Campeche, Mexico

200 Years of Playing with Luck


A Blessed Bingo
The Church of La Nuestra Señora de la Puríssima Concepcion, detached from the colonial square where residents play bingo.
Cathedral and Bandstand
View of the Central Park of Campeche with the Church of La Nuestra Señora de la Puríssima Concepcion in the background.
Bingo Bustle
Abuelitas and grandchildren keep their eyes on the cards for their little bucks.
the whole set
Game table with bills, coins and mobile phones that keep players in touch with family and friends.
Bingo & Rice with Leche
Player accompanies the bingo with rice con leche.
The Cantante Rosa Puga
Rosa Puga, the lady who sings the symbols that come out.
almost Bingo
General view of the game tables, arranged next to a large central bandstand where simultaneous shows take place.
drawings and glass beads
Country lottery card.
The Box
Patricia Zavala, one of the service boxes.
divine luck
Players occupy a table also illuminated by spotlights that fall on the Church of La Nuestra Señora de la Puríssima Concepcion.
A panoply of symbols
Campeche bingo cards arranged on the game table.
At the end of the XNUMXth century, the peasants surrendered to a game introduced to cool the fever of cash cards. Today, played almost only for Abuelites, lottery little more than a fun place.

Night falls over the Central Park of Campeche and the Cathedral of La Concepción Inmaculada that blesses it.

There aren't even seven, but around its large bandstand, the square displays the yellowish lights of the shift that comes in and gains new life. A youth musical show is being prepared at one of the structure's poles.

We approach the opposite and discover tables and chairs that hadn't been set up during the afternoon, occupied by dozens of women and a few children, pervading the colored surface that covers part of the tops.

Central Park, Campeche, Mexico

View of the Central Park of Campeche with the Church of La Nuestra Señora de la Puríssima Concepcion in the background.

Latin-Romantic music arrives through the pillars of the structure that serves as a soundtrack to the strange recreational session that takes place there.

A middle-aged woman with a comfortable posture rotates an old bass drum (tombola) fully lined with brown adhesive tape. As desired, the 90 numbered spheres only come out to the operator's hand through the device's lower hole.

The Campechana Lottery Playful Bingo

Rosa Puga has been in charge for nine years, but instead of “singing” the results, as it is supposed to, she communicates them mechanically and dragged into the microphone: “11 cats … 28 mules … 42 comets … 58 hearts … 25 horses … 52 razors…”.

Tombola, street bingo-Campeche, Mexico

Rosa Puga, the lady who sings the symbols that come out.

This tone annoys some of the participants who prefer more spontaneous and fun styles. Certain “singers” even jokes related to symbols tell or associate public characters with them that they take the opportunity to criticize or ridicule in public.

Those who are not aware of the booklet or current affairs in the country either ask the partner for help or lose the sequence and, eventually, the next lottery.

School Look Symbols for Every Taste

To avoid this, at each announcement from the announcer, players inspect their cards in an eager search for each symbol dictated. The designs have different graphics from card to card but are always linked to the same number.

Card lottery campechana,street bingo, Campeche, Mexico.jpg

Country lottery card.

When found, the corresponding rectangles are occupied by glass beads as eye-catching and colorful as the pictograms that illustrate them.

Beans are not played there, but we only detect coins on the tables, very rarely, one or two aged bills of a few pesos.

Each card has 5×5 symbols and usually costs 1 peso (six euro cents). Wealthy ladies play with several at the same time. In that case, it's up to them to pay between 1 to 3 euros every 10 minutes to keep their odds higher.

Taking into account that dozens of players can be at the tables, certain prizes amount to 300 or 400 pesos (15 to 20 euros). Even considering Mexico's lowest standard of living, the amount doesn't make anyone's fortune.

Campechana lottery, street bingo, Campeche, Mexico

General view of the game tables, arranged next to a large central bandstand where simultaneous shows take place.

