Campus Happenings: Feminist Loteria
Photo Story by Max Dudoit-Mendoza
On September 30th, the University of Hawaii at Hilo Women's Center put on a Feminist Loteria (Mexican Bingo) night to mark the end of Hispanic Heritage month. And I don't know about you dear random reader, but I love gambling I never pass up an opportunity to play bingo. Instead of the typical pictures you'd find on a loteria card, the cards were filled with historically notable Hispanic figures. Additionally, instead of your typical bingo dauber or dot marker, we were given a cup of dry beans to use as markers, which made the cards infinitely reusable. How sustainable!
Pinto Bean Makers/Fichas
The host would call out a description of one of the esteemed people on the cards (first in Spanish and then English) and it would be your job to figure out which of them was being talked about based on the little hint cards provided to each table. There were also bigger blown up cards at one of the front tables. Once your team figured out which person was being talked about, you’d have to put a bean on their picture then move on to the next. Afterwards, when someone on your table gets a row of beans on their loteria card, everyone on that particular table surrounding the winner gets to go up and receive a prize.
Feminist Loteria (Mexican Bingo)
Historically notable Hispanic Figures
End of Night Dancing
After the first couple rounds, the hosts invited those who were interested to join my personal friend Tiff, a student liaison for the Women's Center, on the dance floor in which they taught Hispanic cultural dances known as salsa, bachata, and cumbia.Towards the end of the night, the tables were practically empty because everyone was busy dancing. Personally, I am not a dancer since I would typically avoid going to things that would require me to have anything but two left feet. However, Tiff was very encouraging as a teacher and being that the music was so rhythmic, even someone like me spent a few minutes dancing with everyone. It was really awesome to see everyone having fun, especially witnessing others dancing with people they had never met before.
Chips and salsa: Coco Cantina
Aside from the great company and engaging activities, they also had these wonderfully crunchy and salty tortilla chips accompanied with tangy salsa and refreshingly creamy guacamole, courtesy of Coco Cantina. I know that oftentimes you have lots of things going on in your life and itʻs hard to find time to completely relax. But even so, do try your best to keep an eye out for events happening around campus! It’s a great opportunity to hang out with friends, familiarize yourself with your peers, engage with the community, and to let off some steam!