# Lotería

Lotería (Spanish word meaning "lottery") is a traditional Mexican board game of chance, similar to bingo, but played with a deck of cards instead of numbered balls. Each card has an image of an everyday object, its name, and a number, although the number is usually ignored. Each player has at least one tabla, a board with a randomly created 4 × 4 grid selected from the card images. Players choose a tabla ("board") to play with, from a variety of previously created tablas, each with a different selection of images.
The traditional Lotería card deck is composed of 54 different cards, each with a different picture. To start the game, the caller (cantor, "singer") shuffles the deck. One by one, the caller picks a card from the deck and announces it to the players by its name, sometimes using a verse before reading the card name. Each player locates the matching pictogram of the card just announced on their board and marks it off with a chip or other kind of marker. In Mexico, it is traditional to use pennies, crown corks or pinto beans as markers. The winner is the first player that shouts "¡Lotería!" after completing a pattern on their tabla, similar to bingo: row, column, diagonal, four corners, or unique to this game, four in a square (pozo).

## History

The origin of lotería can be traced far back in history. The game originated in Italy in the 15th century and was brought to New Spain (modern Mexico) in 1769. In the beginning, lotería was a hobby of the upper classes, but eventually it became a tradition at Mexican fairs.
Don Clemente Jacques began publishing the game in 1887. His version of the game was distributed to Mexican soldiers along with their rations and supplies.
The images Don Clemente used in his card designs have become iconic in Mexican culture, as well as gaining popularity in the U.S. and some European countries. Don Clemente's cards also had a part in representing and normalizing different aspects of Mexico's national identity during the 19th century. This can be seen with the card of El Soldado ("the soldier") which was used as a symbol to reference war as a part of Mexico's national identity during that time. Many of the pictures used in Don Clemente's lotería resemble the Major Arcana of Tarot cards used for divination (which, in turn, are based on cards used in Tarot card games). Other popular lotería sets are Lotería Leo, Gacela and Lotería de mi tierra.

## Alternative versions

Lotería de Pozo is a variant version of the traditional Mexican Lotería, where the basic rules apply. For this version, before the game begins, players agree on how many pozos are to be completed in a row, column or diagonal pattern. A pozo is a group of images in a square. The square may contain 2 x 2 (4) or 3 x 3 (9) images for a traditional tabla.
During the 1930s, the Roman Catholic church devised its own version of la lotería, most likely because of the connections between Don Clemente's popular images and Tarot cards; divination and fortune-telling are prohibited by Catholic doctrine. This alternative lotería deck consisted of Catholic images instead of the traditional images used in the original game, likely allowing devout Catholics a way to enjoy the game without those "sinful" connotations and giving the Church a way to teach its beliefs by way of the lotería.
With the rise of online gaming and app-based gaming, electronic versions such as the Loteria online game allow computer users to play an online version of the Lotería Mexicana.

