All of a sudden, I'm such a catch and all of NacoLAndia wants to liquid lunch with me, except for my old employer, of course.
I've also spent my other free time sleeping for at least 9 hours a night and tucking myself in for bed with several generous pours of Rosa Mexicano every evening. Don't be jealous.
Oddly enough, on two of my adventures this past week, I wound up at The Farmers Market. On the surface, the whole place, along with The Grove shopping center lying adjacent, is way too fancy for LA Naca, what with there being fancy stores like Barnels and Nobles and Estarbucks on the premises. But there's one place, puesto #322, that always makes me feel like su casa really es mi casa. I found it one day about 6 years ago and, as fate would have it, I happened to be wearing a shirt that matched the decor. The stand is called ¡Lotería!
In my world, ¡Lotería! is a timeless Mexican board game similar to bingo, but better. Bingo doesn't have a topless mermaid, therefore the one hecho en Mexico is the winner. In fact, when I was an 8th grader, instead of having pictures of hottie celebrities like Jordan Knight or Kirk Cameron or Corey Haim (DEP), I opted to put up the cards of el Apache, el Valiente, el Musico, el Negrito, el Catrin, but somehow the ones that had the most influence on me were el Soldado and el Borracho. Oh yeah, and la Botella.
If none of this makes sense to you, pick up a copy of ¡Lotería! at your local TopValu. Word to the wise: you shouldn't be paying more than $4 for your game box.
Anyguey, I'm used to playing Lotería either on the street with total strangers or at home with friends and family. Ever since I was eleven, LA Seño would ship me off to the Greatest Country in the World just in time for the annual holiday fiestas when the carnival would overtake mi pueblito for 3 days, and it's where I first learned how to play ¡Lotería! for cash money (but pesos Mexicanos, so it's almost like playing with pretend money).
I would play late into the night, easily past 9pm, spending all my time with a laminated cardboard tabla and a gripload of bottlecaps as markers. (If I were to play this at home with my family, we'd use un chingo de frijoles pintos instead.) There were prizes involved, too, usually cheap plastic choking hazards. But the REAL joy came from being the first to shout "¡Lotería!" only to hear your neighbor bitch, "¡No manches! Casi casi gané, niña."
Whenever I visit Loteria Grill, I'm filled with nostalgia of my childhood gambling addiction. Also, their food is delicious (especially their mole enchiladas), if overpriced. Their flautas also kick nalgas. Even better, they have a sea of different aguas frescas that constantly keep me coming back for more.
I wonder if the levels were made to look like phone reception or if that's just a coincidence. In any case, it's not as cheap as some of my other favorite places in more hood parts of town, but it's a small price to pay for finding sanctuary, a place to belong, in an otherwise porkless and Jesusless neighborhood.
What I also love about this place is the liberties they took with creating their own Lotería images side by side with the originals.
Note how they tried to sneak in el Camion between the musical sandwich of el Arpa and el Bandolon. I also love how they added el Domino between the classics las Jaras and la Chalupa.
Here are some of my favorite new additions to the Lotería familia.
Agarre el sombrero de tu tío pa' bailar el jarabe tapatío.
Somos especialistas en amar a los futbolistas.
El jarocho se lava la cachimba antes de tocar la marimba.
Prefiero los toreadores que los mensos boxeadores.
Yo no soy marinero, pero por ti seré cocinero.
If working as a taxista or chola doesn't work out for me, I really should think of becoming the poet laureate of la Placita Olvera. In the meantime, Corralejo is calling my name.
Hasta mañana.
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