The World Cup in Mexico

by Rachel

June 17, 2018

And it's back to me-Rachel.

Today was day 2 in Queretaro. Queretaro is one of the famous silver towns here in the center of Mexico. It grew because of the prosperous silver mines in this area. Queretaro also played an important role in Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821-2. The day started with my mom and I going out to see things while everyone else stayed home and watched the soccer game. For those of you who aren't following the World Cup, you should start following it. This morning was the game between Mexico and Germany. Germany is the team that won the last World Cup, so they were expected to win the match.

Walking down the streets of the city was like walking through a ghost town. No one was out. There were hardly any cars. The only signs of people were people gathered in various restaurants and cafes with the TVs on showing the soccer game. Even going into the museum, the ticket people had the game up on their computer and the museum cafe was broadcasting the game. I found myself constantly checking the score, especially when I heard shouts from the cafe. 

walking on the colorful (and deserted) streets of Queretaro

We wandered around a calendar museum which was actually super cool. There were paintings that used to be on calendars in every room in the house. The house and garden itself were also gorgeous. 

on the terrace of the Mucal Museum (the calendar museum)

After that, we saw a church, the Templo de Santa Rosa de Viterbos, that is probably the most ornate cathedral I have ever seen in my life (and trust me, I have seen a lot of cathedrals). Everything was gold because gold is seen as the best thing for cathedrals here. There were golden engravings and designs everywhere. When my mom and I walked in to see it, there was a church service going on, so we stood in the back of the church service to admire the church.

the outside of the Templo de Santa Rosa de Viterbos

My mom and I started our walk to church. By then Mexico was up 1-0 in the soccer game and I was getting very excited. We stopped at a cafe to watch the ending of the game, watching Mexico declared the winner. 

After church in Spanish, our whole  family headed back to the center of the city, which now was alive with people. People drove by in cars waving giant Mexican flags. Everyone was wearing Mexican soccer jerseys. A group of people was running around singing and cheering with Mexican flags. They saw us taking pictures and asked us where we were from. We told them Wisconsin and soon they were shouting Wisconsin. Then they were taking selfies with us, kissing us on the cheek, and hugging us. We took some pictures before the group left, singing and cheering some more. Clearly the soccer game had made their weeks. Even in the place we ate lunch, it was like a party

celebrating Mexico's win in the World Cup

eating lunch

We stopped and saw another museum about Queretaro history. Then we wandered around the city. Sarah Ann, Christian, and I all played in a fountain in a park. As it got later in the afternoon, the parks and plazas came alive with people. There was music and street vendors everywhere. Everyone was still wearing Mexican soccer jerseys. Our family enjoyed sitting in the plaza with all the people out and about. We watched a Mexican folk dance performance in the downtown area. I loved it. The girls had huge skirts with lots of colors that they twirled around. It started raining so we headed home once the performance finished.

the plazas were filled with small food stalls like this

playing in the fountain in Plaza de la Constitucion

the dance performance in Jardin Zenea

Even still I can hear people celebrating outside. I don't know if I will get much sleep tonight because I don't think the celebration is going to finish anytime soon. The World Cup is a huge deal here in Mexico. Everyone talks about it. Whenever there is any game going on, all the restaurants play the game. And now Mexico beat the former champions! I hope Mexico wins the World Cup!