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Juegos, juguetes & más:

Culturas lúdicas en Hispanoamérica
Games, toys & more:
Ludic Cultures in Hispanic America

Sergio Díaz-Luna, Ph.D. [he, him] | Office Hours: _________

[izq./left] El juego de pelota mesoamericano/The Mesoamerican ballgame

[der./right] La danza de los voladores/The Dance of the Flyers
—The Codex Borbonicus (1519)

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Course Description
This course explores the fascinating world of ludic culture —play and pastimes— in
Hispanic America, from the Pre-Columbian era to the end of the colonial period, and the
advent of the independent republics (19th c.). We will delve into the rich history and
cultural significance of ludological expressions, examining how traditional games, sports,
toys, and other forms of popular entertaining such as carnivals and festivities, reflect and
shape societal values, gender roles, power dynamics, and cultural conventions. From Aztec
ball games and Mayan counting games to colonial card games, playthings, and pastimes, we
will explore the value and symbolism embedded in these artifacts and practices, their
anthropological significance and role in socialization and education at the core of the
Hispanic American gaming culture. Through a diverse range of primary and secondary
sources, we will investigate:

• The social and cultural contexts of play: We will examine how certain ludic practices were
used for education, socialization, ritual, and leisure by different groups and communities.
• The ludic adaptation and transformation of indigenous traditions: We will investigate
how indigenous games and cultural integration with European influences, creates unique
hybrid forms of amusement and play.
• The intersection of play and power: We will analyze how games, toys, sports, and
festivities can reinforce or challenge power structures, exploring issues of gender, class,
ethnic differences, and other social dynamics.
• The role of playing in preserving cultural memory: We will explore how these objects and
social activities involving playing can serve as valuable resource for understanding the
past and the ongoing transmission of cultural heritage.
** (If the class is conducted in Spanish) This is an advanced level course through which
students will gain a deep understanding of Spanish American ludic culture and pastimes.
The approach of this course is a communicative one, and therefore, you are required to
actively engage in classroom discussions and group activities.
[!] Every 3 weeks there will be a game session inspired by the course content. You must
attend a minimum of 2 and submit same number of post-gaming reflections. The act of
playing will help us solidify course concepts, practice communication skills, and engage
actively with the material, translating theoretical knowledge into practical understanding
and experience. You will find the list of board games at the end of this document.

Students will have the opportunity to:

• Analyze primary sources such as early manuscripts —codexes—, colonial chronicles,
original paintings, and other archaeological discoveries.
• Engage in game reconstructions and creative projects that bring these historical objects
and playful practices to life.
• Develop critical thinking skills to interpret the complex meanings and functions of
Hispanic games, toys, and pastimes within their historical and cultural contexts.
• Research and present on specific games, toys, and other recreational activities.

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Course Objectives
• Gain a comprehensive understanding of the history and cultural significance of games,
toys, and entertaining practices from Pre-Columbian era to colonial Spanish America.
• Analyze the relationship between play, culture, and society in this historical context.
• Critically evaluate the sources used to reconstruct the ludic world of the past.
• Develop research and writing skills through engaging assignments and discussions.

** (If the class is conducted in Spanish)

• Masterful control of speaking and writing skills in Spanish (advanced/superior level).

Course Learning Outcomes

• Analyze the symbolism and messages embedded within games, sports, toys, and ludic
pastimes in the Hispanophone America.
• Explore how cultural differences and historical changes impacted recreational practices
across different regions and eras.
• Connect knowledge from cultural studies, anthropology, history, sociology, and game
studies to create a holistic understanding of Hispanic American culture.
• Make connections between recreational activities and their broader social and cultural
contexts.
• Gain a deeper appreciation for the role of recreational activities in preserving and
transmitting cultural heritage.
• Develop a critical perspective on the evolving dynamics of play and leisure in different
societies.

Assignments & Formative Assessments

• Various critical reviews/reading reports analyzing cultural and societal aspects of
games, toys, and recreational/ludic practices covered in the class (x3)
• Personal essays reflecting on the gaming sessions (x2)
• Poster/Oral presentations and class discussions on course content (x2)
• A final research paper exploring in depth any topic related with the course content.

Required Readings
• Weisz, Gabriel. El juego viviente. Indagación sobre las partes ocultas del objeto lúdico.
Siglo XXI Editores, 1986.
• López Cantos, Ángel. Juegos, fiestas y diversiones en la América española, Editorial
MAPFRE, 1992.
• Szurmuk, Mónica and Robert Mckee Irwin. Diccionario de Estudios Culturales
Latinoamericanos. Siglo XXI Editores, 2009. [excerpts]

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Other Information Required*

* Attendance: students who must be absent from class for university activities or religious
obligations are permitted to make up assignments and examinations.

