Lotería Card Project

I grew up in a country that prides itself on its diversity. While growing up in Houston allowed me to grow up in a diverse environment, it was in the 8th grade that I truly learned about racism. In 2010, Arizona passed a bill, Senate Bill 1070, which allowed the state of Arizona to deport Latine-looking citizens despite citizenship status. Possibilities of Texas passing a similar bill and the responses from the public stirred fear in my heart. My worries were met with the phrase “You were born here. You will be fine.”

Loteria cards are a staple in Mexican culture. This game is similar to Bingo, but instead of numbers and letters, this game uses colorful imagery. These images have grown into iconic symbols within Latine culture. This imagery has been repurposed for other uses, such as flashcards to teach Spanish, methods for divination, and has even been modernized with parodical humor, as seen with “Millennial Loteria” created by Mike Alfaro.

What started as a self-portrait for a class, Version 1 (as seen here), inspired me to create a version that can educate non-Latine people about the lives of my community. To update this iconic imagery, I have interviewed people from the Latine community who, in one way or another, are affected by current events and the growing tension within the United States. Illustrating their real stories will show a perspective usually not presented in the media. Using the original symbols from the game, the interviews are paired with one of the original cards. From there, the interview is illustrated and displayed with the original card and a summary of the interview, both in English and Spanish.

I want the audience to connect to the stories and the people in them. By doing so, these stories can feel more real than a statistic in an article. I want them to understand that these are real people who are just as fragile and vulnerable as a tangible playing card that can easily be ripped up. I want their poster-sized counterparts to be too big to be ignored and avoided.

To view the completed cards, click on the image below. Each image will bring up the original image of the card and my version of the card. Each page will also contain a summary of the person’s interview in Spanish and in English.

As of 2026, not all 54 cards were completed.

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