Cantante and Caixa: the Employees who make Bingo Roll

"Lottery!!!!" yells, even so, with vigor, the winner of the last volley (round). It is awarded with a bunch of metal weights brought by Patrícia Zavala, one of the mobile “boxes” of service, just like the lady who “sings”, dressed in traditional Campechan costumes suited to the tropical climate: linen, whites and flowered lace.

Only certain players know about it, but there is a strong historical reason why the hobby works within unambitious financial limits.

Around the XNUMXth century, the colony of New Spain he found himself grappling with an “epidemic” of barajas (letters) imported from Europe.

Campechana Lottery, Parque Central, Campeche, Mexico

Players occupy a table also illuminated by spotlights that fall on the Church of La Nuestra Señora de la Puríssima Concepcion.

Gambling was illegal but addicted more and more of his majesty's subjects. It generated bets that, despite the subtlety with which they were placed in the streets, ended up being noticed and seriously concerned the authorities.

It is said that, in response, King Charles III himself had the idea of ​​introducing into the territory a form of lotus that had arrived in Spain from the Italian Peninsula, via France.

The hobby had already been introduced in most of Spanish America. Began to make a splash in Campeche during the patronal celebration of the Cristo Negro de San Román which, even today, incorporates long marathons of the lottery.

In one of the financially quiet moments again volley, Patrícia Zavala tells us other curiosities: “at a certain point, the booklets started to be sold in the tents of groceries (grocery stores) in the city. Some time ago, one of them even offered symbols to stick on the cards.”

Patricia Zavala, Bingo, Lottery campechana-Parque Central, Campeche, Mexico

Patricia Zavala, one of the service boxes.

With or without this help, the inveterate players have become used to producing their own for which they employ a mixture of superstition and homemade science based on probability based on which figures should not be repeated in a single frame and that the preferred image of the 90 should be placed in the middle.

The more relaxed ladies take up additional space at the tables with their multi-card bets. Aware of this abuse, some choose to print and use reductions of the originals that occupy less than the conventional 15×15 cm.

A Secular Pastime of Old Campeche

Over the years, the country lottery became popular. In such a way that people began to use their pictograms to memorize all kinds of numbers: telephone numbers, codes, among others.

The game never deserved official inspection, however. Recently, there were those who took advantage and tried, without success, to patent the approved set of symbols in order, later, to make a serious profit.

Campeche lottery cards, Campeche, Mexico

Campeche bingo cards arranged on the game table.

This is something that continues to happen between the various tables installed in the Central Park, which does not prevent the ladies' community to socialize and have fun even if it rains, which in the most drenched days of the region, forces the ladies to bet under big hats Of rain.

is proclaimed a ball to the microphone. The incentive grants three additional pieces to whoever is awarded a symbol in the geometric center of the card. And also sandwiches and juices. Not all present waited for the blessing. Already before, family and friends shared empanadas and Tamales.

Nora Garcia, a distinguished lady, rewarded herself with a glass of rice pudding creamy but doesn't take your eyes off the table, inspecting the best chances of winning with the horizontal, vertical or diagonal combinations of five pieces, with the scissors (arrowheads), or any of several valid forms of crosses.

Player with rice con leche, street bingo, Campeche, Mexico

Player follows the bingo with rice con leche

It has been dark for a long time, but the Central Park is still lively, to the delight of dozens of German tourists around a guide who takes the opportunity to introduce them to the curious recreational phenomenon.

Fascinated by the discovery, visitors in intimidating numbers pull out of their cameras and disturb the smooth play of the game for later recall.

Rosa Puga ignores them and communicates new extraction: “Diezisiete Sillas”. With each rotation of the tombola, the night progresses a little further. But not even the sudden Teutonic invasion motivates those lovers of country lottery to get up from their chairs.