* Plagiarism Software Policy

I have elected to use a plagiarism detection service in this course, in which case you will be
required to submit your paper to such a service as part of your assignment.

* Generative AI use Statement

It is expected that students will adhere to generally accepted standards of academic
honesty, including but not limited to refraining from cheating, plagiarizing,
misrepresenting one’s work, and/or inappropriately collaborating. This includes the use of
generative AI tools without citation, documentation, or authorization. Students will also be
expected to adhere to the prescribed professional and ethical standards of the
profession/discipline for which the student is preparing. Any student who engages in
academic dishonesty or who violates the professional and ethical standards for the
profession/discipline for which the student is preparing, may be subject to academic
sanctions as per the University’s Student Code.

AI Writing Tools: In this class, we recognize the opportunity that these new tools offer in
terms of teaching and learning. However, we see writing as invention, as intervention, and
as transformation—in a word, as learning. Learning to write requires the development of
critical tools that help students problematize the structures and the force of writing itself.
This course creates a space for students to gain facility with writing technologies while
they learn to understand the implications, promise, power, and responsibility of using such
tools. —“The Response to ChatGPT by the Department of Writing and Rhetoric Studies,”
the University of Utah (2023).

* The Americans with Disabilities Act.

* Title IX and Safety Statement.
* Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Statement.
* Student Names & Personal Pronouns.
* Wellness Statement.
* Grading Scale
* Drop/Add – Policy.

Course Schedule, Readings & Assignments

Introduction
Once upon a time, in an old/new world […]. Stablishing the nexus of Latin American
cultural studies and game culture.
• Penix-Tadsen, Phillip. Cultural Code.
• Weisz, Gabriel. El juego viviente.

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1. Ceremonial Games: Between Earth and The Heavens

Tlachtli, Pok-Ta-Pok, Cha’j or Taladzi (2000 BC)
The sacred origins of the Mesoamerican ballgame.

• The Codex Borbonicus (1519)

• Cha’j, los ancestrales juegos de pelota Maya.

READING REPORT | (2 pages/450~500 words)

2. The Rituals of Playing: Cosmologic Duality and Cultural Symbols

Prohibition and survival of the Mayan and Aztec games.

• The Popol Vuh (circa 1550) [excerpts]

• The Florentine Codex (1577), and The Codex Borgia (1804)

3. Gaming Session: From the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas

• Adugo “Juego del jaguar” (Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay) —Jaguar and Dogs, 17th c.—
• The Mayan Calendar (América Central, n.d.)
• Legends of the Hidden Temple (México, 2017)

POST-GAMING REFLECTION | (2 paragraphs/150~200 words)

4. Fertility of the Land, Abstract Thinking and Transcendental Dances at Play

Patolli or Patole —Bul or Puluc—, and “El volador” or “Palo volador”
Monarquía Indiana (1723) by F. Juan de Torquemada

• Weisz, Gabriel. El juego viviente.

• Hill, Matthew J.K. “El ‘juego’ de los voladores.

READING REPORT | (2 pages/450~500 words)

5. Games of the Pachamama in the Twilight of the Inca Empire (1532–1572)

Pichca, also Pisca, and Uayru also huayrur, or Ayllus

• Primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno (1600– 1615) by Felipe Guamán

Poma de Ayala.
• Zuidema, R. Tom. “El juego de los ayllus y el amaru”.

6. Gaming Session: From Mesoamerican Communities

• Patolli (ca. 200 BC–650 AD) & Bul (Belize)

• Lotería (ca. 1769) in New Spain —from Italy, 15th c.—
• Día de los Muertos “Un juego de cartas” (2016)

POST-GAMING REFLECTION | (2 paragraphs/150~200 words)

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7. Mapping the Children’s Playground: Class and Political Conflicts

El tejo, la rana, las canicas, la golosa, la lleva and el escondite
Recreational practices in rural settings.

• Arguedas, José María. “Los escoleros” (1935, 1974)

• Muñoz, Silverio. “El juego como propedéutica social en ‘Los escoleros’”.

READING REPORT | (2 pages/450~500 words)

8. Colonial Games of Power: The Clergy and Bourgeoisie vs. The Plebe
Truquiflor and truco; Tute, and toruro.
Mestizo children of the Spanish deck. Folklore and phraseology around the games.

