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Los Padrinos

Adriana Ramirez Gomez

Refran: "Those who choose good godparents, choose a good path."


Card Description: For my Loteria card I wanted to share my thoughts on what padrinos actually mean. They come from the catholic religion and are chosen to guide a child after they do their first communion, baptism, confirmation or wedding. They are the ones that promise to take care of the child if something were to happen to the parents. I chose padrinos as a subject matter because my godparents have never been present for me. I hear friends tell me that they spent their weekend with their godparents and wonder what it feels like to have them present. My padrinos were chosen by my parents but I wish I could have chosen someone I actually looked up to. The colors in this piece were simple dark colors because they represent how godparents usually dress for special occasions. The padrino usually wears a black and white suit and the madrina wears a formal dress. I included a purple background to represent the positive effect they should have on their god children. For me, this card represents how people now chose padrinos for a party just so they can pay for section of the ceremony such as the food, banda, dress, venue, etc. Their main origin comes from the catholic religion and the Mexican culture as once the communion occurs, the parents and godparents are considered "compadres". This creates a closer relationship but most of the time they fail to provide the support to the child that is promised at church.


Student Biography: My name is Adriana Ramirez, and I am a senior in high school at Santa Maria High School. I live in Santa Maria Ca with my older brother, David and my mom and dad, Eva, and David.  What inspired me to draw my Loteria card was to remind people of what the original meaning of a padrino is. I grew up without the support or presence of godparents even though I had them. They’ve only visited me about four times and have never asked me how I’m doing. I just want to bring back the tradition of spending quality time with godparents and building a closer relationship with them. They aren’t meant to support the godchild financially which is what my godparents thought during the only two years they visited me. Their responsibility is to guide the godchild as they are growing. The process of creating my Loteria card was very enjoyable for me. I was able to express my creativity and thoughts that came to mind. Mixing paints and creating new colors enhanced the project much more due to all the supplies we were provided with.  After high school I plan to attend a nursing program called SJVC to attain my medical assisting certificate. I really look forward to helping people out and giving back to my community. I also would like to attend AHC for about a year and a half to graduate as a dental assistant. I have plans of balancing both work and college to save up as much money as I can to expand my career in the medical field.

Grade: 12

Card Number: 17

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