The smell of queso and the sounds of Latin music filled the Frith Community Center Tuesday night as people gathered and grabbed handfuls of pinto beans and colorful playing to play hispanic bingo, Lotería.
The Hispanic American Leadership Organization at K-State partnered with the Union Program Council to put on this Lotería night for the first time.
“I thought it would be a good idea for people in the Hispanic community to maybe be nostalgic and bring back this game, and for those who aren’t so familiar with this game, it’s an opportunity for them to learn a little Spanish and enjoy it with us as well,” said Reina Garcia, senior in journalism and special events coordinator for HALO. “It’s really about inviting people into our culture and having a good time.”
Throughout the night, HALO executives took turns holding cards up to a camera connected to a projector, so those who did not understand the Spanish names being read could reference what was being called.
Then, one by one, people in the room would jump up and yell “Lotería!” to announce they had four in a row, winning the prize for the round.
“I saw this event in the email UPC sent out, and since I’m Mexican and this is a part of my heritage, I played it a lot growing up, so I thought ‘Oh my God, let’s go!’ and brought my friends to come play this nostalgic game with me,” Michelle Villagrana, junior in management information systems, said.
After members of HALO played Lotería at a meeting, they decided to share it with the community.
“We just wanted to get out of our comfort zones, not just have our typical meetings like we always do and let loose a little bit with it being so stressful with midterms coming up,” said Mireya Diaz, senior in accounting and secretary of HALO.
Prizes given to winners of each round included K-State tote bags, scarves and multiple gift cards to Chipotle, Sonic, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Radina’s and JP’s.
“I remember playing this game as a kid; at the time we would play with coins and money,” Jhonatan Rodriguez, freshman in electrical engineering, said. “Events like this really makes me appreciate HALO and how they get involved with the community sharing our culture like this.”