• León, Cecilia and C. Pitrola. Juegos coloniales del siglo XIX.

• Tabares, Fernando. “Juegos populares y tradicionales, ocio y diferencia colonial”.

9. Gaming Session: From the Andes Mountains

• Parqués (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela) —from “Pachisi,” India (400 AD)—

• Thunka (Bolivia), Luche (Chile), Sambori, Golosa, Rayuela (South America, c. 1598)
• Truquiflor or truco (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay) —from “Truc” or “Truque” Balearic
Islands and Italy (circa 1670)—

POST-GAMING REFLECTION | (2 paragraphs/150~200 words)

10. Worldliness and Leisure in the Southern Cone: Modernization, Power, and
Culture (18th–early 19th c.)
Leisure vs. work. Anthropology and ethnology of the newborn industrial societies.
Games from the periphery: When the barbarians sit at the gaming table.

• Facundo: Civilización y barbarie (1845) by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento.

• Borges, Jorge Luis. “El truco” in Evaristo Carriego, 1930.
• Castro-Gómez, Santiago. La Hybris del punto cero.

READING REPORT | (2 pages/450~500 words)

11. The Extraordinary Amusement of Latin American Toys (19th–20th c.)

Yo-yo or “Yoyó”, tabas, huesitos, balero —“la coca”—, and trompos —peonza,
perinola, piuca, peón or repión—.

• Díaz-Luna, Sergio. “¡Hora de jugar!”.

• León, Cecilia and C. Pitrola. Los juguetes tradicionales.
• Petrignani, Sandra. Catálogo de juguetes. Trad. Guillermo Piro.

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12. Gaming Session: From the Southern Cone

• Guerra a muerte: 1810–1824 (Argentina, Chile, 2008)

• Cruce de los Andes (Argentina, Chile, 2018)
• Under the Southern Cross: The South American Republics in the Age of the Fighting
Sail (2023)

POST-GAMING REFLECTION | (2 paragraphs/150~200 words)

13. The New Order: Popular Entertainment and Traditional Games in Spanish
America (20th c.)
Fiestas, festivales, and festividades: Solemnity and festive paganism.

• López Cantos, Ángel. Juegos, fiestas y diversiones en la América española.

READING REPORT | (2 pages/450~500 words)

14. Carnivals and Cultural Syncretism (19th–20th c.)

El Baile del Chontaduro, El Carnaval de Río Sucio, *La Fiesta de San Francisco de Asís,
and *El Carnaval de Negros y Blancos.
* UNESCO’s “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” designation.

Course Sum–Up | Final paper submission.

List of Board Games

Adugo: “Juego del jaguar”/“Jogo de onça” (n.d.)
The Mayan Calendar (n.d.) by Jim Deacove/Family Pastimes Co-operative Games
Legends of the Hidden Temple (2017) by Pressman Toy Corp.
Día de los Muertos. Un juego de cartas (2016) by Frank Branham, Sandi West, and Steve
Ellis/Jolly Roger Games/Ultra PRO
Oaxaca: Crafts of a Culture (2018) by Sarah Reed, Will Reed, Derek Bacon, Ben Haskett,
and Mark Major/Undine Studios
Rewe: The Mapuche Sacred Places (2022) by Leonardo Gentile and Marie-Caroline
Davy/Self-Published
Guerra a muerte. Latin America’s “War to the Dearh” 1810–1824 (2008) by Paul
Rohrbaugh, Javier Romero and Craig Grando/Against the Odds
Under the Southern Cross: The South American Republics in the Age of the Fighting Sail
(2023) by Mike Nagel, Steve Paul, Justin Martinez, and Mark Simonitch/GMT Games

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Campaña de los Andes: 1816 (1987) by Labaro Editores S.A.

Cruce de los Andes (2018) Colección Héroes de la Libertad, vol. 1 by Julián P. L. Bracco,
Miguel Angel Alvarez and César Carrizo/Épica Juegos
El estanciero (1937) by Casa Estanciero S.R.L./Lugano Toys
Cuervolario: El juego de Rufino José Cuervo (2012) by Jenny Alexandra Rodríguez, Neftalí
Vanegas, and María José Montoya/Ministerio de Cultura de Colombia
Autonomía Zapatista: Construcción colectiva del territorio autónomo (2021) by
Colectivos and Organizaciones Europeas de Solidaridad con el Movimiento
Zapatista/Self-Published

© Sergio Díaz-Luna, 2024