With World Cup in Guadalajara, families of Mexico’s disappeared turn loved ones into soccer stickers

GUADALAJARA, Mexico — The images show young men wearing Mexico’s green national team jersey. A FIFA-style logo appears in the corner. The design mimics the collectible World Cup Panini stickers millions of soccer fans trade during the tournament. But above each face taped to a concrete bench, utility pole or wall across downtown Guadalajara is a label: “DESAPARECIDO.” Missing. One shows Christian Emmanuel Rivera, disappeared in August 2023. Another is Jaime Adrián Ramírez, missing since September 2020. As Guadalajara hosts matches during the 2026 World Cup, families searching for missing relatives have transformed one of soccer’s most familiar images into a campaign to make Mexico’s 135,000 missing people visible to the tens of thousands of visitors. The initiative was launched by Luz de Esperanza, a search collective in the western state of Jalisco, which leads Mexico in disappearances with more than 16,000 people listed as missing in the state’s registry. Members say other groups already have contacted them about adopting the idea. “This is our way of drawing attention to th

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