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With Mariachi costumes, trumpets, and a sea of dark green support, Mexico City prepared to open the World Cup on Thursday, as fans packed the famous Azteca stadium ahead of the opening game between Mexico and South Africa, amid a backdrop of protests around the capital.
Long queues wrapped around the Azteca as fans faced a long wait to enter the first stadium to host matches across three World Cups. Inside, thousands sang ahead of kickoff.
Alejandro Garcia, 50, decked out in a sombrero and carrying a replica trophy, said he was proud that Mexico was hosting another World Cup. He was a young kid when the country last hosted the tournament in 1986.
"This is our temple," he said on the concourse around the Azteca. "It's going to be a great World Cup, all of the protests will now be forgotten."
But outside the ground, the city of 9 million people remained deeply divided.
The run-up to the tournament in Mexico, which the country is co-hosting with the U.S. and Canada, has been marked by social unrest in the capital as various groups -- from teachers to families of those missing in the drug war -- have marched in attempts to leverage the international spotlight to advance their cause.
At least six protests were planned on Thursday, with the city a contradiction of celebration and opposition. Freshly painted murals, new trains and a revamped stadium aimed at welcoming tourists for the games contrasted with steel barricades mounted by businesses to protect themselves from rioters along the capital's main avenue.