On Thursday, October 2nd, in the McCombs Ballroom, Southwestern’s Latinos Unidos club held a Lotería Night in honor of Hispanic and Latine Heritage month with a night of fun and excitement alongside a hint of luck. 

For those unfamiliar with Lotería, it is essentially Bingo but instead of numbers, all the spaces are a variety of Spanish objects and characters such as La Luna (the moon) and El Borracho (the drunk). The first person to get a line across and shout “Lotería!” wins. Traditionally, Lotería is played by wagering money, but college students have enough to worry about financially without the fear of losing it all to chance. So to mix things up, LU provided a variety of prizes to win, Legos, puzzles, Owala water bottles, and the grand prize for getting a blackout at the end: a 40 inch flat screen TV.

The Latinos Unidos officers worked hard over the course of many weeks to make sure the event went smoothly and felt inclusive for everyone. The ballroom was set up with a variety of Spanish treats, such as little fruit candies and types of chocolate. Spanish songs played lightly in the background to keep the participants entertained while they prayed for their card to be called. For those in the crowd who might have had trouble understanding the Spanish names, the officers called out the cards in both Spanish and then English. 

While the event came to an end, participants left either with their spoils of the night or lamenting that they were “this close” to winning a TV, including me! I was one card away from winning it all, and then I could retire in peace! Everyone left with fun memories and hopefully with something new to share with their friends come next game night.