By Beatriz Palmer, Community Reporter
This year, the United States marks 250 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Across the nation, communities are asking, whose story are we really celebrating?
The answer is simple and, at the same time, complicated. It’s the paradoxical story of freedom.
The story of the United States of America is one of movement infused with cultura. It begins with our beloved first peoples, the Indigenous peoples who stewarded these lands long before the nation’s founding. It includes the painful history of communities displaced and individuals brought here against their will through the transatlantic slave trade. It is also the story of immigrants and refugees who crossed rÃos, oceans, borders, and deserts seeking esperanza and oportunidad—hope and opportunity.
Yet, woven throughout this history is an enduring belief in possibility—a nation shaped by hardship but continually strengthened by the people who refuse to give up.
That same spirit can be seen during the FIFA World Cup, also known as the Mundial. Every four years, people celebrate proudly the places they come from. Their team’s flags may represent different nations, but the sense of belonging feels remarkably familiar. Today, FIFA includes 211 member associations, and billions tune in from every corner of the globe. While fans may cheer for different teams, many are connected by culture. In many ways, the Mundial mirrors the American story infused with culture.
I didn’t grow up in a family where soccer dominated our weekends. Yet one of my fondest memories is attending a Chivas de Guadalajara match. I don’t remember much, but I remember the energy—thousands of people cheering as if they shared the same heartbeat. Years later, I took my daughter and her friend to watch Club América play in San Diego. The excitement was remarkably familiar. Fans waved flags, sang, celebrated, and chanted in unison; for a few hours, complete strangers became one body.
Curious about the connection between the United States’ birthday, cultura, and the Mundial, I asked community members a simple question: How do you infuse your cultura into the 4th of July and the Mundial?
Their answers reminded me that culture is much more than ethnicity or nationality. It can be the language spoken around the dinner table, a song that transports you to the pueblo where your abuelos came from, a family recipe, a treasured keepsake, or a tradition passed from one generation to the next.
The Mundial table often reflects the diversity of the people gathered around it, much like the tapestry of the United States. Food is at the core of all cultura. Families may serve tacos, pizza, pupusas, empanadas, barbecue, kimchi, hamburgers, arroz con pollo, frijoles, apple pie, flan, aguas frescas, root beer, or their favorite family recipes that have traveled across borders and generations. One food repeatedly appeared in conversations: the hot dog, aka el perro caliente. Whether topped with ketchup and mustard, chopped chiles and onions, or a favorite family ingredient, it has become a uniquely American example of cultural adaptation.
Even when teams compete against one another, the World Cup reminds us that culture often becomes common ground that brings us together. As the United States commemorates 250 years since its founding, perhaps one lesson worth remembering is that our nation’s story has never belonged to a single group of people. It belongs to everyone who has helped shape it.
Whether you are attending a Fourth of July celebration or parade, gathering with family for a backyard barbecue, soaking up the sun on the beaches of Oceanside or Carlsbad, or watching the Mundial with friends and family—culture will be there, front and center, yelling “¡Presente!”
So, wave the American flag alongside your favorite team’s flag, wear your favorite team’s jersey proudly, and cheer for Memo Ochoa, Raúl Jiménez, Messi, James RodrÃguez, VinÃcius Júnior, Alexis Sánchez, Son Heung-min, or the San Diego Sockers at Frontwave Arena. Let’s continue to honor the many journeys that have shaped this nation—not because we all come from the same place, but because we continue finding ways to come together.
And perhaps that is the real goal.
