Cuban lottery system turns common words into numbers

Jun 2, 2012, 1:18 am (19 comments)

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If you dream about a big fish, and then see a man on a bicycle when you walk outside to get the paper, be sure to play the lottery numbers 1-0-5-2.

That's La Charada, a system of associating everyday objects with numbers that has taken root in South Florida.

"It's a Cuban tradition," said 68-year-old Juan Campos as he bought a Play 4 ticket on Wednesday at Navarro Discount Pharmacy in Pembroke Pines.

Pescada grande, he explained, is 10. Bicicleta is 52.

The tradition goes back to the 1800s, when Chinese laborers arrived in Cuba following the abolition of slavery. The laborers brought with them "La Charada China," a drawing of a man whose body is covered with symbols, animals and their corresponding numbers.

The Cubans created their own version of the system, and both are used today in South Florida. The numbers run from 1 through 100. (The number 100 is often used for the number "00" — zero.)

The lottery counter at Navarro Discount Pharmacy in Pembroke Pines sees a steady flow of players, many of whom have heard of La Charada.

"For people who enjoy and can afford the lottery, it's something we offer," Navarro Pharmacy VP Cristy Leon-Rivero said. "It's people just having fun, and for some, that's following La Charada."

Leon-Rivero said her grandparents used La Charada in Cuba when they, like many people in the country, played the illegal lottery game known as "La Bolita" (litte ball).

"I mainly remember that if they saw a cockroach, they played the number 5," she said. "It was part superstition and part an attempt to give meaning to everyday life."

Cubans use "La Charada" to keep them connected to their heritage, said Daniel Diaz, co-owner of Government Discount, which was No. 4 in the state in lottery sales for 2011. He pasted the Chinese version of La Charada to one lottery window, and said most of his staff knows the drill quite well.

"But one day, we had a new girl in, and a customer came up and said, 'Give me a drunken prostitute,' " he said. "She was quite offended."

The regular woman at the window simply would have punched 4-9 for "borracho" and 1-2 for "ramera."

Meanwhile, Campos, who had dreamed of a big fish, came up empty Wednesday night. The numbers were 2-4-5-4. That'd be a pigeon ("paloma") and flowers ("flores").

Had he hit, he'd have celebrated. But hopefully not so much as to attract No. 50: la policia.

•  •  •  •  •    •  •

Lottery Post has a new Mystical Lottery Charts section, and the first chart included is a La Charada Chart.  Lottery players can look up numbers and the Spanish words, with English translations.

Sun Sentinel, Lottery Post Staff

Comments

RedStang's avatarRedStang

I like this game. In America the numbers for a red mustang would be 5.0.

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

I dream of Jack Daniels all the time.

In a 1.75 Liter bottle.

Even when I'm awake.

I find this to be very curious to say the least.

Coin Toss's avatarCoin Toss

This should get a lot of hits, thanks for posting it Todd & staff, & the new section.

eddessaknight's avatareddessaknight

Quote: Originally posted by Coin Toss on Jun 2, 2012

This should get a lot of hits, thanks for posting it Todd & staff, & the new section.

Perhaps Ancient Chinese game of keno ala Cuba ???

 

EddessaKnight

Coin Toss's avatarCoin Toss

Edessaknight,

The original game of Keno had 80 characters of the Chinese alphabet - there are tens of thousands - it's said most Chinese never learn their whole alphabet.

Most people played their names.

Keno helped finance the Great Wall of China.

I can't remember where I saw it, but I've seen the figure mentioned in the OP, maybe in an old dream book.

TigerAngel's avatarTigerAngel

Way cool! Thanx for the addition to the site. I've had good luck looking up dreams to get numbers in LA SMORPHIA - The Italian Book of Dreams.

crazya305's avatarcrazya305

This is so awesome. I remember my dad and mom use to play this everyday. My parents from Haiti and they enjoy playing their numbers. Enjoy

maximumfun's avatarmaximumfun

Quote: Originally posted by rdgrnr on Jun 2, 2012

I dream of Jack Daniels all the time.

In a 1.75 Liter bottle.

Even when I'm awake.

I find this to be very curious to say the least.

Ya know... even with a bottle o' Jack if someone came up to me and asked me for a 'drunken prostitute' (with me being the clerk) I would have simply stood there and blinked... and then started giggling.

searching4luck

Why is Leon in there??? Lion is another number.

mcginnin56

Quote: Originally posted by Coin Toss on Jun 2, 2012

Edessaknight,

The original game of Keno had 80 characters of the Chinese alphabet - there are tens of thousands - it's said most Chinese never learn their whole alphabet.

Most people played their names.

Keno helped finance the Great Wall of China.

I can't remember where I saw it, but I've seen the figure mentioned in the OP, maybe in an old dream book.

Interestingly, there are many Americans who have yet to learn their whole English alphabet.  Jack-in-the-Box

Todd's avatarTodd

Quote: Originally posted by searching4luck on Jun 3, 2012

Why is Leon in there??? Lion is another number.

"Leon" in number 8 was actually a translation error, and has been fixed to "Lion".  Some words are indeed listed more than once -- for example, money.

Coin Toss's avatarCoin Toss

Quote: Originally posted by mcginnin56 on Jun 3, 2012

Interestingly, there are many Americans who have yet to learn their whole English alphabet.  Jack-in-the-Box

Good one mcginnin56!

I found this a little odd - for the number 12:

Ramera, Mujer Santa, Viaje, Toallas, Cometa, Dama, Perro Grande Prostitute, Holy Women, Travel, Towels, Comet, Lady, Big Dog
Artist77's avatarArtist77

Quote: Originally posted by Coin Toss on Jun 3, 2012

Good one mcginnin56!

I found this a little odd - for the number 12:

Ramera, Mujer Santa, Viaje, Toallas, Cometa, Dama, Perro Grande Prostitute, Holy Women, Travel, Towels, Comet, Lady, Big Dog

This is pretty fun.  I like to garden so I am picking numbers related to bulbs, butterflies, etc.

 

For # 12--Maybe it refers to Mary Magdelene (although there is some debate about her "profession.")

sully16's avatarsully16

Thats pretty cool, Thanks Todd.

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