Abstract
In the USA, Mexican Americans constitute 61.7% of Hispanics, the country’s second-largest racial/ethnic group. Despite this significant presence in American society, many face discrimination due to their skin colour and heritage. To combat this discrimination and assert their rightful place in society, since the 1970s, Mexican Americans have engaged in distinct cultural practices. These practices, rooted in Mexican traditions, have become a vital means to address social issues affecting the community, preserve heritage, and celebrate contributions. This work explores one of these unique manifestations, the game of lotería, a notable yet mostly unexamined practice. Lotería is a popular Mexican game of chance, similar to bingo. The cards and boards feature images related to Mexican history, society, and culture, accompanied by textual phrases that define what is depicted. This multimodal combination has given lotería a cultural value beyond that of a simple game. Since its late 19th-century inception, lotería’s multimodal representations have been adapted to reflect contemporary events and sociocultural trends. This paper investigates how Mexican American artists and grassroots organizations in the USA have appropriated original Mexican lotería versions to express their unique experiences, histories, and identities, and to mobilize community members to participate in socio-political movements to confront discrimination and marginalization. The paper discusses the results of a comprehensive multimodal social semiotics analysis of sample contemporary lotería artifacts. This work sheds light on the significance of contemporary cultural practices for marginalized populations and how they can serve as a medium for enacting social activism and change.
Presenters
Gabriela C. ZapataAssociate Professor in Education, School of Education, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Mexican Americans, Cultural Practices, Multimodal Analysis
