Mixed Media A game of lotería at Jean Cocteau

Don’t miss your chance to participate in a longstanding Mexican tradition by joining in a game of lotería at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 8, at the Jean Cocteau Cinema (418 Montezuma Ave.). The event will be hosted by Carlos Medina, the accordionist and comedian who grew up about 50 miles southeast of Santa Fe.

Mexican bingo, also known as lotería, is played with a deck containing 52-54 cards, one joker, and an indefinite number of tablas, or playing boards. There are usually 16 images in a 4-by-4-inch grid that must be matched with cards randomly chosen. To start, the caller selects a card from the deck and says its name, often using a rhyming riddle or poem. For example, la sandía, the watermelon, might be expressed with a quick tale about a person showing signs of having eaten too much watermelon. The players with a matching image on their board traditionally mark it with a cork, bean, corn kernel, or rock. The first player with four such chips in a row, a square, any previously specified pattern, or who fills the tabla first, yells “¡Lotería!” (Lottery!) and is the winner.

The Spanish colonial upper class played it in Mexico around 1769, after the national lottery made its way to New Spain (Mexico) when colonial officials drew lots to generate money for projects. This evolved into an entertainment form where popular artists hand-painted the sets — sometimes oil paints on tin, sometimes watercolor or ink on paper.

During the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821), lotería was played by soldiers; when they returned home, the game grew in popularity throughout the country and became an important part of traditional Mexican festivities. Medina is likely to make much of the words, images, collective memories, and archetypes of current daily life that enliven the game. Entry is $5 per person, which includes a lotería card; additional cards are $1 each. — Patricia Lenihan