“I’m not a sports fan!” a Canadian neighbor exclaimed Friday afternoon as she rushed off to a bar in Guadalajara’s Colonia Americana to catch the Canada-Boznia/Herzegovina match of the FIFA World Cup (Mundial) on TV.
It’s been hard even for non-sports fans here to avoid getting caught up in the Mundial, with four games being played in Akron Stadium west of the city, and the free FIFA Fan Festival going on in the downtown plaza between the cathedral and Teatro Degollado. Even before this week, metro residents had been admiring (and suffering through the construction of) massive improvements to iconic sites and area infrastructure — for example, the Minerva roundabout, the Chapala Highway, and the new Mi Macro Aeropuerto electric bus line connecting to key points for 11 pesos. The state, metro-area municipalities and stadium owners have invested over a billion pesos in these projects, many of which will benefit all residents for decades.
I’m not Canadian, but found myself heading out at the same time as my neighbor to the downtown Guadalajara Fan Festival, a limited-access spectacle with giant screens showing all games, high-profile entertainers, and huge Coca-Cola and Corona beer stands—everything paid for by local entities as demanded by the FIFA contract. The Fan Fest will last until July 19, generally open 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
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In accord with promises made by President Sheinbaum after the February cartel brouhaha rocked Guadalajara, the Fan Festival seemed designed to allay security fears. It was tightly cordoned off with festive barricades announcing in Spanish and English that this is the land not only of soccer, but of agave, mariachi and pride.
At the single entrance, guards called out cruel announcements: “No water” and “No umbrellas.” The former seemed designed to benefit the Coca-Cola and Corona concessions inside, while the latter was inexplicable. The umbrella ban was surely a bummer to fans at Friday evening’s United States-Paraguay match, when the season’s typical thunder, lightning and heavy rain burst forth.
In any case, my companion and I hid our water and umbrella, and passed through airport-style metal detectors, where not a finger was lifted to search us.
Once inside, more security was in evidence, although a benign sort that seemed largely for show. The mounted Guadalajara Municipal Police plodded around on beautiful, calm horses. Uniformed soldiers walked here and there in small, relaxed formations. A contingent of police and military vehicles, including SUVs, an armored truck and a Tesla Cybertruck, were parked alongside Teatro Degollado, attracting kids and a few adults wanting their photo taken.
The match was the thing, of course. Near the big Fan Fest stage along the back of the cathedral, a group of tall men in red shirts unglued their eyes from the largest screen to explain they were from Toronto and liked Guadalajara. But they didn’t explain why they were here watching their Canadian national team from 4,000 kilometers away, instead of at home.
That mystery was cleared up a few minutes later by Chris, a man from Sacramento taking shelter from the sun in one of the plaza’s few shady spots, with its view of a smaller screen. As Chris and his friends sipped from hefty cups of Corona, he gave the quote of the day, explaining why he’d come to Guadalajara instead of going to Los Angeles, another host city—and much closer to Sacramento.
“It’s so much more fun watching soccer in a place where they actually like it!” Chris said, adding that his group of friends had gone to Brazil during a previous Mundial for the same reason.
As if on cue, a man saying he was from Brazil appeared, his over-the-top, red-white-and-green mariachi hat attracting attention. He’d bought the hat at the airport, he explained.
Meanwhile, the portico of Teatro Degollado attracted a small crowd of shade lovers, watching the game on a smaller screen closer to them than the main screen.
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