Modern Twist; Chalupa’s marketability on the rise

The Mexican bingo game Chalupa has surpassed its humble beginnings at family gatherings and church kermes fundraisers to become a profitable item in its own right.

Chalupa, also known as Loteria, has found its way onto shower curtains, t-shirts, art exhibits, pieces of jewelry, and now dishware.

While the origins of Chalupa are unclear, a well-known version of the game that is played in much the same way as traditional bingo surfaced in 1882. Don Clemente Gallo’s deck has been the premise for modern remakes.

El Diablo and La Dama have become celebrities as some renditions of the playing cards have been given a modern twist.

H-E-B grocery stores recently joined the Chalupa bandwagon, selling updated versions of the playing cards on cups, plates, serving trays and other items.

Artist Cristina Sosa Noriega’s creations first emerged as paintings.

“My Loteria” has 54 Chalupa cards, of which 27 paintings are the standard Chalupa playing cards. The other half are Chalupa cards the artist has created, and many of them depict modern Mexican American culture — the lowrider, piñata, and accordion

Noriega has modernized the original Chalupa characters by adding cultural contingencies.

La Calavera (the skull) has elaborate flowers associated with Dia de los Muertos, El Sol (the sun) has a man with sunglasses, goatee and a mustache, and El Corazon (the heart) has thorns wrapped around it.

Many of the pieces contain bilingual meanings, while others remain in Spanish, and some in English.

Joanna Ordonez, Brownsville native and owner of Vidriosa glassworks has found success selling the folk items across the state at festivals and fairs.

She uses the cards in stained glass pieces, sun catchers, coasters and jewelry.

Ordonez believes that Chalupa is popular because it is something that people, especially Mexican Americans, can identify with.

“I grew up in Brownsville and played Loteria from the time I was little and still play it.”

Ordonez said that the novelty of Chalupa is not the only thing that makes it profitable.

“They don’t just appeal to people because they are Loteria, but the images are little items that are near and dear to people and that is why they buy them,” she said.

Ordonez added that her items are nostalgic to people.

“The biggest I get is ‘oh look …’ and it’s a memory or a story of how they used to play when they were younger,” she said.

Chalupa is no longer a game that is played at Grandma’s house on Christmas Eve, or at an impromptu get-together, it is a folkway and your newest dinner plate.