Martin Trujillo Carrazco
Art editor Jenny Wu interviews Martin Trujillo Carrazco about the artist’s work and the Lotería Card series published in Issue 1.
Tell me about yourself as an artist. What does your process look like?
This is the first time I’ve created art in a professional context. When I create something, it is in a relaxed environment to destress. This past school year (pre-pandemic), my friends and I would frequently get together and have a night where we would paint and watch a movie. All my paintings would have a reference to pop culture: Kermit the frog drinking tea, Mr. Krabs from SpongeBob, etc. It wasn’t until quarantine that I decided to pick up digital art. Other than an introductory digital painting class in freshman year of high school, I had no other experience with digital art. Drawing Lotería cards was a fun way to play around with this new medium.
What inspired you to make Lotería Cards, and what inspired you to feature Wash U-specific imagery on the cards?
Lotería is a very old game similar to bingo that originated in Europe and traveled to Mexico when the Spanish colonized. Growing up, my family and I frequently played this game. The colorful pictures on the cards and boards made it easy for me to play even before I could read. There are different versions of Lotería with different objects depending on the theme. Prior to making my own cards, I saw various versions of “Millennial Lotería” with cards such as “La Selfie,” “La Pride,” and “El Yoga.” While I am technically not a millennial, I still found the new version relatable for the most part. This inspired me to create my own version of Lotería cards as they relate to my own life, specifically my first year at Wash U. Since no one in my family has had the opportunity to attend college, academia was never mixed with my Mexican upbringing. I thought that creating these Lotería cards would be an interesting way to bridge two important parts of my life.
What do you hope that people viewing your work will come away thinking or feeling?
I want the people who view my art to develop an appreciation for the simple game I grew up playing. I think that the recent anti-Latinx immigrant sentiment in the United States is caused by the dehumanization of the Latinx community. I think games are a good way to get to know someone’s culture and therefore humanize them. I hope that my cards are a bridge from something most Americans are familiar with to a popular part of Mexican culture.