Much of Mexico has been celebrating the World Cup with joyful outdoor gatherings, filling streets, plazas and fan zones in the country's three host cities — Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey — since the tournament kickoff on June 11. But in parts of the country plagued by cartel violence, the event is experienced differently: with fear.
In villages and towns across Mexico where shootings are a near-daily occurrence, the cheers are mostly confined indoors. There, real-life concerns outrank the excitement around a World Cup in which Mexico has reached the knockout stage.
