DON GONYEA, HOST:
Even if you're not a World Cup superfan, the news today that FIFA overturned the one-match suspension of U.S. striker Folarin Balogun probably got your attention. And in Mexico, pride for its national team's historic run has surged. Tonight, they face off against England at Azteca Stadium. NPR's Anamaria Sayre reports from Mexico City.
(SOUNDBITE OF HORNS HONKING)
ANAMARIA SAYRE, BYLINE: It's been one of the most electric summers in decades here.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Yelling, inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Yelling) Ah.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Yelling, inaudible).
SAYRE: Millions of people rush to the Angel of Independence on the main avenue after each victory, tossing friends in the air, dancing all night, like we've already won the entire World Cup.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Singing in Spanish).
SAYRE: The lyrics of the mariachi folk song "Cielito Lindo" weaving harmony in the crowd, one phrase has become a new national mantra.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: (Yelling) Y si si.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #5: (Yelling) Y si si.
SAYRE: Y si si - the best literal translation - what if yes? What if we win the Mundial? There's no perfect English equivalent because the phrase itself is so quintessentially Mexican.
GRETA LALAS JABELAIS: Mexico is just a very united country - through tragedy, through celebration. It's just a very us thing to be quite optimistic right now.
SAYRE: That unity, says Greta Lalas Jabelais (ph), reflects a collective escape, a reprieve.
JABELAIS: The motto, y si si, stands on a line between, yeah, we know this could never happen, but what if, you know? So I feel like it's a quite hopeful and mystical kind of motto, so very us.
SAYRE: The country's troubles haven't evaporated. Families of Mexico's disappeared have tried to raise awareness but have been largely ignored or dismissed. Making ends meet continues to be a daily challenge for many here.
DANIELLE CHILEAN MORERA: In the history of Mexico, I think there's been that situation. That situation has happened many times.
SAYRE: What situation?
MORERA: Like, the expectation of a better future, the expectation of another plan, another option.
SAYRE: Danielle Chilean Morera (ph) has watched Mexico struggle through massive challenges - earthquakes, shaky political situations.
MORERA: Like, what happens if we actually make it out, out of this one?
SAYRE: Somehow people always pull through. The heart of the y si si mantra is familiar. Mexico has a centuries-old culture built on the mystical and the magical. Hope is daily medicine for darkness.
MOUSE OLES: Y si si - I think it's like, what if the best could happen? What if the light could get in through the deepest darkness?
SAYRE: Mouse Oles (ph) explains that belief in the surreal, the supernatural, is more than an idea. It's survival.
OLES: As Mexicans, every day we have to get through many difficult things. We learn to laugh about pain, about suffering. We laugh, and we dance.
SAYRE: In a country that surrenders and falls, the power is acceptance. Mexico values itself most when it tries. For many, Mexico's success in the World Cup is already the ultimate validation, that a society that runs on collective faith is capable of getting a little closer than you thought.
JABELAIS: Y si si is for the dreamers. We all know it's kind of impossible, but we're all dreamers, as well.
(SOUNDBITE OF JUAN GABRIEL SONG, "HASTA QUE TE CONOCI")
SAYRE: Anamaria Sayre, NPR News, Mexico City. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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