How Mexico's World Cup run brought joy after a year of fear

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Mexico's World Cup ended in the last 16 with a 3-2 defeat by England By Shaimaa Khalil North America Correspondent, Santa Ana, Orange County Published 2 hours ago The crowd in this packed local Santa Ana Bistro is on its feet. Some wave Mexican flags. Others sing through the disappointment. Soon the room breaks into Cielito Lindo - Canta y no llores... sing, don't cry. "This is sad," Louie Leyla tells me. The Mexican-American has lived in California since 1990. "But we're going to keep rooting for our people, no matter what." England may have ended Mexico's World Cup, beating them 3-2 in the Azteca Stadium. But here, it does not feel like the end of the story. For this football-loving community on the west coast of the United States, the tournament has been a triumph. Mexico exceeded expectations, united supporters across Southern California and, for weeks, gave fans something to celebrate. "It's a loss," Alicia Rojas tells me. "But it's a win for our community in Santa Ana." Nearby, Cynthia Rebolledo points to her young son, dressed head-to-toe in Mexico colours. "He keeps asking if we're still going to the parade," she says with a smile. "He thought we won. He's been rooting for Mexico - and for his community." This World Cup became about far more than football for this group of fans. As music blares and fans dance with Mexican flags, Leigh Slater smiles. "Football is like life. You lose, you win. But what we've seen throughout this World Cup is the unbreakable spirit of immigrants in this country." 'This is catharsis' Image caption, Mexico had gone 15 consecutive first halves of World Cup football without conceding a goal before playing England - who scored twice before the interval For weeks, Mexican supporters have been among the tournament's most visible fans, filling stadiums across the United States - as well as their homeland - with bright green shirts, flags and chants. Nowhere has that been more apparent than Southern California, home to one of the largest Mexican communities outside Mexico itself. This scene of joy is a far cry from what this area has lived through recently. Just a year ago, many Latino neighbourhoods were living through the height of ICE immigration raids. Businesses saw customers disappear. Families stayed indoors. Many people were reluctant to gather in public. "What a difference a year makes," Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano tells me. We're speaking in the middle of the same crowded bistro, where maracas, horns, matracas, and chants almost drown out our conversation. Just outside is downtown Santa Ana - the historic Latino heart of Orange County. He remembers how different these same streets looked only a year earlier. "They were occupying the same streets that a year earlier were completely, completely and utterly dead," he says. "This was June last year. That was really the height of this. These streets were empty unless you were protesting." Mr Arellano rec