The Mexican flag is back on the streets of Los Angeles after several years of political exile.
Four years ago, Miguel Haro was among half a million people who marched for immigrant rights in downtown L.A. At the urging of organizers and Spanish-language disc jockeys, he left his Mexican flag at home and waved an American flag instead.
Concerned that the Mexican flag carried the wrong message, Mexican American political leaders and other activists launched a largely successful effort to have people at public events, particularly protest marches, wave the American flag, believing it to be a better symbol for their case.
But with the World Cup in full swing, Haro proudly has affixed his Mexican flag to his Toyota RAV4 and cheered for the team of his parents. The American flag is fine for politics, he said, but this is soccer.My allegiance is to America, no doubt about it, and I'd think I wouldn't have to prove it,%26quot; said Haro, a 25-year-old utility worker. %26quot;But when I wave the Mexican flag for soccer, it's strictly cultural. It's showing I'm proud of my Mexican background.%26quot;
After years of being downplayed at large political rallies that regularly punctuated the L.A. landscape, the World Cup has given the Mexican flag some of its big event presence back.
The red, white and green banners hang from cars on the freeway, wave inside countless bars and eateries during games and are even held proudly by cyclists riding through downtown L.A.
With the Mexican team having survived preliminary rounds and scheduled to play Sunday against Argentina in the Round of 16, fan loyalty 鈥?and flags 鈥?are likely to be at a highly visible peak.
To some, it is a disconcerting image.
In Southern California's huge immigrant communities, home-nation flags are ubiquitous.
During the World Cup, sales have been brisk for South Korean flags as well as countries with big soccer followings such as Brazil, England and Spain. Displays of those banners are largely noncontroversial.
But the Mexican flag is different. The American political debate over immigration 鈥?illegal immigration in particular 鈥?is largely a debate over Mexicans. And few symbols in that debate have carried as much political weight as the Mexican flag.
The presence of Mexican flags at protests and marches over the last decade became flashpoints, with critics saying the displays suggested that immigrants felt loyalty to Mexico rather than the United States.
%26quot;Anytime a flag gets caught up in national politics, it becomes a potent symbol,%26quot; said Jaime Regalado, a political science professor at Cal State L.A.
But the widespread display of the flag at soccer matches 鈥?and the relative lack of controversy surrounding it so far 鈥?suggest that the symbolism is less inflammatory when put in the context of sports, not politics.
One indication of that changed reality is that some advertisers are now getting into the act.
In a Volkswagen commercial, a parade of fans, including American and Mexican soccer fans, march loudly down separate streets while hoisting their nation's flags, only to meet in the middle, where they face off tensely. Then, after a moment, they happily exchange their national team jerseys.
Reality may not be quite that cheerful, but David Carter, executive director of the USC Sports Institute, said sports fans %26quot;regardless of their background and ethnicity tend to compartmentalize sports and other, everyday activities.%26quot;
%26quot;Showing your heritage during a sports event,%26quot; he added, %26quot;is very different than showing your heritage in a controversial way during a political demonstration.%26quot;
These days, the flag is also big business.
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What do you think World Cup brings Mexican flags back to streets of Los Angeles?
I understand that these turds are products of their environment. They are raised to believe that their culture is great and that their country is best. (We all know that their culture is backwards and that their third world country sucks!) So to me it's not shocking that they are waving their Mexican flags everywhere. What can I really say, they're all a bunch of idiots. If they love Mexico so much then I guess it's time to pack their bags and get a burrito to go and head down to Mexico.
