Work, Cut Paper

Object number2006.38.4

Date2006

MediumPaper; String

Credit LineGift of St. Hyacinth Church

DescriptionPapel picado. White tissue paper cut-out, with Spanish text across top. Below this is an image of a basilica with three Latin crosses. White string through the top for hanging.Dimensions13.75 x 18.5 in. (34.9 x 47 cm)
InscriptionsTop has Spanish text "NUESTRA BODA"; translation: "Our Wedding".
Historical NotesCut-paper decoration, known in Spanish as papel picado, used at the wedding of Mexican immigrants Angel Patiño Garcia and Maria Alberto Reyes on January 7, 2006, at St. Hyacinth Church, Pittsburgh, PA. The wedding service was conducted by Father Dan Vallecorsa, the head of the Hispanic Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. Located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, St. Hyacinth has transformed from its origins as a Polish parish into a parish serving the needs of the city’s growing Mexican immigrant community. The church is the seat of the Hispanic Diocese of Pittsburgh. To create papal picado, the paper cutout patterns are laid on fifty sheets of tissue paper, cut with a hammer and chisel, and then strung together as decoration for events. White is normally used for weddings. These paper decorations are a Mexican tradition.Label TextThese sheets of papel picado – decorative, cut tissue paper from Mexico – were used to adorn the parish hall for the wedding of Maria Alberto Reyes and Angel Patiño Garcia. Immigrants from Mexico, Reyes and Garcia were married on January 7, 2006, at Saint Hyacinth Church in the Oakland Neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The Saint Hyacinth/Saint Regis Parish is the seat of the Hispanic Diocese of Pittsburgh. The words on the papel picado translate to “Our Wedding” and “Long Live the Newlyweds".

Related person Angel Patiño Garcia

Related person Maria Alberto Reyes

Related institution St. Hyacinth Church

Related person Father Dan Vallecorsa

Subjects