Loteria

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Lotería is a Mexican game of chance, similar to Bingo, but using images on a deck of cards instead of numbers on ping pong balls. Each player has a board with a 4 x 4 grid of pictures (with names such as El Diablo, La Dama, El Corazón, etc.) The caller (cancionero, or singer) selects a card from the deck and announces it to the players, sometimes using a riddle or humorous patter instead of reading the card name. The players with a matching pictogram on their grid mark it off with a chip or other marker (many Mexican families use pinto beans as markers). The first player with four chips in a row, or any other specified pattern, shouts "Lotería!" and is the winner.

1 History
2 Symbolism
3 Cards and associated riddles
4 Sources
5 Links

[edit] History

The most famous maker of the card sets is Pasatiempos Gallo, S.A. de C.V. of Querétaro, Mexico (operating as Don Clemente, Inc. in the United States) which began publishing the game in 1887. The current images have become iconic in Mexican culture, as well as having "kitsch" value in the U.S. and some European countries.

Lotería is a tradition that involves art, passion, and culture. The origin of Lotería can be traced back to the 15th century in Italy where Lotería games were organized to collect funds for the poor. From there the numeric game migrated to other countries like France, where king Francis I founded the first state sponsored Lotería. The first Mexican Loterías arrived in Mexico in the 18th century from Spain. In the beginning Loteria was a pastime of the upper classes but as time passed it became a tradition at Mexican fairs. At present, Lotería has been adapted as a didactic tool and every day more and more artists are using the Lotería as a base for their art projects.

[edit] Symbolism

There are arguments that some of the cards in the Lotería game are offensive because in the original game there is a card that depicts a drunk person "el borracho" and a black person "el negrito", there is also a card that represents a native American "el Apache". These arguments are based from the perspective of the American history which differs from the Mexican culture and history. To understand the Lotería icons and what they represent, it is necessary to review some of the most significant icons in Mexican culture, such as "La Virgen de Guadalupe" or "San Martin De Porres". La Virgen has all the appearance of a native Aztec woman and San Martin is a black saint whom most Mexicans venerate.

[edit] Cards and associated riddles

The following is a list of all original 54 Lotería cards; below each of the card names are the riddles (in Spanish) that are sometimes used to tell the players which card was drawn:

1 El Gallo (The Rooster)
El que le canto a san Pedro no le volvera a cantar
2 El Diablito (The little Devil)
Portate bien cuatito,si no te lleva el coloradito
3 La Dama (The Lady)
Puliendo el paso,por toda la calle real
4 El Catrin (The Dandy/Fop)
Don Ferruco en la alameda,su bastón quería tirar
5 El Payaso (The Clown)
6 El Pinguino (The Penguin)
5/24 El Paraguas (The Umbrella)
Para el sol y para el agua
6/3 La Sirena (The Mermaid)
Con los cantos de sirena,no te vayas a marear
7/12 La Escalera (The Ladder)
Subeme paso a pasito,no quieras pegar brinquitos
8 La Botella (The Bottle)
La herramienta del borracho
8 El Sombrero (The Hat)
9 El Elefante (The Elephant)
9/14 El Barril (The Barrel)
Tanto bebio el albañil,que quedo como barril
10/40 El Arbol (The Tree)
El que a buen árbol se arrima buena sombra le cobija
11/16 El Melon (The Melon)
Me lo das o me lo quitas
11 El Azteca (The Aztec)
12/25 El Valiente (The Valiant One)
Por que le corres cobarde,trayendo tan buen puñal
13 El Gorrito (The Bonnett)
Ponle su gorrito al nene,no se nos vaya a resfriar
14 La Muerte (Death)
La muerte La muerte tilica y flaca
15/27 La Pera (The Pear)
El que espera desespera
16/42 La Bandera (The Flag)
Verde blanco y colorado,la bandera del soldado
17 El Bandolon (An oval-bodied Guitar)
Tocando su bandolon,esta el mariachi simon
18 El Violoncello (The Cello)
Creciendo se fue hasta el cielo,y como no fue violin,tuvo que ser violoncello
18 Los Dados (The Dice)

