"Maria Mercedes Canul Tzul, known as Dona Mechita, 96, is the most famous pinata maker in the state of Yucatan, Mexico. Recognised for her dedication and for creating peculiar figures, she is now preparing pinatas that will serve as the centrepieces for New Year celebrations. Dona Mechita has been making pinatas for 40 years, an activity that is a hobby but also her livelihood. Her creations have garnered such attention that some are even purchased to be shipped abroad. Footage recorded on Monday shows some of Mechita's creations in the living room of her home in Merida, the capital of Yucatan. Among them is a turkey-shaped pinata, the most popular of her pieces at Christmas, as well as one shaped like an old man, a symbolic figure in Mexico that represents the year that is ending. "These pinatas that I make, I make them with love. Because that is how I do it. I like to work by hand, not with machines," said Mechita, noting that she taught herself the techniques needed to make her signature pinatas. "Those moulds that this little old man [elderly pinata] has - nobody taught me how to make them, I learned all by myself. The reindeer - nobody taught me. Nobody taught me how I am going to decorate them. All by myself," she explained. Mechita sells turkey and reindeer pinata for 300 pesos ($17), while the smaller reindeer are offered at 250 ($14). Due to her age and the fact that she cannot craft her wares at the same pace she once could, the artisan now only makes around 60 pieces a year. Her legacy will continue through her daughters, who have learned the trade and are expected to continue making pinatas, helping her art and traditional craft to endure."