What’s the deal with mermaids in Mexican culture? Specifically, what’s the La Sirena Mexican Lotería meaning? This iconic Lotería card features a sultry mermaid belting a siren song — but she’s more than just eye candy. Let’s unpack how La Sirena reflects Mexican folk beliefs, female symbolism, and even a little Disney crossover.
Sirenas: The Origin Story
The first tales of mermaids were told in ancient Assyria over 3,000 years ago when (allegedly) a goddess named Atargatis transformed herself into a mermaid out of shame. She accidentally killed her human lover and was so upset that she flung herself into the sea - possibly attempting suicide. But since she was a goddess and suicide isn't really their thing, mermaid-hood was the punishment that she forced upon herself. Tough broad.
In ancient Greek myths, mermaids weren't your friendly neighborhood fish-folk. These sirens (or sirenas) were more into causing chaos than singing with crabs! They'd float their hypnotic tunes across the waves, leading curious sailors straight into disaster. Ships? Wrecked. Crews? Soaked. Rocky islands? Suddenly very popular parking spots. These crafty sirens were basically the original masters of the deadly playlist.
The first "official" mermaid sighting came from none other than Christopher Columbus in 1493. He wrote about spotting three mysterious "female forms" rising from the Caribbean waters. Of course, The History Channel had to swim in with their so-called "facts" about what he really saw...
According to The History Channel (total party poopers), those "female forms" Columbus spotted were actually... manatees. Yep, our famous explorer mistook some chubby sea cows for mermaids! Even better, he wrote that they were "not half as beautiful as they are painted." Seriously, Chris? You sail across the Atlantic hoping to find Asia, accidentally bump into the Americas instead, and then have the nerve to critique the local sea life's beauty standards?
I mean, this is the same guy who got lost trying to find Asia and decided to just... rename an entire "New World" instead. Maybe his mermaid-spotting skills weren't exactly top-notch either! 😆
Mermaids, mythical half-female, half-fish creatures, have existed in seafaring cultures at least since the time of the ancient Greeks. Typically depicted as having a woman’s head and torso, a fishtail instead of legs and holding a mirror and comb, mermaids live in the ocean and, according to some legends, can take on a human shape and marry mortal men. Mermaids are closely linked to sirens, another folkloric figure, part-woman, part-bird, who live on islands and sing seductive songs to lure sailors to their deaths.
Mermaid sightings by sailors, when they weren’t made up, were most likely manatees, dugongs or Steller’s sea cows."
MANATEES and SEA COWS? SEA COWS?!?! How dare The History Channel!!
The infamous 18th Century pirate, Blackbeard (whose real name was Edward Teach - lame right?) wrote in his journal that he instructed his crew to avoid certain charted waters known to be 'enchanted' with mermaids looking to bewitch ships and steal their bounty of riches...something Blackbeard was not going to tolerate. Not even from hot chicks.
It took writers and historians another 100+ years before mermaids were considered enchanting and waaaaay less dangerous than pirates thought. In 1836, Hans Christian Andersen penned the now well-known fairy tale, "The Little Mermaid". The book depicted mermaids as sweet and loving non-thieves who just want to become human. This tale has since been depicted in operas, paintings, books, comics and of course, films. Yes, THAT Little Mermaid is THAT old.
In 1989, Walt Disney Pictures released their full-length animated film based on Andersen's tale. The appropriately titled "The Little Mermaid" movie was "Splash"-level cool for 3 reasons:
- Ariel wore a purple seashell bikini top. This is NOT easy to pull off.
- All religious references from the original tale were removed from the film, including the mermaid's quest for an immortal soul, because that would interfere with the comedy, cuteness and romance with the Prince.
- The lead character was a gorgeous, independent and rebellious young woman.
I know there was a 90's Mermaid movie with Cher and another teen queen one with Emma Roberts, but those don't count. If we're talking about the most epic portrayal of mermaid-ness in a movie since "Splash" that would, of course, be "Zoolander".
Who Is La Sirena in Mexican Lotería?
The last point about mermaids/sirenas that I want to address is the iconic La Sirena image that belongs to the classic Mexican 'bingo-like' game called La Loteria. You have seen this image many times, but probably never assumed the image (or the game for that matter) had much significance. Well, it's significant and here's why...
"Lotería is the Spanish word for lottery. The game originated in Italy in the 15th century and was brought to New Spain (México) in 1769. In the beginning, la lotería was a hobby of the upper classes, but eventually it became a tradition at Mexican fairs. Now it is played by many Mexicans at home or in cantinas.
It is a traditional game of chance, similar to Bingo, but using images on a deck of cards instead of plain numbers on ping pong balls. The deck of cards is composed of a set of 54 different images, each one in a card. To start the game, the caller (cantor, or singer) randomly selects a card from the deck and announces it to the players by its name, sometimes using a riddle instead of reading the card name."
#6 would be La Sirena. Here is the calling of the card...
Numero Seis! La sirena! (the mermaid) "Con los cantos de sirena, no te vayas a marear." = Don't be swayed by the songs of the siren (In Spanish, sirens and mermaids and their songs are synonymous). So don't be swayed.
So with all of the Splashy Mermaid obsession going on, we decided to collaborate with our papel picado artists near Puebla to create both paper and plastic The Little Mermaid / La Sirenita papel picado! Get your choice of material and color schemes for your next Fish Fry, Cinco de Mayo event or kid's birthday party!
Experience México every day with La Loteria Inspired Papel Picado! Buy Yours Here...
Shop the entire TexMex Fun Stuff Papel Picado Collection
Are you looking for more inspiration from México? Check out our TexMex Fun Stuff Party good for culture, color, and fun, straight from Mexico to your next party!
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