Izamal, Mexico

The Holy, Yellow and Beautiful Mexican City

Until the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, Izamal was a center of worship for the supreme Mayan god Itzamná and Kinich Kakmó, the one of the sun. Gradually, the invaders razed the various pyramids of the natives. In its place, they built a large Franciscan convent and a prolific colonial houses, with the same solar tone in which the now Catholic city shines.
Campeche, Mexico

Campeche Upon Can Pech

As was the case throughout Mexico, the conquerors arrived, saw and won. Can Pech, the Mayan village, had almost 40 inhabitants, palaces, pyramids and an exuberant urban architecture, but in 1540 there were less than 6 natives. Over the ruins, the Spaniards built Campeche, one of the most imposing colonial cities in the Americas.
Tulum, Mexico

The Most Caribbean of the Mayan Ruins

Built by the sea as an exceptional outpost decisive for the prosperity of the Mayan nation, Tulum was one of its last cities to succumb to Hispanic occupation. At the end of the XNUMXth century, its inhabitants abandoned it to time and to an impeccable coastline of the Yucatan peninsula.
Cobá to Pac Chen, Mexico

From the Ruins to the Mayan Homes

On the Yucatan Peninsula, the history of the second largest indigenous Mexican people is intertwined with their daily lives and merges with modernity. In Cobá, we went from the top of one of its ancient pyramids to the heart of a village of our times.
Campeche, Mexico

A Bingo so playful that you play with puppets

On Friday nights, a group of ladies occupy tables at Independencia Park and bet on trifles. The tiniest prizes come out to them in combinations of cats, hearts, comets, maracas and other icons.

Mexico City, Mexico

mexican soul

With more than 20 million inhabitants in a vast metropolitan area, this megalopolis marks, from its heart of zócalo, the spiritual pulse of a nation that has always been vulnerable and dramatic.

Champoton, Mexico

Rodeo Under Sombreros

Champoton, in Campeche, hosts a fair honored by the Virgén de La Concepción. O rodeo Mexican under local sombreros reveals the elegance and skill of the region's cowboys.
Competitions

Man: an Ever Tested Species

It's in our genes. For the pleasure of participating, for titles, honor or money, competitions give meaning to the world. Some are more eccentric than others.
Las Vegas, USA

Where sin is always forgiven

Projected from the Mojave Desert like a neon mirage, the North American capital of gaming and entertainment is experienced as a gamble in the dark. Lush and addictive, Vegas neither learns nor regrets.
Philippines

When Only Cock Fights Wake Up the Philippines

Banned in much of the First World, cockfighting thrives in the Philippines where they move millions of people and pesos. Despite its eternal problems, it is the sabong that most stimulates the nation.
San Cristóbal de las Casas a Campeche, Mexico

A Relay of Faith

The Catholic equivalent of Our Lady of Fátima, Our Lady of Guadalupe moves and moves Mexico. Its faithful cross the country's roads, determined to bring the proof of their faith to the patroness of the Americas.
Mérida, Mexico

The Most Exuberant of Meridas

In 25 BC, the Romans founded Emerita Augusta, capital of Lusitania. The Spanish expansion generated three other Méridas in the world. Of the four, the Yucatan capital is the most colorful and lively, resplendent with Hispanic colonial heritage and multi-ethnic life.
San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico

The Home Sweet Home of Mexican Social Conscience

Mayan, mestizo and Hispanic, Zapatista and tourist, country and cosmopolitan, San Cristobal has no hands to measure. In it, Mexican and expatriate backpacker visitors and political activists share a common ideological demand.
Yucatan, Mexico

The End of the End of the World

The announced day passed but the End of the World insisted on not arriving. In Central America, today's Mayans watched and put up with incredulity all the hysteria surrounding their calendar.
Yucatan, Mexico

The Sidereal Murphy's Law That Doomed the Dinosaurs

Scientists studying the crater caused by a meteorite impact 66 million years ago have come to a sweeping conclusion: it happened exactly over a section of the 13% of the Earth's surface susceptible to such devastation. It is a threshold zone on the Mexican Yucatan peninsula that a whim of the evolution of species allowed us to visit.
Uxmal, Yucatan, Mexico

