With mariachi costumes, trumpets and a sea of fans in dark green, Mexico City prepared for the opening of the World Cup on Thursday, as fans filled the mythical Azteca stadium ahead of the first match between Mexico and South Africa, amid an atmosphere of protest across the capital, Reuters reports.
Long lines formed around the Azteca as fans waited to enter the first stadium in history to host three World Cups. Inside the stadium, thousands of people sang before the match began.
Alejandro Garcia, 50, wearing a sombrero and holding a replica of the trophy, said he was proud that Mexico was hosting the World Cup again. He was a boy when the country last hosted the tournament in 1986.
"This is our temple," he told Reuters on the plateau around "Azteca."
"This will be a great World Cup, and all the protests will soon be forgotten."
And, outside the stadium, the city of nine million remained deeply divided.
Preparations for the tournament in Mexico, which is being jointly organized by the United States, Canada and Mexico, have been marked by social unrest in the capital.
Various groups - from educators to families of those missing in the war on drug cartels - have organized marches, trying to use international attention to highlight their problems.
With at least six protests scheduled for Thursday, the city was a contrast between celebration and resistance. Freshly painted murals, new trains and a renovated stadium, ready to welcome tourists during the tournament, stood in contrast to steel barricades that businesses had erected to protect themselves from potential riots along the city's main avenue.
Camps and protest marches
About five kilometers from "Azteca", thousands of dissatisfied teachers from different parts of the country began a march towards the stadium ahead of the game.
Avelina Cruz Miguel, who has been teaching elementary school for 22 years, traveled from Oaxaca to protest for higher wages. She said the protests provide an opportunity for teachers to voice their demands "on an international level."
"There is not enough support for education in Mexico," she said.
Teachers also camped in front of the central Sokalo square for days before the tournament began.
Because of this camp, the authorities fenced off the approaches to the square ahead of the opening of the championship, which raised fears that the area would be closed to fans who planned to watch the game on a big screen.
On Thursday, tents occupied several streets around the square, but authorities confirmed that the fan zone would still be open.
Mario Martinez, 30, from Tijuana, was among the first fans to enter the fan zone with his girlfriend. He said they decided to do so because stadium tickets were too expensive and they feared the event might be canceled.
"Thank God, everything ended well."
"FIFA is only interested in profit"
Many residents have complained that money is being spent on beautifying the city for tourists while basic infrastructure problems are being ignored. Thursday was declared an official non-working day in Mexico City, partly to ease pressure on the transportation system.
Other residents of the city, known as "chilangos", complained about the extremely high ticket prices that prevented them from attending the spectacle in their city. For the opening match between Mexico and South Africa, some fans said they paid $3.000 or more, out of reach for most Mexicans. FIFA defended its pricing policy, saying that the prices were comparable to other major sporting events.
"FIFA is only interested in profit," Jonathan Cordoba, 33, told Reuters as he waited in a long line to enter the stadium.
However, he added that he has no regrets about it:
"That's passion!"
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