How the game of lotería became a staple of Mexican culture.
By Danielle Mages Amato
Lotería is a traditional game of chance sometimes called “Mexican bingo.” Instead of numbers and letters, lotería cards feature brightly colored images of objects and people like el sol (the sun), el catrín (the dandy), and el gallo (the rooster). To play, the announcer draws a picture from the deck and calls out the name of the image. The announcer may also give clues or improvise verses that describe the image, leading the players to guess. The players then place a bean, rock, or other marker on the corresponding picture on their tabla (a board containing 16 images in a four-by-four grid).
The game has a long and well-traveled history. It originated in Italy, moved to Spain, and finally made its way to Mexico in the 1700s. The iconic lotería images most people know today date from 1887, when artist Don Clemente Jacques mass-produced the cards for sale in Mexico. Jacques’s manufacturing plant also packaged canned food for military rations, and they included lotería games for soldiers to play, which helped the popular spread of the game across the country. It has since become a cultural tradition for Latinos across the Americas.
In recent years, artists have come to lotería anew to reimagine and recreate its iconic images, not only for entertainment, but also to acknowledge the stereotypes and dated views of gender, identity, and class that some of its traditional pictures represent. In 2018, Los Angeles–based artist Mike Alfaro created Millennial Lotería, featuring images like la selfie, el gluten, and el man bun. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic inspired San Antonio artist Rafael Gonzales Jr. to create his Pandemic Loteria. Following the release of its initial card, la cabRONA, Gonzales filled out the deck with icons like el hoarder, el Fauci, and la esperanza (which featured the image of a vaccine needle). The game of lotería continues to grow and change, even as it is played in church halls and living rooms across the United States, Mexico, and beyond.