## Cards and associated verses

The following is a list of the original 54 lotería cards, traditionally and broadly recognized in Mexico. Along with each card name and number are the verses sometimes used to tell the players which card was drawn. However, there are several less traditional sets of cards, depicting different objects or animals.
| No. | Name | English | Verse | Translation |
| 1 | El gallo | the rooster | El que le cantó a San Pedro no le volverá a cantar. | The one that sang for St. Peter will never sing for him again. |
| 2 | El diablito | the little Devil | Pórtate bien cuatito, si no te lleva el coloradito. | Behave yourself buddy, or the little red one will take you away. |
| 3 | La dama | the lady | Puliendo el paso, por toda la calle real. | Improving her gait, all along the main street. |
| 4 | El catrín | the dandy | Don Ferruco en la alameda, su bastón quería tirar. | Sir Ferruco in the poplar grove, wanted to toss away his cane. |
| 5 | El paraguas | the umbrella | Para el sol y para el agua. | For the sun and for the rain. |
| 6 | La sirena | the mermaid | Con los cantos de sirena, no te vayas a marear. | Don't be swayed by the songs of the siren. (In Spanish, sirens and mermaids and their song are synonymous.) |
| 7 | La escalera | the ladder | Súbeme paso a pasito, no quieras pegar brinquitos. | Ascend me step by step, don't try and skip. |
| 8 | La botella | the bottle | La herramienta del borracho. | The tool of the drunk. |
| 9 | El barril | the barrel | Tanto bebió el albañil, que quedó como barril. | So much did the bricklayer drink, he ended up like a barrel. |
| 10 | El árbol | the tree | El que a buen árbol se arrima, buena sombra le cobija. | He who nears a good tree, is blanketed by good shade. |
| 11 | El melón | the melon | Me lo das o me lo quitas. | Give it to me or take it from me. |
| 12 | El valiente | the brave man | Por qué le corres cobarde, trayendo tan buen puñal. | Why do you run, coward? Having such a good blade too. |
| 13 | El gorrito | the little bonnet | Ponle su gorrito al nene, no se nos vaya a resfriar. | Put the bonnet on the baby, lest he catch a cold. |
| 14 | La muerte | Death | La muerte tilica y flaca. | Death, thin and lanky. |
| 15 | La pera | the pear | El que espera, desespera. | He who waits despairs. (A pun: espera "waits" and es pera "is a pear" are homophones in Mexican Spanish.) |
| 16 | La bandera | the flag | Verde blanco y colorado, la bandera del soldado. | Green, white, and red, the flag of the soldier. |
| 17 | El bandolón | the mandolin | Tocando su bandolón, está el mariachi Simón. | There playing his lute, is Simon the mariachi. |
| 18 | El violoncello | the cello | Creciendo se fue hasta el cielo, y como no fue violín, tuvo que ser violoncello. | Growing it reached the heavens, and since it wasn't a violin, it had to be a cello. |
| 19 | La garza | the heron | Al otro lado del río tengo mi banco de arena, donde se sienta mi chata pico de garza morena. | At the other side of the river I have my sand bank, where sits my darling short one, with the beak of a great blue heron. |
| 20 | El pájaro | the bird | Tu me traes a puros brincos, como pájaro en la rama. | You have me hopping here and there, like a bird on a branch. |
| 21 | La mano | the hand | La mano de un criminal. | The hand of a criminal. |
| 22 | La bota | the boot | Una bota igual que la otra. | A boot the same as the other. |
| 23 | La luna | the moon | El farol de los enamorados. | The street lamp of lovers. |
| 24 | El cotorro | the parrot | Cotorro cotorro saca la pata, y empiézame a platicar. | Parrot, parrot, stick out your claw and begin to chat with me. |
| 25 | El borracho | the drunkard | A qué borracho tan necio ya no lo puedo aguantar. | Oh what an annoying drunk, I can't stand him any more. |
| 26 | El negrito | the little black man | El que se comió el azúcar. | The one who ate the sugar. |
| 27 | El corazón | the heart | No me extrañes corazón, que regreso en el camión. | Do not miss me, sweetheart, I'll be back by bus. |
| 28 | La sandía | the watermelon | La barriga que Juan tenía, era empacho de sandía. | The swollen belly that Juan had, was from eating too much watermelon. |
| 29 | El tambor | the drum | No te arrugues, cuero viejo, que te quiero pa' tambor. | Don't you wrinkle, dear old leather, since I want you for a drum. |
