Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrations at Circle of Care

This year, to celebrate and acknowledge Hispanic Heritage Month, Circle of Care invited Danielle Crigler, from the Museum of Early Trades and Crafts to lead our staff in making a Guatemalan Worry Dolls, also known as trouble dolls, or muñeca quita-pena in Spanish. According to Guatemalan legend, children tell their worries to the Worry Dolls, placing them under their pillow when they go to bed at night. By morning, the dolls have gifted them with the wisdom and knowledge to eliminate their worries.

The story of the Worry Doll is a local Mayan legend. The origin of the Muñeca quitapena refers to a Mayan princess named Ixmucane. The princes received a special gift from the sun god that allowed her to solve any problem a human could worry about. The worry doll represents the princess and her wisdom.

After our workshop, our staff enjoyed the visit of the Cubano Xpress food truck, that offered an array of traditional Cuban dishes for our staff.