The Church
The Catholic church is a recurring symbol throughout Playing for the Devil's Fire. At the beginning of the story, the church is noted to be crumbling and falling apart. Boli trusts the reverend and believes Father Gregorio will help him find his parents. As the story continues, advances and repairs begin to be made to the church and Father Gregorio is seen wearing an expensive watch. The reverend is no longer helpful and lies to Boli about the information he has received about Boli's church. The different appearances of the church represent the corruption going on within. As the church appearance betters it is clear that its moral standing decreases. The drug cartel is paying the church to side with them and this acceptance of the money portrays the corruptible side of religion.
The Tweety Bird Sticker
Many of the fancy trucks are noted to have a tweety bird sticker on the back of the window. Playing for the Devil's Fire never states directly that the evil that has entered the town is the drug cartel, but this sticker helps confirm that the presence is the cartel. In Mexico, many cartel members would use this sticker to signal to other cartel members that they were involved with the cartel. The tweety bird symbol was used to help cartel members see work together and the repetitive presence of this sticker in the story helps to note which characters are working with the cartel.
The Gruesome Murders
A motif in Playing for the Devil's fire is found in the many murders. The individuals who are killed are not simply murdered, but are all maimed in a gruesome fashion. Many of the dead characters are cut into pieces or hanged in grotesque positions. Phillippe Diederich explained that these types of death are not an exaggeration but events he took from stories he read in Mexican newspapers. This recurrence of violence is used not to further fear of the cartel, but to tell the stories of victims and describe to the world how cartel violence has scarred portioned of Mexico.
The Police
The negligence of the law informant officers in Playing for the Devil's Fire represents the corruption in Mexican government. Citizens in many Mexican towns are unable to obtain justice because law enforcement is paid off by the cartel. This corruption is not only within the police but is seen reaching all the way to the president. Diederich exposes the impossibility in achieving justice and uses the police in the town to represent the corruption of government throughout Mexico.
The Devil's Fire
The Devil's Fire is a marble the Mosca wins towards the beginning of the narrative. It portrays the character’s youth and innocence as the children play marbles in the street and bet on the winners. The Devil's Fire remains with Mosca until the end of the story. When Chicano gives the marble to Boli it confirms Mosca's death and represents the complete destruction of the town. The transfer of the marble from Chicano to Boli is among the character's last interactions before Chicano's death. This transfer symbolizes the transfer of "the hero" title from Chicano to Boli. After Chicano's death, Boli and the remnant of his family leave town. As Boli sits on the bus he looks at the marble and vows to become a luchador named the Devil's Fire in Spanish. The marble has gone through a similar transition to Boli and goes from portraying youthful innocence to resilience and survival. The marble stand for Boli's promise to protect others and guard against the corruption that destroyed his life.
