Searching for acceptance: How the World Cup drove Mexican Americans back to their roots

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

See more from the L.A.Times in Google Search.

Set us as preferred MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s improbable World Cup run ended Sunday with a loss to England, but it didn’t keep the team’s heart and tenacity from delivering one success: A notable increase in Mexican Americans venturing south to reconnect with their roots, language and culture, according to longtime observers and travel figures.The trend, which emerged long before the World Cup, gained intensity against the backdrop of uncertainty in the United States generated by what many see as an anti-immigrant climate fueled by the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.A sense of being targeted is palpable across the United States, in Mexican American communities from Los Angeles to El Paso and among U.S.

Latinos interviewed in Mexico City.Even so, as Mexico advanced through the tournament, an indicator of national pride emerged: record-setting sales of FIFA Mexico jerseys.More than 5 million were sold — half of them in the United States.

“Putting on the Mexican jersey this time took on a different meaning,” said Leny Hernandez, 32, a businessman and former combat soldier, after Mexico’s elimination from the tournament.“I don’t see this as a defeat, but as a victory.

I still believe in the dream.”While demographic data don’t pinpoint how many Latinos or Mexican Americans travel annually to Mexico, the travel site Road Genius said almost 5 million of the 48 million foreign travelers visited the country in December, which is traditionally when Mexican Americans return for religious celebrations and vacation.For decades, the Mexican government has tried building bridges, a soft-power initiative known as acercamiento — or coming together — with its rising global diaspora.

It’s had some success.But what makes this latest bonding so compelling is that it wasn’t designed by the gove...