Lucky Charms of Uruguay

Uruguay is the most secular country in Latin America, but folk luck traditions persist beneath the rationalist surface. The figa (hand gesture amulet), the evil eye counter-measures (mal de ojo), and the horseshoe are all standard. The gaucho heritage of the interior has its own luck traditions around the knife (facón), the mate gourd, and specific equine practices.

The candombe tradition — the Afro-Uruguayan drumming and dance form of Montevideo's barrios Sur and Palermo — is both cultural practice and a collective luck-renewing ceremony. Milagros are left at Catholic churches. The lottery is perhaps the most actively luck-focused national institution — Uruguayans have elaborate rituals for selecting lucky numbers involving dreams, signs, and the Quini lottery tradition.