View From Casita Colibrí

Congratulations to the Gold Medal winning Mexican fútbol team!!!  With all the bad press Mexico continues to be subjected to, El Tri, as they are known down here, has provided México with a much-needed and well deserved win.

Reuters photo

The TV is showing celebrations in the streets of Mexico City, Guadalajara, and other major cities, but (surprisingly, at least to me) all is quiet in Oaxaca.  I watched much of the game while eating breakfast with my neighbor at Del Jardín, on the zócalo.  We arrived 10 minutes before the game began and were able to sit right in front of one of the televisions.  The restaurants had been packed for the Mexico vs Japan game — maybe it was today’s 9 AM start.  I watched the end of the game at home, but no bells rang, no horns honked, and I only heard one shout.  After the medal ceremony, I went back out.  The streets still were still emptier than usual.  A few buildings had hung flags.

And, these guys were driving around waving a flag and beeping their horn, but that was pretty much it.

Maybe tonight there will dancing in the streets…

By the way, if you watched the game, you heard the name of midfielder Javier Aquino Carmona (#11) frequently mentioned.  Aquino is from San Francisco Ixhuatán, in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region of Oaxaca.

Update:  This just in from Noticias… apparently some celebrating was being done up at the Fuente de las Ocho Regiones, 25-30 blocks NE of the zócalo, and gathering point for many marches into the city center.