Article by Mitica Docan – Published on Thursday, 11 June 2026 22:10 / Updated on Thursday, 11 June 2026 23:18
You must love football. Enormous. Otherwise, how can you easily skip the opening ceremony in Mexico?!
A vintage show, like a protest against the AI era – as Dan Pavel, one of the moderators from Antena 1, wonderfully remarked, the Mexican festival was completely analog, honest and predictable. The 3 a's, basically, if we play with words. Sure, after the indigestible horrors of the 2024 Paris Olympics, it proved a breath of fresh air, with no sexual dilemmas and Marie Antoinette singing with her head on her arm.
There was, of course, a flirtation with modern expectations. The “tradition” was celebrated, i.e. tribal dances with Aztec iz, a protocol homage to the golden past when eating corn with human flesh in the area. As the hipsters would say, there was a native vibe, missing the pyramid of cutting off heads for the sun to rise and Mel Gibson.
But to be fair, if King Charles gets the “Maori Queen” at Buckingham, and an entire planet does a barbaric-tinged dance every time New Zealand play rugby, I guess it's fair game. It reminds of the dacoit obsession from the lands closer to us.
Back at the ceremony, the gala Mexican voice winked at the home gallery. “We are a nation of diversity, tradition and pride.” Dear themes and good to mention at this time, when the USA, the neighboring country to the north, may be going through the deepest period of discrimination and government corruption in history.
Then Shakira appeared. Eternal Shakira. In a sea of crepe paper, 40 degrees off with beers sold at the price of bitcoins, he danced and sang the same song from 1970 onwards, from the time when Pele was a boy and Sandu Neagu and Florea Dumitrache were performing.
The overall feeling was of low energy. Gianni Infantino also appeared, but no one bothered to notice him when Salma Hayek, in a red dress and black gloves, looked like she stepped out of the Zorro movies next to him.
After such an opening, the competition has regained a form of spontaneity, an air of the 90s, which means that we could disconnect a little from the screens of our phones and see some authenticity. And, God help him, he will.
