Loteria is a book that turned a Mexican game into an interesting story.
Book Summary
We start off with Life and Death, also called La Catrina meeting for the first time in a lot of years. They are meeting to play Loteria. They already have the person they will play with. A young girl named Clara. If death wins, she will take the girl’s soul. If life wins, he will grant her a long life.
We find Clara in her kitchen helping her mom, Juana, make hot chocolate. She finds a white hair on her head. She takes it off and continues. With her cousins they start looking for gold. They find a cadaver and decide to explore. Clara and her cousins go deeper into the cave to try to find gold. The book reveals that the family has unique powers. All of a sudden, all of them hear a voice talking that sounded like Clara’s aunt, Chita. Clara and her youngest cousin, Esteban, stay back while the other boys continue.
When they start to get bored Clara decides to let Esteban tell her what to draw with some art stuff she got for her birthday. Esteban tells her to draw a dragon with two heads, one with scales and the other with feathers, a black tongue, a forked tail, and claws like an eagle. Clara shows her cousin the drawing. She had added an “E” on one of the scales, a “C” on one of the feathers and a ring around one of the dragon’s toes.
The boys finally came back with a dozen small ceramic bowls. None of them noticed the gust of wind taking the dragon away. The children were at a tree that had weird shapes on it. While the other children had fun Esteban noticed something about the tree. The tree had the exact dragon that Clara drew for him on it. He struggled to think of how to tell his mother. He said he had a feeling that something bad would happen to her.
Clara and her mother were going to go to Santa Maria de Tule to visit her aunt because Esteban told Chita what he saw. Clara didn’t think it was possible for the exact picture that she had drawn to be the exact picture Esteban had seen on the tree. Then Esteban got pain in his stomach and went to the kitchen to get water. Esteban had handled high fevers but this one was different. He kept drinking water until the pain vanished. Little did they know, something bad was going to happen.
Clara woke up early and got dressed so her and her mother won’t miss the bus. They made it to Chita’s house. They all greeted each other and entered the house. At this point in the story, we are introduced to a boy named Adan.
His family wasn’t in the best position. Adan had gotten a bow and arrow for his birthday. A storm was coming so he and his dad had not gone too far. After lunch they went to see the tree to see if Esteban was right about what he saw. And he was right. The same exact dragon was on the tree. Then, suddenly, Clara got stung by a scorpion on her finger. Clara’s mother instructed Esteban to get an ice pack for Clara.
Esteban’s got a sharp pain in his stomach. He stopped and grabbed his side. He stared back at Clara and continued to the tour guide. He told the tour guide about Clara and the tour guide rushed to bring water bottles and an ice pack for her. He asked if they needed anything else. Juana said her sister was getting the antidote. Everybody was stressed and worried for Clara.
Adan shot his arrow and took Chita’s life. She never saw it. The only thing weird about it was that it was the exact spot where her husband got stuck by lighting. A woman named Lupe came crying and hugged Esteban. Esteban realized his mother was gone. Clara was sad and checked on her cousin. Esteban didn’t even shed a tear. Esteban was to stay at Clara’s house until he was old enough to rejoin his brothers. Esteban stopped and heard the same thing he had heard in the cavern. Esteban ran to his mother’s voice and Clara raced after him. She finally caught him, and tears gushed out of his eyes. They returned to Lupe’s house and Clara promised him she wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him.
Esteban was in his room when he hears Chita’s voice again and jumps out the window. Clara heard him jump out the window and followed him into Chita’s Garden. Clara had found a glowing cactus in her garden. She knew what she promised Esteban and acted quickly. She went inside the glowing cactus.
Clara woke up in a world that was not Chita’s Garden. Clara soon realized she was in Asrean—a hidden paradise. She knew that if you wanted something, you needed to give something. Clara then climbs a tree with a little frog’s help to get a better view. She sees and hears Esteban with a man who was called El Diablo. He told Esteban that his mother was waiting for him. Then she met a bird who said if she draws something it will come to life. She told the bird she’s not a good artist and the bird flew away.
Life and Death see a merchant and the merchant gives them a special stone that when facing a sunrise will start to shine. Clara met a group of hunters looking for a fawn. She remembered Chita saying to honor all life. The fawn thanked her and said that it can’t hide because of its white fur. Clara asked that fawn what she could do. The fawn said she could take the color of her hair. Clara’s black hair turned to white as the fawn took its color. The fawn told her that Esteban would probably be at the Mercado Rojo. Clara went on the dangerous journey.
When Clara got there, she saw Esteban go into El Diablo’s home. She tried to sneak in but the guards caught her and put her in a cage with a hungry spider. The spider wanted freedom and Clara remembered what the bird said. She let the spider bite her and with the blood she drew a key. She escaped and followed Esteban to a castle. She tried to warn him, but he said his mom was waiting for him.
El Diablo snatched Clara’s arm. As they walked into the castle, Chita was nowhere to be found. Only a young boy in a throne, also known as the king. El Diablo would open a portal out of Asrean and tricked the kids to follow him. When the kids arrived, the king would take their young essence and live longer.
While Clara and Esteban were on separate islands, she realized she could draw in the cave to make other kids enjoy their time in the cave. Life won the game of Loteria. He offered Clara a long life. When he told Clara, she said that it would mean more time in the cave, which Clara didn’t want. She asked Life and Catrina if they had ever made any choices. They thought about it and asked Clara what she wanted. She said she wanted them to take her cousin home and make him forget Asrean. Back home, everyone looked for the lost children. Someone finally found Esteban but not Clara. After a while, El Diablo attacked the king, and all the children were free. Clara came back home, and everyone was happy. Life and Death would soon meet again, with another person to play with.
My Two Cents
Loteria is an amazing book and I would recommend it for everyone.