The Mayan Capital That Piled It Up To Collapse

The term Uxmal means built three times. In the long pre-Hispanic era of dispute in the Mayan world, the city had its heyday, corresponding to the top of the Pyramid of the Diviner at its heart. It will have been abandoned before the Spanish Conquest of the Yucatan. Its ruins are among the most intact on the Yucatan Peninsula.
Barrancas del Cobre (Copper Canyon), Chihuahua, Mexico

The Deep Mexico of the Barrancas del Cobre

Without warning, the Chihuahua highlands give way to endless ravines. Sixty million geological years have furrowed them and made them inhospitable. The Rarámuri indigenous people continue to call them home.
Creel to Los Mochis, Mexico

The Barrancas del Cobre & the CHEPE Iron Horse

The Sierra Madre Occidental's relief turned the dream into a construction nightmare that lasted six decades. In 1961, at last, the prodigious Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad was opened. Its 643km cross some of the most dramatic scenery in Mexico.
chihuahua, Mexico

¡Ay Chihuahua !

Mexicans have adapted this expression as one of their favorite manifestations of surprise. While we wander through the capital of the homonymous state of the Northwest, we often exclaim it.
Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico

On the Edge of the Cenote, at the Heart of the Mayan Civilization

Between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries AD, Chichen Itza stood out as the most important city in the Yucatan Peninsula and the vast Mayan Empire. If the Spanish Conquest precipitated its decline and abandonment, modern history has consecrated its ruins a World Heritage Site and a Wonder of the World.
Residents walk along the trail that runs through plantations above the UP4
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Gurué, Mozambique, Part 1

Through the Mozambican Lands of Tea

The Portuguese founded Gurué in the 1930th century and, from XNUMX onwards, flooded it with camellia sinensis the foothills of the Namuli Mountains. Later, they renamed it Vila Junqueiro, in honor of its main promoter. With the independence of Mozambique and the civil war, the town regressed. It continues to stand out for the lush green imposing mountains and teak landscapes.
Host Wezi points out something in the distance
Beaches
Cobue; Nkwichi Lodge, Mozambique

The Hidden Mozambique of the Creaking Sands

During a tour from the bottom to the top of Lake Malawi, we find ourselves on the island of Likoma, an hour by boat from Nkwichi Lodge, the solitary base of this inland coast of Mozambique. On the Mozambican side, the lake is known as Niassa. Whatever its name, there we discover some of the most stunning and unspoilt scenery in south-east Africa.
A campfire lights up and warms the night, next to Reilly's Rock Hilltop Lodge,
safari
Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, Eswatini

The Fire That Revived eSwatini's Wildlife

By the middle of the last century, overhunting was wiping out much of the kingdom of Swaziland’s wildlife. Ted Reilly, the son of the pioneer settler who owned Mlilwane, took action. In 1961, he created the first protected area of ​​the Big Game Parks he later founded. He also preserved the Swazi term for the small fires that lightning has long caused.
Faithful light candles, Milarepa Grotto temple, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
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A Walk between Acclimatization and Pilgrimage

In full Annapurna Circuit, we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). we still need acclimatize to the higher stretches that followed, we inaugurated an equally spiritual journey to a Nepalese cave of Milarepa (4000m), the refuge of a siddha (sage) and Buddhist saint.
Architecture & Design
napier, New Zealand

Back to the 30s – Old-Fashioned Car Tour

In a city rebuilt in Art Deco and with an atmosphere of the "crazy years" and beyond, the adequate means of transportation are the elegant classic automobiles of that era. In Napier, they are everywhere.
Tibetan heights, altitude sickness, mountain prevent to treat, travel
Aventura

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When traveling, it happens that we find ourselves confronted with the lack of time to explore a place as unmissable as it is high. Medicine and previous experiences with Altitude Evil dictate that we should not risk ascending in a hurry.
Indigenous Crowned
Ceremonies and Festivities
Pueblos del Sur, Venezuela

Behind the Venezuela Andes. Fiesta Time.

