© 2023 WNIJ and WNIU
Northern Public Radio
801 N 1st St.
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-9000
Northern Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations

An Aurora Version Of The Game Lotería Is Coming Soon

A northern Illinois nonprofit is seeking artists to create an Aurora version of a Latino card game.

https://www.facebook.com/CultureStock/posts/4096682103712596
/

Araceli Ascencio is the vice president at Culture Stock. She mentions a few ideas for the artists to create unique Lotería cards.

“Some examples like the Fox River, maybe like the bridge and things like that,” she said. “There's the Devil's Cave that's close by so we've got some of those examples. I think it might be cool to also do like maybe a Tomcats one.”

The game is like bingo but instead of that five-letter word, winners shout something else.

“And then when you do get like the full card or a line,” she explained, “we usually say ‘buenos’, which means like, I have a good one. This is a good one. So that's what we usually will call out.”

Ascencio said she hopes this project introduces this game to those who are not familiar with it.

“Maybe make it a part of their family tradition,” Ascencio added. “I know Latinos will usually play like in the holidays, Christmas, you know, stuff like that. So, I think that would be great if this became more popular with everyone.”

Lotería includes 54 cards, and Ascencio said the organization is asking each artist to create one card to start but if there is room, they can do another one.

Proceeds from the cards will go towards Culture Stock’s arts programs. The deadline for entries is Sept. 15.

  • Yvonne Boose is a current corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. It's a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms like WNIJ. You can learn more about Report for America at wnij.org.
Yvonne covers artistic, cultural, and spiritual expressions in the COVID-19 era. This could include how members of community cultural groups are finding creative and innovative ways to enrich their personal lives through these expressions individually and within the context of their larger communities. Boose is a recent graduate of the Illinois Media School and returns to journalism after a career in the corporate world.