Not just candy and piñatas  

By Jazmine Heredia

When planning a party one of the things that often feels like a staple is a piñata. Whether it's a children's party, a family gathering, and even some weddings. A party is normally only completed after picking out the perfect piñata. 

Since 1986 Dulceria Mi Carnaval has been making and selling custom piñatas. Previously owned by a family member, dulceria mi carnaval was bought by Jose Velasquez in 1992, he and his wife Cynthia Velasquez have been running the shop ever since.

Taking over the business was an extremely new endeavor for both of them. Velasquez had no prior sales experience. They decided to go for it in order to keep the business that Velasquez’s sister had started growing. 

Velasquez: Well he didn't originally open it my sister in law opened it, she opened it in 1986 and then she sold it to him in 1992 she asked him if was interested in buying it because she couldn't handle it anymore because she had a growing family and it was just too much for her. he was just out of the army and wasn't sure what he wanted to do either so she you know a position came up she's like i wanna sell it to family.I was actually here with him the first day he opened i met him in 91 and i think we were excited kind of scared at first because we didn't know what we were getting into i was just his girlfriend at the time he had no idea about retail or being a salesman or whatever so we kinda decided to go for it and do it

Like many small businesses not everything is smooth sailing. One of the main challenges  that affected small businesses was covid. No one, not even big corporations, knew how to deal with what was happening or how to “work around” it. 

Not knowing whether they could stay open was a struggle considering the shop was the only way they were able to pay their bills. When they found out they could stay open it was a relief but, despite staying open people weren't buying like before. People couldn't have parties so the shop was getting little to no business. 

Velasquez: When covid hit we never experienced that before we didnt know what was gonna happen the store is our main money maker thew store is how we pay our bills how we pay our rent so it was really scary it was a struggle we didn't know if we could even stay open and when we could stay open it was just really hard nobody was coming in because nobody could have parties.

Like with any struggle they were able to bounce back with the help and support of the community. 

Since being a part of San Jose since 1986 the community was not going to let them leave. Even during covid the community was throwing small parties and get togethers with their family in order to have an excuse to grab a piñata and help out the shop. Thanks to that the shop was able to stay open and bounce back from covid. 

Covid wasn't the only thing to affect the shop. As the years went on and life got more expensive the minimum wage went up as well. The owners couldn't keep up with the constant raises so in the end they came to the hard conclusion to let go of all their employees and continue running the shop as just a two-person crew. 

Velasquez: The thing is that you know we understand that minimum wage needs to go up san jose is probably one of if not the most expensive city to live in, in all of the country so i get it i get minimum wage goes up and it has to because people can't live off of minimum wage or just one job but minimum wage the higher it goes the harder it is for small businesses for a small business it's really tough for me to keep on somebody to work full time and pay them

Despite it being hard on them they were able to run the shop and still have time for themselves. Working 7 days a week can be hard on them so they make sure they are taking time off for themselves when needed. 

Seeing their hard work pay off has been the best part about running their shop. One of their biggest accomplishments has been winning a small business award from the district. 

Velasquez: This last year we won the 2023 small business award for our district. I think that was it's like finally all our hard work for the last year is like it's finally coming through and people are recognising us now. 

Seeing the reactions people have when they pick up their piñatas is one of their favorite parts of the job. Knowing that their hard work was able to put a smile on someone's face can make all the time and stress worth it. Especially when it comes to custom orders there's nothing better than knowing you made someone's vision a reality.