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At Espacio 1839, a new pop-up art exhibit titled 'El Fútbol Es del Pueblo' criticizes the FIFA World Cup's cost prohibitive measures and reminds soccer fans: 'This is a people's sport'
“It’s reclaiming the sport again, reminding folks that the essence of the game belongs to the people,” said Nico Aviña, organizer of “El Fútbol Es del Pueblo.
”At Espacio 1839, a new pop-up art exhibit titled ‘El Fútbol Es del Pueblo’ criticizes the FIFA World Cup’s cost prohibitive measures and reminds soccer fans: ‘This is a people’s sport’circulates across North America, where the games will be held — longtime aficionados want to remind the sports community of the real beauty beneath the game. Last Friday at Espacio 1839 in Boyle Heights, visitors were greeted by the thumping bass of cumbia sonideras, earthy scent of leather trinkets and clothing racks featuring silky“It’s reclaiming the sport again, reminding folks that the essence of the game belongs to the people,” said Nico Aviña, owner of Espacio 1839.
“With everything that’s going on with the World Cup, everybody’s giving FIFA credit, but I think that we need to reclaim that power. This is a people’s sport and it belongs to us. ”Every four years, soccer fans around the globe go berserk over the World Cup, but in host cities like Los Angeles, the worldwide spectacle feels bittersweet and“ I’m not interested in going into those games or paying these ridiculous amounts,” said Aviña.
“It’s more about greed. It’s more about wealth extraction than anything else. ” That sentiment resonated with 42-year-old Antonio Rivera, a Bay Area local who recalled the excitement he felt as a child in Jalisco watching the 1986 World Cup, which Mexico hosted. He remembers his little toy bank shaped like“You hear stories of people going to the World Cup with their whole family.
Now you can’t even get a ticket,” he said.
“ It’s an important opportunity for people to talk about some of the discomforts that they may have with an organization like FIFA. ” Rivera was at Espacio 1839 on Friday accompanying his son, Marc Rivera, one of the youngest exhibitors, alongside his classmate Miguel Yanez. The tweens came down from Napa, Calif. , to showcase their acrylic comic-strip painting featuring Mexican soccer player Alexis Vega, who channels his Mesoamerican ancestors when scoring the victory goal.
“It’s important to expose our next generation and give them an opportunity to express themselves a little bit,” Antonio Rivera said. Tijuana artist Vianney Harelly’s piece was hard to miss on the wall. It featured a bloody cross with the Spanish words for “soccer comes with blood and tears.
” It also included headlines from articles regarding the“I wanted it to be a piece showing kind of the dark side of the World Cup, because there’s so many things that are buried underneath the whole spectacle,” Harelly said. The 30-year-old said they are not interested in tuning into the World Cup activities because of the close relationship between FIFA President Gianni Infantino and President Trump.
Human rights organizations have called on the FIFA leader to request that the Trump administration declare a moratorium on ICE raids during the soccer tournament; SoFi stadium workers“I know people want to be seen and celebrated and they wanna feel love,” Harelly said.
“But I don’t want them to settle and think that the only option for them to feel love and be seen is through corporations that hate us. ” Gerardo Gómez looked mesmerized as he glanced at the wall. Some of his favorite pieces included a scarf that read “Siempre Antifascista” and a banner that featured a masked Indigenous soccer player with the words “Futbol Libertad.
” “I think a lot of us here love the sport, but we are against FIFA,” Gómez said.
“What you’re seeing here is a representation of the people’s struggle that comes with the sport. ” The 46-year-old said the soccer organization, as well as the Olympic Games, have a history of displacing marginalized communities; for example, ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, at least, an annual international street football tournament that advocates an end to homelessness globally.
Players are individuals who have experienced some form of homelessness or social exclusion in their life.
“People that came together recognized that soccer brings people together,” said Gómez. “And it’s the most beautiful thing I have experienced. ”, or scrimmage, began on the pavement. Onlookers gathered around the makeshift field, which had no clear outer bounds, as the pulsating drumming and anti-ICE chants led by“It’s very bittersweet,” said 30-year-old Claudia Llontop.
“With families being deported. ” Llontop, who grew up watching the World Cup, arrived at the pick-up match with her two children — and even documented her journey getting there onto her more than 50,000 followers. She had been trying to find ways to kick a ball around when she heard about “El Fútbol Es del Pueblo,” which allowed her to put on a red mesh jersey and run like the wind.
“This is for single moms, this is for kids, this is for high schoolers,” said Llontop. “ I think this alone is a lot more powerful than FIFA, because this is us. ”Andrea Flores is a reporter with De Los covering the many contours of Latinidad for the Los Angeles Times. She has both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University and is originally from Waukegan, Ill.
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