19/31 La Garza (The Heron)
Al otro lado del río tengo mi banco de arena,donde se sienta mi chata pico de garza morena
20/28 El Pájaro (The Bird)
Tu me traes a puros brincos,como pájaro el la rama
21/52 La Mano (The Hand)
La mano de un criminal
21 El Moro (The Moorish)
22/29 La Bota (The Boot)
Una bota igual que la otra
23/54 La Luna (The Moon)
El farol de los enamorados
24 El Cotorro (The Parrot)
El cotorro cotorro saca la pata,y empiezame a platicar
25/19 El Borracho (The Drunk)
¡Ah! que borracho tan necio,ya no lo puedo aguantar
26 El Negrito (The Black Man)
El que se comio el azucar
27/23 El Corazón (The Heart)
No me extrañes corazón,que regreso en el camión
28/47 La Sandía (The Watermelon)
La barriga que Juan tenía,era empacho de sandía
29/30El Tambor (The Drum)
No te arruges cuero viejo,que te quiero pa'tambor
30/33 El Camarón (The Shrimp)
Camarón que se duerme,se lo lleva la corriente
31/26 Las Jaras (The Arrows)
Las Jaras del indio Adan,donde pegan dan
32 El Músico (The Musician)
El músico trompas de hule,ya no me quiere tocar
33 La Araña (The Spider)
Atarantámela a palos,no me la dejes llagar
34 El Soldado (The Soldier)
Uno, dos y tres el soldado p'al cuartel
34 El Lobo (The Wolf)
35/36 La Estrella (The Star)
La guía de los marineros
36/45 El Cazo (The Ladle)
El caso que te hago es poco

37/49 El Mundo (The World
Este mundo es una bola, y nosotros un balón
38 El Apache (The Apache)
¡Ah Chihuahua! cuanto apache con pantalón y huarache
38 La Cobra (The Cobra)
39/15 El Nopal (The Cactus)
Al que todos van a ver,cuando tienen que comer
39 La Ardilla (The Squirrel)
40/17 El Alacrán (The Scorpion)
El que con la cola pica,le dan una paliza
41/44 La Rosa (The Rose)
Rosita,Rosaura, ven que te quiero ahora
41 La Manzana (The Apple)
42/46 La Calavera (The Skull)
Al pasar por el panteón,Me encontre un calaverón
43/32 La Campana (The Bell)
Tú con la campana y yo con tu hermana
43 La Mariposa (The Butterfly)
44/37 El Cantarito (The Water Pitcher)
Tanto va el cántaro al agua,que se quiebra y te moja las henaguas
45 El Venado (The Deer
Saltando va buscando,pero no ve nada
46/35 El Sol (The Sun)
Solo solo te quedaste,de cobija de los pobres
47/48 La Corona (The Crown)
El sombrero de los reyes
48/22 La Chalupa (The Canoe)
Rema rema va Lupita,sentada en su chalupita
49/13 El Pino (The Pine)
Fresco y oloroso, en todo tiempo hermoso
50/4 El Pescado (The Fish)
El que por la boca muere,aunque mudo fuere
50 El Alce (The Moose)
51/20 La Palma (The Palm)
Palmero sube a la palma y bájame un coco real
52/51 La Maceta (The Flowerpot)
El que nace pa'maceta no sale del corredor
53/10 El Arpa (The Harp)
53 El Mono (The Monkey)
Arpa vieja de mi suegra,ya no sirves pa'tocar
54/7 La Rana (The Frog)
Al ver a la verde rana,que brinco pego tu hermana

[edit] Sources

Books about the traditional Lotería:

Playing Lotería Mexicana: El Juego de La Lotería Mexicana, by René Colato Laínez
El Arte De La Suerte, by Artes De Mexico Número 13, Otoño 1991, Nueva Época