In 1619, the authorities of Mérida dictated the settlement of the surrounding territory. The order resulted in 19 remote villages that we found dedicated to commemorations with caretos and local pauliteiros.
Table Mountain view from Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa.
Cities
Table Mountain, South Africa

At the Adamastor Monster Table

From the earliest times of the Discoveries to the present, Table Mountain has always stood out above the South African immensity South African and the surrounding ocean. The centuries passed and Cape Town expanded at his feet. The Capetonians and the visiting outsiders got used to contemplating, ascending and venerating this imposing and mythical plateau.
Obese resident of Tupola Tapaau, a small island in Western Samoa.
Lunch time
Tonga, Western Samoa, Polynesia

XXL Pacific

For centuries, the natives of the Polynesian islands subsisted on land and sea. Until the intrusion of colonial powers and the subsequent introduction of fatty pieces of meat, fast food and sugary drinks have spawned a plague of diabetes and obesity. Today, while much of Tonga's national GDP, Western Samoa and neighbors is wasted on these “western poisons”, fishermen barely manage to sell their fish.
Kente Festival Agotime, Ghana, gold
Culture
Kumasi to Kpetoe, Ghana

A Celebration-Trip of the Ghanian Fashion

After some time in the great Ghanaian capital ashanti we crossed the country to the border with Togo. The reasons for this long journey were the kente, a fabric so revered in Ghana that several tribal chiefs dedicate a sumptuous festival to it every year.
Swimming, Western Australia, Aussie Style, Sun rising in the eyes
Sport
Busselton, Australia

2000 meters in Aussie Style

In 1853, Busselton was equipped with one of the longest pontoons in the world. World. When the structure collapsed, the residents decided to turn the problem around. Since 1996 they have been doing it every year. Swimming.
Motorcyclist in Sela Gorge, Arunachal Pradesh, India
Traveling
Guwahati a Saddle Pass, India

A Worldly Journey to the Sacred Canyon of Sela

For 25 hours, we traveled the NH13, one of the highest and most dangerous roads in India. We traveled from the Brahmaputra river basin to the disputed Himalayas of the province of Arunachal Pradesh. In this article, we describe the stretch up to 4170 m of altitude of the Sela Pass that pointed us to the Tibetan Buddhist city of Tawang.
Conversation between photocopies, Inari, Babel Parliament of the Sami Lapland Nation, Finland
Ethnic
Inari, Finland

The Babel Parliament of the Sami Nation

The Sami Nation comprises four countries, which ingest into the lives of their peoples. In the parliament of Inari, in various dialects, the Sami govern themselves as they can.
sunlight photography, sun, lights
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Natural Light (Part 2)

One Sun, So Many Lights

Most travel photos are taken in sunlight. Sunlight and weather form a capricious interaction. Learn how to predict, detect and use at its best.
Porvoo, Finland, warehouses
History
Porvoo, Finland

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One of the oldest settlements of the Suomi nation, in the early XNUMXth century, Porvoo was a busy riverside post and its third city. Over time, Porvoo lost commercial importance. In return, it has become one of Finland's revered historic strongholds.  
Lifou, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia, Mme Moline popinée
Islands
LifouLoyalty Islands

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Lifou is the island in the middle of the three that make up the semi-francophone archipelago off New Caledonia. In time, the Kanak natives will decide if they want their paradise independent of the distant metropolis.
Era Susi towed by dog, Oulanka, Finland
Winter White
PN Oulanka, Finland

A Slightly Lonesome Wolf

Jukka “Era-Susi” Nordman has created one of the largest packs of sled dogs in the world. He became one of Finland's most iconic characters but remains faithful to his nickname: Wilderness Wolf.
On the Crime and Punishment trail, St. Petersburg, Russia, Vladimirskaya
Literature
Saint Petersburg, Russia

On the Trail of "Crime and Punishment"

In St. Petersburg, we cannot resist investigating the inspiration for the base characters in Fyodor Dostoevsky's most famous novel: his own pities and the miseries of certain fellow citizens.
Meeting of the waters, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
Nature
Manaus, Brazil

