Telepeer

Will World Cup energy sustain a Santa Ana community?

July 22, 2026

Saul Garcia, a Santa Ana native, business owner and “not a jersey guy” who makes no exceptions for even his beloved Dodgers, spent three weeks repping the Mexico jersey.

“I saw more jerseys, I saw more folks in Mexico gear than I recall in the previous two World Cups,” Garcia said. “I think it was an aberration to see a person in downtown Santa Ana without one.”

Garcia, 54, has now spent three World Cups hosting watch parties at his Amor y Tequila and La Santa OC restaurants and bars along East 3rd Street in Downtown Santa Ana.

Carlos Perea, center, with his arms crossed, stands among friends after watching Mexico’s match against South Korea on June 18. (Courtesy of Carlos Perea)

1 of 7

Carlos Perea, center, with his arms crossed, stands among friends after watching Mexico’s match against South Korea on June 18. (Courtesy of Carlos Perea)

Expand

Every four years, Garcia sees the world’s most popular sport bring thousands of Mexican Americans together in downtown Santa Ana, the epicenter of Latino Orange County but also an area that’s struggled with dwindling foot traffic from first the global pandemic, then ongoing streetcar construction and lately, local fears since immigration enforcement ramped up last summer.

Garcia was “surprised” at the outpouring, scale and momentum of Mexico fans that consistently packed downtown Santa Ana’s hundreds of bars and restaurants this summer as the team rose through the bracket.

But even more unexpected, for the Santa Ana native, was the “energy.”

Crowds shook cars, lit fireworks, embraced strangers and danced onto the sidewalks late into the nights. And even when Mexico lost 3-2 to England, the party raged — for some, even more vivaciously.

So, post-World Cup, we asked a few Mexico fans who rallied in Santa Ana about what they think made the moment possible, and whether the community after such a tough year or so can hold onto that energy.

‘The pendulum swung’

“Timing,” Garcia said.

Mexican Americans have been at the forefront of several heavy-hitting headlines this past year, he said: Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps, revelations about Cesar Chavez and an attempt to end birthright citizenship.

Where politics permeates nearly every sporting event, in Santa Ana, a city of about 315,000 people, of which three out of four are Latino or Hispanic, the reverberations of such headlines were especially felt, Garcia said.

“Just last year you had a summer of fear that didn’t just drive down ‘undocumented folks’ from coming out. It drove down family members. It was the entire population,” he said, referring to immigration sweeps last summer and the national guard occupying his hometown.

Reflecting on the past year, and the recent World Cup, Garcia put it this way: “The political environment lent itself to hyper-awareness.”

So the energy he saw during the World Cup — “That, to me, I think it could only have happened because of what happened. The pendulum swung and it opened up conversations of not just who you’re cheering for, but what the political implications are.”

Of course, there were many moving parts, and a few were coincidental, he said.

For one, Mexico’s games were often played later in the day this World Cup. Compared to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when games were played early in the morning local time, this summer, “let’s just say we sold more beer than coffee,” Garcia said.

And the big FIFA Fan Fests were up in the Los Angeles area, so Garcia said a lot of local people “organically” huddled in Santa Ana instead of trekking up there.

“There was no major hub to watch games,” he said of Orange County. “And to a certain extent, that’s what downtown Santa Ana became.”

Will the business boom last?

Garcia, having a sense of “how these World Cups go,” said the downtown Santa Ana crowds are probably fleeting.

But “the feeling of lightness and celebration” in his community? ”Yeah, that’ll have some legs.”

The game

Carlos Perea, 34, watched nearly every Mexico game at La Santa OC, where during the tournament he rallied with friends and felt every emotion ranging from euphoria to later “heartbreak” at Mexico’s tooth-and-nail knockout.

“I felt that people within the Mexican community were yearning to celebrate,” he said. “And no one knows how to party better than the Mexicans, right?”

As founding executive director of the nonprofit Harbor Institute of Immigrant and Economic Justice, it’s Perea’s job to keep up with headlines, and much like business-owner Garcia, they have been deeply felt as members of his community were feeling scared and targeted.

And, in a sense, politics and play became intertwined, Perea said, adding that during games, “along Fourth Street, for example, you’ll hear chants of abolishing ICE, or fans wearing Mexican jersey shirts with political slogans.”

And then, obviously, the game itself fuels cultural excitement for everyone.

The Mexico vs. South Korea match, for example, reminded fans of the solidarity that formed in 2018 between the two fanbases when Mexico advanced to the group stage after South Korea pulled off a victory against Germany.

“There was cross-cultural solidarity,” Perea said, chanting “Koreano, hermano, ya eres Mexicano!” with a laugh. The saying, which sprang from the 2018 cup and revived this year, means “Korean brother, you are Mexican now!”

And there was also this “concept of the old world is dying and the new one’s beginning to be born,” Perea said.

The world saw the 41-year-old Guillermo Ochoa, an iconic goalkeeper who played in four World Cups, play his last game for Mexico against the Czech Republic in the group stage. At the same time, the World Cup had its youngest player in the 17-year-old Mexican midfielder Gilberto Mora.

The celebration of both “a younger and older generation,” Perea said, felt “symbolic,” and, if anything, “rejuvenating.”

The ‘energy’

Yes, politics, timing and soccer itself were important. But they all governed something that probably touches the simplistic core of why the World Cup is universal: “the energy.”

It was certainly strong enough to compel Lucero Garcia, 23, to commute from the San Fernando Valley to downtown Santa Ana, where she grew up, to watch matches with her friends and family.

“I knew going back I was going to be surrounded with people that have the same happiness and pride and it was just going to be a lot more community-based compared to all these other places,” she said.

“In Santa Ana, we’re very cemented in our roots,” she said, “and I do think that’s why a lot of people showed up.”

Admittedly, Garcia didn’t know much about soccer before becoming absorbed in the excitement surrounding this year’s World Cup. And “I still do not know anything about penalty kicks,” she sighed.

“I was definitely just there for the energy,” she said.

But now she has her jerseys for next time.

Will World Cup energy sustain a Santa Ana community? Orange County Register

News Details

Will World Cup energy sustain a Santa Ana community?

‘The pendulum swung’

The game

The ‘energy’

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

News

CONTACT INFO

QUICK LINKS

SERVICES

CURRENT NEWS