A wooden club covered in pink and white crepe paper slams against a pink princess piñata that dangles above a backyard birthday party. All seems to be going according to custom until the rope snaps causing the piñata to fall and come vengefully to life. Injured and rapt with her newfound freedom, she runs away.
In Dulce Dolor, actress Tessa Ia is literally covered head to toe in crepe paper in order to create the illusion of an anthropomorphized piñata. According to director, Moisés Aisemberg, each strip of paper was individually glued to her face, a process that would take about four hours. The result is convincing as we indulge in the adventures of her escape. Perhaps the most interesting part of the story, not to mention creepy, is witnessing the piñata’s sexual awakening. Withering away after a fallen rainstorm, a sanitation worker rescues her from a pile of garbage, mends her and falls in love with her. However, his caresses and gentle romances are not enough for a being whose pleasure comes from being subjected to pain.
The concept for the film came to Aisemberg when contemplating what a piñata would say during psychoanalysis. The short advocates for sexual honesty and self-acceptance: recognizing our desires no matter how perverse they may seem, and even if they lead to our own destruction. Aisemberg is co-founder of the Mexican production company La Gran Royal, which is behind viral video hits such as Chip Torres’ Te voy a dar un byte, and a music video starring two horny, sunburnt fresas called Acapulco Dreamers.
