzalez, Owner of Dulcer\u00eda La Fiesta Inc.
Photos Courtesy: Nicole Markus <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe always say, if you don\u2019t find what you are looking for here, just let us know, and we\u2019ll create it for you with that theme,\u201d Gonzalez said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gonzalez bought Dulcer\u00eda La Fiesta Inc. in 2018 with the goal of selling Mexican candies, party supplies, and of course, pi\u00f1atas. There was another party store in the building before she bought the space, which made the transition a little easier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are always birthdays, always parties,\u201d she said. \u201cI was like, let\u2019s just try it.  I didn\u2019t think about it, I quit my job, and then we bought the business.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gonzalez was born in Guerrero, Mexico, but her family moved to Rogers Park when she was one year old. Although she does not know the details of her parents’ immigration, she knows that it was a difficult experience for them. Her father was the first to arrive in the city, followed by Gonzalez, her mother, and siblings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was five kids for a mom by herself,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cWhen my dad asked her to come, my mom said, \u2018I\u2019m not leaving without my kids.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her mother worked in a car parts factory, and her father at a chocolatier. She said they didn\u2019t have much money but occasionally received a pi\u00f1ata to celebrate their birthdays. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think because we were low income, it was more of a luxury to get a pi\u00f1ata,\u201d she said. \u201cYou were lucky if you even got celebrated.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it is easy to find star-shaped pi\u00f1atas in party store chains like Party City, Gonzalez makes her pi\u00f1atas based on customer requests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gonzalez said, \u201cInstead of us buying, en masse, the same generic pi\u00f1atas that you see everywhere, I said, \u2018Why don\u2019t I teach myself how to do them?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gonzalez said one client drove five hours simply for a specialized pi\u00f1ata design after seeing the store\u2019s Instagram account. Gonzalez hopes to expand her social media presence to access a broader customer base. She has even considered closing her brick-and-mortar location and filling orders online instead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank God for our custom pi\u00f1atas,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is what has taken us to different places. It has landed us on TV! I\u2019m still just in shock.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Cover Photo: Reyna Gonzalez, Owner of Dulcer\u00eda La Fiesta Inc. Photos Courtesy: Nicole Markus<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Evelyn Mulchrone<\/strong> is a senior in the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Originally from Chicago\u2019s South Loop, she has written for The Daily Northwestern and Menominee Nation News. Outside of her journalism pursuits, Evelyn studies theater and marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher\u2019s Notes:\u00a0<\/strong>This story, among others, was produced by undergraduate students in the bilingual reporting class at Northwestern University\u2019s Medill School of Journalism, Media & Integrated Marketing Communications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Led by Prof. Mei-Ling Hopgood, the class aims to help journalism students practice sensitive and ethical engagement and reporting with multicultural communities in Spanish and English. Students visited the Illinois Chamber of Commerce Business Expo at Navy Pier last fall and interviewed local business owners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe always say, if you don\u2019t find what you are looking for here, just let us know, and we\u2019ll create 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