{"id":4440,"date":"2026-06-20T08:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T08:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4440"},"modified":"2026-06-20T08:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T08:05:08","slug":"with-world-cup-in-guadalajara-families-of-mexicos-disappeared-turn-loved-ones-into-soccer-stickers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4440","title":{"rendered":"With World Cup in Guadalajara, families of Mexico’s disappeared turn loved ones into soccer stickers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Posters of missing people wearing Mexican national soccer team jerseys to resemble World Cup sticker album cards are posted on a street in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Martin Silva)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

GUADALAJARA, Mexico \u2014 The images show young men wearing Mexico\u2019s<\/a> green national team jersey. A FIFA-style logo appears in the corner. The design mimics the collectible World Cup<\/a> Panini stickers millions of soccer fans trade during the tournament.<\/p>

Read more Paraguay\u2019s Miguel Almiron becomes 1st player red-carded at the World Cup for covering his mouth<\/a><\/p>\n

But above each face taped to a concrete bench, utility pole or wall across downtown Guadalajara is a label:<\/p>\n

\u201cDESAPARECIDO.\u201d<\/p>\n

Missing.<\/p>\n

One shows Christian Emmanuel Rivera, disappeared in August 2023. Another is Jaime Adri\u00e1n Ram\u00edrez, missing since September 2020.<\/p>\n

As Guadalajara hosts matches during the 2026 World Cup, families searching for missing relatives have transformed one of soccer\u2019s most familiar images<\/a> into a campaign to make Mexico\u2019s 135,000 missing people visible to the tens of thousands of visitors.<\/p>\n

The initiative was launched by Luz de Esperanza, a search collective in the western state of Jalisco, which leads Mexico in disappearances<\/a> with more than 16,000 people listed as missing in the state\u2019s registry. Members say other groups already have contacted them about adopting the idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our way of drawing attention to the fact that we miss our children, that they are absent from our lives,\u201d said Mar\u00eda de Jes\u00fas Sol\u00eds, 57, whose son Jaime Adri\u00e1n disappeared nearly six years ago.<\/p>\n

She wears a pendant bearing his photograph around her neck.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my boy,\u201d she said. \u201cThe difference is that now he\u2019s wearing the World Cup shirt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Across Mexico, relatives have formed search collectives<\/a> that comb fields, ravines, abandoned buildings and clandestine graves, often carrying out searches they say authorities have failed to pursue.<\/p>\n

Nearly every Sunday since 2021, members of Luz de Esperanza spread across Guadalajara carrying stacks of missing-person posters, hoping someone might recognize a face or provide a lead. The collective calls it a \u201csearch for the living.\u201d<\/p>\n

This month they replaced many of those flyers with hundreds of World Cup-inspired posters.<\/p>\n

For Sol\u00eds, the campaign reflects frustration with what families see as competing priorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not against the World Cup,\u201d she said. \u201cBut we\u2019re against the excessive spending.\u201d<\/p>\n

Authorities invested millions preparing Guadalajara for the tournament while search collectives often pay for their own water, food and transportation during searches, she said.<\/p>

Read more A ninth-inning throwing error lifts the Dodgers past the Orioles 6-5<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe government is showing a beautiful face to the world,\u201d Sol\u00eds said. \u201cBut if you look around, the city is full of posters of our children.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a recent morning, Sol\u00eds and Guadalupe Rivera joined other members of Luz de Esperanza at an abandoned property on the outskirts of Guadalajara.<\/p>\n

The women moved through dark rooms and into a backyard littered with garbage. Some carried metal probes used to test the ground for signs of clandestine graves.<\/p>\n

Rivera pressed a steel rod into the soil while others inspected the property. Her son, Christian Emmanuel, disappeared nearly three years ago. She joined the collective almost immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that if I joined a group, the search would move faster,\u201d she said. \u201cTime keeps passing, and I\u2019m still searching.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rivera helps search for human remains<\/a> because she wants to support other families, but hopes she doesn\u2019t find her own son that way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to find him alive,\u201d she said. \u201cI want him to show up at my front door.\u201d<\/p>\n

The World Cup campaign, she said, grew from a simple calculation: if soccer dominates conversations across the city, perhaps it could also create space for people to notice those who are missing.<\/p>\n

They are all sports fans, Rivera said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it\u2019s the World Cup, even if you\u2019re not really a fan, you sit down at home and watch it with your family,\u201d she said. \u201cBut our family isn\u2019t whole anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some residents have embraced the posters, Rivera said. Others have argued that the World Cup should be a time for celebration rather than a reminder of violence and loss.<\/p>\n

But families say they have little choice except to keep finding new ways to make their loved ones visible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government never pays attention to us,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cSo we want to see whether, this way, the world will.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Ohtani away from Dodgers while awaiting the birth of his second child<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Follow AP\u2019s Latin America coverage at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/latin-america<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Families in Guadalajara are using World Cup-themed posters to highlight Mexico\u2019s 135,000 missing people<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nWith World Cup in Guadalajara, families of Mexico's disappeared turn loved ones into soccer stickers - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4440\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"With World Cup in Guadalajara, families of Mexico's disappeared turn loved ones into soccer stickers - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Families in Guadalajara are using World Cup-themed posters to highlight Mexico\u2019s 135,000 missing people\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4440\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-20T08:05:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/7679ff17aa49c3b4f8c8a22ad2f30b88-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1709\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4440#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4440\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"With World Cup in Guadalajara, families of Mexico’s disappeared turn loved ones into soccer stickers\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-20T08:05:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4440\"},\"wordCount\":778,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4440#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/b7eaa9942b7b647478b93fda1e6e77f2-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4440#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4440\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4440\",\"name\":\"With World Cup in Guadalajara, families of Mexico's disappeared turn loved ones into soccer stickers - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4440#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4440#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/b7eaa9942b7b647478b93fda1e6e77f2-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-20T08:05:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4440#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4440\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=4440#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/b7eaa9942b7b647478b93fda1e6e77f2-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/b7eaa9942b7b647478b93fda1e6e77f2-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1709,\"caption\":\"Posters of missing people wearing Mexican national soccer team jerseys to resemble World Cup sticker album cards are posted on a street in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. 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