Excerpt: Vivala
by Ymijan Baftijari
The Mexican Lotería card game is often compared to American bingo, but the difference between the two is rooted in its culture.
Since its 15th century origins, many have given the visually stimulating game a makeover. It’s been transformed into a queer, identity-based, and inclusive game, it’s received the Selena Quintanilla-inspired treatment, and it has even been reinterpreted from its dated gender stereotypes.
The game’s revamp doesn’t end there. Now, an artist has recreated the cards to speak to every millennial Latinx’s heart.
Mike Alfaro is the Guatemalan creator behind “Millennial Lotería” — updated Lotería cards for a “new generation.”
Even though the writer and creative director only started designing his Lotería work this year, it has already become quite popular.
Alfaro saw the potential for a funny and empowering update of this traditional game after visiting his family in Guatemala.
He told Vivala, “My parents and siblings still live there, and I had these great memories of us playing Lotería when I was growing up. But when I started looking at the old cards, I realized how outdated some of the images were.”
The 29-year-old Los Angeles resident knew that an upgrade was in order to represent modern day culture. “I think Latino women don’t just wanna be La Dama, they would identify more with La Feminist. If you’ve ever been to Coachella or gone on Snapchat, you probably relate more to La Flower Crown than La Corona,” he added.
It’s obvious both his cultural background and the fact that he’s a millennial himself have influenced his art.
“I consider myself a product of globalization. I grew up in Guatemala for 17 years, but I watched everything from ‘The Simpsons’ to ‘Friends’ on cable. American TV had a big influence on me. So I think it’s no surprise that the work I create is both Latino and American. It’s just a reflection of who we are today, not the old stereotypes of yesterday,” he explained.
He works with a scanner app, Photoshop, and Illustrator to make it all come to life.
“I think the Latinx community has a huge untapped market of talent. There are lots of creative individuals that aren’t being discovered because people overlook us or stereotype us. We need to work really hard to get our foot in the door, and when we are there, we should help others get in, too.”
One look at his take on the new age Lotería, and you’ll immediately feel a connection to at least one of his pieces.
Choosing which cards would receive the twist wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t that complex, either. “It all comes down to insights about our generation and looking at a card from a more modern perspective. I think La Sirena is very beautiful, so it’s not hard to imagine that if she was a millennial, she’d probably take a lot of selfies. If you’ve ever seen someone play with a Virtual Reality headset, you know they look pretty stupid, kind of like El Borracho. It’s really a fun activity, to be honest, it’s just like making memes,” Alfaro noted.