| 30 | El camarón | the shrimp | Camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente. | The shrimp that slumbers is taken by the tides. |
| 31 | Las jaras | the arrows | Las jaras del indio Adán, donde pegan, dan. | The arrows of Adam the Indian, strike where they hit. |
| 32 | El músico | the musician | El músico trompas de hule, ya no me quiere tocar. | The rubber-lipped musician does not want to play for me anymore. |
| 33 | La araña | the spider | Atarántamela a palos, no me la dejes llegar. | Beat it silly with a stick, do not let it near me. |
| 34 | El soldado | the soldier | Uno, dos y tres, el soldado pa'l cuartel. | One, two and three, the soldier heads to the fort. |
| 35 | La estrella | the star | La guía de los marineros. | Sailor's guide. |
| 36 | El cazo | the saucepan | El caso que te hago es poco. | The attention I pay you is little. (A pun: caso "attention" and cazo "saucepan" are homophones in Mexican Spanish) |
| 37 | El mundo | the world | Este mundo es una bola, y nosotros un bolón. | This world is a ball, and we a great mob. (A pun: bola can mean both "ball, sphere" and "crowd, mob", bolón is a superlative with the latter meaning) |
| 38 | El Apache | the Apache | ¡Ah, Chihuahua! Cuánto apache con pantalón y huarache. | Ah, Chihuahua! So many Apaches with pants and sandals. |
| 39 | El nopal | the prickly pear cactus | Al nopal lo van a ver, nomás cuando tiene tunas. | People go to see the prickly pear, only when it bears fruit. |
| 40 | El alacrán | the scorpion | El que con la cola pica, le dan una paliza. | He who stings with his tail, will get a beating. |
| 41 | La rosa | the rose | Rosita, Rosaura, ven que te quiero ahora. | Rosita, Rosaura, come, as I want you here now. |
| 42 | La calavera | the skull | Al pasar por el panteón, me encontré un calaverón. | As I passed by the cemetery, I came across a skull. |
| 43 | La campana | the bell | Tú con la campana y yo con tu hermana. | You with the bell and I with your sister. |
| 44 | El cantarito | the little water pitcher | Tanto va el cántaro al agua, que se quiebra y te moja las enaguas. | So often does the jug go to the water, that it breaks and wets your slip. |
| 45 | El venado | the deer | Saltando va buscando, pero no ve nada. | Jumping it goes searching, but it doesn't see anything. (A pun: venado "deer" sounds like ve nada "see nothing") |
| 46 | El Sol | the sun | La cobija de los pobres. | The blanket of the poor. |
| 47 | La corona | the crown | El sombrero de los reyes. | The hat of kings. |
| 48 | La chalupa | the canoe | Rema que rema Lupita, sentada en su chalupita. | Lupita rows as she may, sitting in her little boat. |
| 49 | El pino | the pine tree | Fresco y oloroso, en todo tiempo hermoso. | Fresh and fragrant, beautiful in any season. |
| 50 | El pescado | the fish | El que por la boca muere, aunque mudo fuere. | The one who dies by its mouth, even if he were mute. (In reference to a fish being hooked by its mouth, even though it doesn't utter a sound.) |
| 51 | La palma | the palm tree | Palmero, sube a la palma y bájame un coco real. | Palmer, climb the palm tree and bring me a coconut fit for kings. (Lit: "A royal coconut. |
| 52 | La maceta | the flowerpot | El que nace pa'maceta, no sale del corredor. | He who is born to be a flowerpot, does not go beyond the hallway. |
| 53 | El arpa | the harp | Arpa vieja de mi suegra, ya no sirves pa'tocar. | Old harp of my mother-in-law, you are no longer fit to play. |
| 54 | La rana | the frog | Al ver a la verde rana, qué brinco pegó tu hermana. | What a jump your sister gave, as she saw the green frog. |

## In popular culture

In 2017, artist Mike Alfaro created Millennial Lotería, reimagining the game for a millennial audience with new cards such as "La hashtag", "La feminist" and "La selfie".
On December 9, 2019, Google celebrated Lotería with a Google Doodle. The doodle was a game of lotería that could be played with online players. Some new cards are added: El buscador ("the search engine"), El ajolote ("the axolotl"), El emoji ("the emoji"), etc.
In July 2021, Netflix announced a film adaptation based around the game with James Bobin set to direct and Eugenio Derbez in a leading role.
On October 2, 2023, a game show based on lotería premiered on CBS, titled Lotería Loca and hosted by Jaime Camil. On each episode, two contestants compete for a chance to win up to $1 million.

## See Also

* Bài Chòi – a Bingo game from Vietnam that also use cards and a singer