It’s known as 'the beautiful game,' or 'o jogo bonito.'
Soccer will take center stage next month when the FIFA World Cup is hosted jointly by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
At the Mexican Consulate in Oxnard, they’re getting ready with an art exhibition using soccer as a shared point of reference.
"It's such a soccer-loving community," said Carolyn Mullin from the Oxnard Performing Arts Center. "The arts are this unifying force; it's a connective thread. They're unifying, and that's a wonderful thing,"
The arts center is partnering with the Consulate for the Mirades Un Balon exhibition, which means 'eleven gazes, one ball.'
"That's what you see on view, 11 different artists who brought their own history, their backgrounds, their experiences, their love of the game and the people behind it and their city, their culture to this exhibition," said Mullin.
The exhibition highlights how the game of football brings people together, according to the exhibition’s curator, Rafael Perea De La Cabada.
"It is called 11 sights, one ball, which is to celebrate the World Cup this season. As you're connecting that simple event into a community event. If you wanna play soccer growing up, it has a vulnerable element to it, which is you allow yourself to be part of a larger event in which your mistake affects everyone, or your success affects everyone."
He continued, "So it's like, in a way, a play on society. It's very passionate because of that, because you get into a moment of collaboration that could be successful, or it could be something you remember all your life since you were little because you missed this goal or whatever."
The exhibition features eleven artists of Mexican and Mexican-American heritage whose work reflects the experiences and perspectives of the region. Through painting, mixed media, and visual storytelling, the artists explore identity, movement, memory, and belonging, using soccer as a shared point of reference.
One of those artists, Horacio Martinez, portrayed a childhood memory of playing soccer in the street when he was growing up in Oxnard, in his graphite works on display here.
"There was no grass, we'd just play on the asphalt in the middle of the street, a car would come, we would all have to get out of the way, let the car pass, and then throw the ball back in and carry on. So we did a lot of that in the neighborhood," said Martinez.
The gallery has a dual purpose, it’s also a waiting room at the Consulate — a place where visas are processed — and it shares a vision of building bridges through peaceful means, says the Mexican Consul and Ambassador, Ricardo Santana Velezquez.
"We have special feelings for the soccer," said Velezquez. "But not only Mexico, also with our friends, with our neighbors, with the United States, and with Canada, because with the sports in general, and specifically with the soccer, we don't have borders. This is the real opportunity for our people to have in mind that we can do a lot of things together. No matter the colors, the religions, the weight that you have in your political agenda, or in a war situation like that we have at this time, going on. Soccer links the world. Soccer links to people. Soccer gives us the chance to forget everything, all the problems that we had."
The relationship between the community and soccer is a passionate one, said the Mayor of Oxnard, Luis Mc Arthur.
"We have such strong roots for Mexico, and so many of us will celebrate Mexico, and also, we just love the game so much, and we're so passionate about it," said Mc Arthur.
"But also, we recognize we're in the U.S. as well and our loyalty to this country and for all that is done for us. And so we're Mexican-American, and so we are loyal to it. So we are also cheering for the U.S. team. And also, you see the diversity represented with the U S national teams."
The exhibition opens to the public on Thursday. It's open Monday – Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Consulado de México en Oxnard, 3151 W 5th St, in Oxnard.
