The new, Spanish-Speaking Lautaro Lodge is forming in Culver City, and although they’re still under dispensation awaiting their charter, they’ve wasted no time to hit the ground running. Lodge members pride themselves on their charitable work for the community, and educational work in the lodge, including Socratic discussion groups.
“The ritual is in Spanish 100%, and we have brothers here from across the Americas,” explains Guillermo Gerez, the lodge master, who was first raised at a lodge in Buenos Aires. “Masonic education is really important to us, that’s why we started this new lodge. We are focusing on understanding the meaning of the ritual, reading between the lines, and the spiritual aspects. It’s about that esoteric knowledge, asking about the transcendental and the unseen. In Spanish, we call that, el lado.”
But that serious focus on the ritual doesn’t mean they don’t have fun. Their active social calendar includes some unconventional events. The lodge is planning to stage a Flintstones Rite,” a playful, parody ritual from Fred Flinstone’s iconic “Loyal Order of Water Buffalo” (such a hit with 1960’s audiences that it appeared in over 20 episodes). One lodge member even procured custom, oversized blue hats, a riff on over-the-top fraternal hats. Lautaro hopes to make this event a rare Spanish Flintstones degree (note: “Yabba dabba doo” translates the same from English to Spanish).
Formed just over a year ago, the lodge of 15 members is in line to receive their charter at the 2025 Annual Communication. The lodge’s inaugural installation of officers was sharp and stylish, with officers donning black suits and bow ties, and they even hosted a pianist to welcome visitors and representatives from the Grand Lodge.
Lautaro’s namesake was an historical lodge in Argentina with roots in Spain that had also been known as Logia de los Caballeros Racionales, or the Lodge of Ratio-nal Knights. Its members are said to have included revolutionaries like José de San Martín, who, like fellow Mason Simón Bolívar, is best known for his role in lead-ing the liberation of the Americas from colonial Spain. Lautaro Lodge meets on Ven-ice Boulevard in Culver City at the historic Culver City-Foshay № 467, and they can be found on Instagram (@LautaroLodge).
Photography courtesy of:
Lautaro Lodge
