Lotería is a traditional Mexican board game, much like bingo but played with deck of 54 cards decorated with images, instead of numbers. The “cantor” or caller might accompany each card with a saying, for example, “El Sol, la cobija de los pobres” (The sun, the blanket of the poor). The 1st player to mark off all the images on their tabla and calls out “¡Lotería!” wins.

The game can be traced to 15th century Italy and arrived in Mexico in the 1700s. First played by the elite, it later became a game of the people. Don Clemente
Jacques began publishing the game in 1887 and the images in his version have become iconic in Mexico, the United States, and elsewhere.

Artist Statement

The lotería cards I created were inspired by my life in Tucson since 1985, where I’ve experienced the beauty of culture and the Sonoran Desert environment. My paintings depict 54 special places, plants, animals, and events iconic to Tucson. I could have included more but traditional lotería decks are limited to 54 cards. Completing these acrylic paintings took three years. My husband, Celestino Fernández Barragán, collaborated with me in the creation of a saying for each painting.