The new cards of humanity
As he stayed home glued to the news in the early days of the health crisis, San Antonio artist Rafael Gonzales Jr. illustrated an irreverent lotería card inspired by the virus — with its red, spiky proteins — that accompanied much of the coverage. He posted his work on Instagram, where he got an overwhelming response from fans of the traditional card game, in which a player shouts “¡Lotería!” instead of “Bingo!” after covering squares on a board, or tabla. Gonzales set to work, reimagining the entire game and naming it Pandemic
Lotería.
With cards depicting lockdown essentials — the TikTok app on a smartphone, a Chinese food container labeled “El Takeout,” hand sanitizer he dubbed “La Botella” and a salt-rimmed margarita (La Coping Mechanism), the 37 illustrations are his playful take on a time of uncertainty.
“I think that was the impetus for all this,” he says. “I wanted to express my frustration at the virus … while trying to turn it into a laughable moment.”
Other serape striped-backed cards include a bald-headed Britney Spears (La Quarancut), rolls of toilet paper (El Hoarder) and a familiar face labeled El Fauci, which Gonzales says is one of the most popular illustrations. “People relate to him and … liked the fact that he was a truth teller.”
Gonzales didn’t grow up playing lotería but says the game is ubiquitous at all his wife’s family gatherings. After the couple spent days sorting, packing and shipping the first 1,000 sets that quickly sold out, Gonzales teamed up with San Antonio lifestyle store Feliz Modern, which now fulfills orders.
Co-owner Ginger Diaz says customers who buy multiple sets to play the game virtually have found it to be an antidote to “so much heaviness” right now. The game is also a time stamp of sorts, she says, serving as “a little 2020 memento. If you can’t laugh at what’s going on, you’re not going to make it.”