Loteria Fotografica Mexicana

The Mexican loter\xEDa is a game of chance that features a deck of 54 cards, each illustrated with a person or object tied in some way to Mexican culture-the eagle, the maguey plant, adobe, and so forth. The loter\xEDa can also suggest a Tarot deck, though there are no suits: each card stands alone. Photographer Hartley provides 54 black-and-white photographs that take the place of the deck's traditional illustrations to create a look at contemporary Mexico and the native and colonial histories upon which it rests. Her photograph for the Virgin, for example, shows a man from the waist up, with a three-dimensional representation of the Virgin of Guadalupe strapped to his back, as he stands next to a large bus. Her drunk sleeps, wedged into the corner of a building, with his arms over his chest as though he is comfortably in bed. All of the photographs are beautifully complemented by popular lyrics that reveal further aspects of Mexican culture, often with a macabre humor. Loosely translated, the verse for the palm tree, photographed with colonial-style buildings as backdrop and a bus crossing in front, reads, ""Poor little palm tree,/ it withered in the sun;/ just as the soul withers/ when it is turned down."" Alain-Paul Mallard's brief introduction discusses the photographs in the context of the loter\xEDa deck, while Alfonso Morales Carrillo's longer afterword ruminates on the nature of play and games of chance and their role in culture generally. Instructions for play are also included, along with a bibliography of the sources of the verses. The book is also available in a gift edition that includes a paperback copy of the book, boxed with a complete deck featuring Hartley's photographs and ""table cards"" for bingo-style playing. Highly recommended for public libraries.-Reviewed by Coop Renner, formerly from El Paso Independent Sch. District, TX