No one will feel at home here

Colorful banners punctuate the courtyard — Bienvenidos! Welcome! ¡LA Comienza Aqui! LA Starts Here! — at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes. The Latino cultural center in El Pueblo de Los Ángeles, the birthplace of the city several times over, occupies three of LA's oldest buildings, has a stage and lawn strung with retractable awnings, and connects to the street in a handsome brick plaza where hummingbirds flit between native sages. In other words, it's the ultimate LA party pad. And for five weeks this summer, in collaboration with the Consulate General of Mexico, this idyllic venue will host Casa México, Mexico's LA-based hospitality house during the World Cup. "At a time when our communities are seeking spaces of joy, belonging, and cultural pride more than ever, this collaboration offers exactly that, said Leticia Ree Buckley, La Plaza's CEO, at last week's press conference. "A place where our shared stories and identities can shine."

Hospitality houses — the takeovers of public and private properties where countries can establish a home base for their athletes and fans — are set to become a fixture of the LA megaevent landscape. During last summer's Olympic and Paralympic Games, for example, the Team USA House was sited at Palais Brongniart, the French stock exchange built in 1808. Like the fan zones and viewing parties that will spring up over the next few years, these activations are being touted as ways to spread the cheer around to different neighborhoods. An estimated 20,000 people will flock to La Plaza over 40 days this summer for salsa dancing, food festivals, movie screenings, and merch-buying, kicking off with the Mexico vs. South Africa match on June 11.

That's not too far away. And with only a few months to go, Casa México is the first hospitality house to be announced in a city that has yet to really make its World Cup plans public, something I complained about a year ago. A big announcement of our official fan festival — I can confirm it will be at Expo Park — and other fan zones spread throughout the region is finally happening January 28; Long Beach has already announced they got one. Santa Monica will be hosting a different type of branded fan fest this summer, the Michelob ULTRA  Pitchside  Club , which I love for them. An LGBTQ+ hospitality house, Pride House, is coming to the Abbey in West Hollywood this summer and then sticking around for 2028. More reveals will likely happen on February 2 as part of LA Mayor Karen Bass's two-part State of the City address, the first of which will be held at the Coliseum. (Yes, an entirely different address, the State of the Megaevents. I hate to ask, but, this kind of infers that the goals of the city and the goals of the megaevents are not the same?)

Meanwhile, other LA County cities are already announcing hospitality houses for 2028: Greece, Denmark, Ireland (Long Beach); New Zealand (Culver City); France (Santa Monica). So far, LA has booked Croatia — the location is not confirmed but it will be in San Pedro. I dunno, two years out it really seems like LA should have more lined up by now.

But, really, can we even call them hospitality houses?

As our trophy-filching president simultaneously wages war on U.S. cities and implodes longstanding global alliances, international leaders are mobilizing to use soccer to strike back. As I wrote earlier this month, British leaders are trying to get the U.S. banned from World Cup competition, and a German soccer federation VP says "the time has come" to discuss bailing on the tournament. European leaders "could kick Trump where it hurts," with representatives from EU countries qualified to play this June mulling a boycott, reports Politico's Ali Walker. (Shout out to a fellow Ali Walker reporting on megaevents.) "Seriously, imagine going to play the World Cup in a country that attacks its 'neighbors,' threatens to invade Greenland, destroys international law, wants to torpedo the UN, establishes a fascist and racist militia in its country, attacks the opposition there, forbids the supporters to access the event from about 15 countries, plans to ban all LGBT signs in stadiums, etc... ?" wrote progressive French assemblymember Éric Coquerel in a blistering post on Instagram. "The question is so serious that it is still possible to refocus on Mexico and Canada." (Éric... voulez-vous écrire pour Torched?)

At the Casa México announcement, Bass, to her credit, did acknowledge the friction, both with Mexico and with... everyone else. "Major sporting events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup give us an opportunity to celebrate this relationship on the world stage," she said, soccer balls stacked at her feet. "We also recognize that this announcement comes at a time when many immigrant communities are experiencing fear and uncertainty due to increased and aggressive immigration enforcement activities."

But trying to project any "it's a small world" harmony onto this summer's activities is futile, says Jennifer Doyle, an English professor at the University of California, Riverside and self-described "sports crank" who gave a talk about the World Cup at Human Resources last week. "There's the contradiction of this global celebration of unity and the quiet dread that has taken over the communities here who actually play the game," she says. "Who wants to show up for a pickup game in Downey in the middle of the afternoon? Parents are afraid to let their kids do any sport in a public space." And while Doyle lists many good reasons to support an international boycott — her lists are long; she's been writing about exactly this topic for years — she thinks the violent occupation of those very communities should be an automatic no-go. "FIFA subcontracts with Homeland Security for the World Cup. They're conflict seekers," she says. "I am afraid people will die, and that's not an unreasonable response to what's happening in this moment because it's happening all around us."

And just in the time I wrote this story — in fact, I held off publishing this newsletter on Saturday morning because the timing didn't feel right — it happened again.

On pure logistics, you cannot beat La Plaza's location. It's across the street from Placita Olvera, where the historic kiosko is home to LA's best people-watching. It's a block from Union Station, where, in addition to the FIFA-official zones, Metro will be hosting a transit-adjacent activation, according to Metro's most recent World Cup report. There's also an open street approved for El Pueblo as part of Metro's funding cycle for 2026. (Although I'm told this is more like a few blocks, not a CicLAvia-style route, and it's not a CicLAvia proposal even though it's called Heart of LA — ???) This summer, the whole neighborhood is set to be transformed into a lively car-free hub filled with boisterous soccer fans from all over the world.

La Plaza is also two blocks from the Metropolitan Detention Center, where federal agencies bring kidnapped Angelenos while their family members fight for information and visitation rights. It's adjacent to Olvera Street, where vendors are too scared to stay open as raids increase in nearby neighborhoods. It's just over the freeway from the Federal Building where anti-ICE protests have basically been ongoing since June. And within hours of federal agents shooting and killing a second person in Minneapolis, it's where thousands of Angelenos gathered to condemn ICE and march to a nearby vigil.

There's an appropriations bill moving its way through Congress — side note: if it passes, it looks like those megaevent transportation support dollars for LA are actually happening — that would give billions more to ICE. You know, the agency now instructed to enter homes without a warrant. When I saw the rumors that Operation Metro Surge would be coming back to LA, as well as moving into Philadelphia, all I could think is how Donald Trump's obsession with America's 250th would motivate him to "secure" Philly for the July 4, 2026 celebrations, which include a World Cup match. Surely they'll have no qualms entering a stadium. Or a fan festival. Or a hospitality house. But also — who needs ICE to terrorize neighborhoods? Our very own LAPD likes to tear gas people for watching sporting events on the sidewalk.

Here's where LA's lack of concrete megaevent plans goes from annoying to unsettling. There's been a lot of talk about 2028 security concerns; LA's city council has now politely requested that LA28 explain its various alliances with federal law enforcement agencies. But so much is still unknown about what will happen in LA in just 136 days. Will the security perimeters start to impinge upon our ability to use downtown as a center of protest? How "open" will these streets feel when they're lined with armored vehicles? Could the occupied 101 freeway overpasses serve as some kind of autonomous zone? Can the state of California enforce our sanctuary status? Asking for city that might need to create a fortress around its historical center to protect soccer fans. 🔥