Meeting the Meeting of the Waters

The phenomenon is not unique, but in Manaus it has a special beauty and solemnity. At a certain point, the Negro and Solimões rivers converge on the same Amazonas bed, but instead of immediately mixing, both flows continue side by side. As we explore these parts of the Amazon, we witness the unusual confrontation of the Encontro das Águas.
Mother Armenia Statue, Yerevan, Armenia
Autumn
Yerevan, Armenia

A Capital between East and West

Heiress of the Soviet civilization, aligned with the great Russia, Armenia allows itself to be seduced by the most democratic and sophisticated ways of Western Europe. In recent times, the two worlds have collided in the streets of your capital. From popular and political dispute, Yerevan will dictate the new course of the nation.
Bwabwata National Park, Namibia, giraffes
Natural Parks
PN Bwabwata, Namíbia

A Namibian Park Worth Three

Once Namibia's independence was consolidated in 1990, to simplify its management, the authorities grouped together a trio of parks and reserves on the Caprivi strip. The resulting PN Bwabwata hosts a stunning immensity of ecosystems and wildlife, on the banks of the Cubango (Okavango) and Cuando rivers.
Grand Canyon, Arizona, Travel North America, Abysmal, Hot Shadows
UNESCO World Heritage
Grand Canyon, USA

Journey through the Abysmal North America

The Colorado River and tributaries began flowing into the plateau of the same name 17 million years ago and exposed half of Earth's geological past. They also carved one of its most stunning entrails.
now from above ladder, sorcerer of new zealand, Christchurch, new zealand
Characters
Christchurch, New Zealand

New Zealand's Cursed Wizard

Despite his notoriety in the antipodes, Ian Channell, the New Zealand sorcerer, failed to predict or prevent several earthquakes that struck Christchurch. At the age of 88, after 23 years of contract with the city, he made very controversial statements and ended up fired.
Tombolo and Punta Catedral, Manuel António National Park, Costa Rica
Beaches
PN Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

Costa Rica's Little-Big National Park

The reasons for the under 28 are well known national parks Costa Ricans have become the most popular. The fauna and flora of PN Manuel António proliferate in a tiny and eccentric patch of jungle. As if that wasn't enough, it is limited to four of the best typical beaches.
The Crucifixion in Helsinki
Religion
Helsinki, Finland

A Frigid-Scholarly Via Crucis

When Holy Week arrives, Helsinki shows its belief. Despite the freezing cold, little dressed actors star in a sophisticated re-enactment of Via Crucis through streets full of spectators.
Back in the sun. San Francisco Cable Cars, Life Ups and Downs
On Rails
San Francisco, USA

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A macabre wagon accident inspired the San Francisco cable car saga. Today, these relics work as a charm operation in the city of fog, but they also have their risks.
aggie gray, Samoa, South Pacific, Marlon Brando Fale
Society
Apia, Western Samoa

The Host of the South Pacific

She sold burguês to GI's in World War II and opened a hotel that hosted Marlon Brando and Gary Cooper. Aggie Gray passed away in 2. Her legacy lives on in the South Pacific.
Coin return
Daily life
Dawki, India

Dawki, Dawki, Bangladesh on sight

We descended from the high and mountainous lands of Meghalaya to the flats to the south and below. There, the translucent and green stream of the Dawki forms the border between India and Bangladesh. In a damp heat that we haven't felt for a long time, the river also attracts hundreds of Indians and Bangladeshis in a picturesque escape.
Pisteiro San in action at Torra Conservancy, Namibia
Wildlife
Palmwag, Namíbia

In Search of Rhinos

We set off from the heart of the oasis generated by the Uniab River, home to the largest number of black rhinos in southwest Africa. In the footsteps of a bushman tracker, we follow a stealthy specimen, dazzled by a setting with a Martian feel.
Full Dog Mushing
Scenic Flights
Seward, Alaska

The Alaskan Dog Mushing Summer

It's almost 30 degrees and the glaciers are melting. In Alaska, entrepreneurs have little time to get rich. Until the end of August, dog mushing cannot stop.