Maná Opened, Shakira Closed, Ryan Castro Brought a Carriel, and Mexico Put Its Full Culture on Display at the World Cup Stage

Maná Opened, Shakira Closed, Ryan Castro Brought a Carriel, and Mexico Put Its Full Culture on Display at the World Cup Stage

The Estadio Azteca in Mexico City hosted the opening ceremony of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Thursday, June 11th, becoming the first stadium in history to stage the inaugural match of a World Cup three times, having done so previously in 1970 and 1986. The nearly 81,000 seat venue was filled to capacity for a roughly 15-minute ceremony that opened with dancers dressed as Moctezuma welcoming the peoples of the world and women in traditional dance costumes moving across a canvas that covered the entire playing field, setting a tone that wove Mexican cultural heritage into the global spectacle of the tournament’s opening night.

The ceremony built toward its musical centerpiece when Shakira took the stage to perform “Dai Dai,” the Colombian artist’s official World Cup track, alongside Nigerian afrobeat star Burna Boy. The performance featured a choreography of dancers dressed in athletic wear, and the crowd responded to the moment with the kind of energy that the Azteca is built for. Shakira performed at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa with “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” and her return to the World Cup stage sixteen years later was one of the most anticipated moments of the evening.

A Night of Mexican Music and Cultural Pride

The ceremony opened with Maná, the beloved Mexican rock band, performing their classic “Oye Mi Amor” alongside dancers wearing indigenous costumes and elaborate feathered headdresses moving in choreography that matched the song’s energy. Venezuelan pop singer Danny Ocean, the iconic cumbia group Los Ángeles Azules, J Balvin and Ryan Castro all performed as fireworks erupted from the golden stage that held a large replica of the World Cup trophy at its center.

@crissy_5.2

El grupo maná hizo su participation en la inauguration del mundial 2026 🥰 #mundial #maná #fyp #paratiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

♬ sonido original – Cristy⚘️🎀😌

The crowd chanted “Viva México” repeatedly throughout the ceremony and continued as fireworks lit the exterior arch of the stadium in green, white and red, the colors of the Mexican flag. Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli closed the musical program with “DNA,” the official World Cup anthem, a composition that blends opera and electronic music in a combination as unusual as the tournament’s three-nation hosting arrangement.

Ryan Castro’s Carriel and What It Represents

Among the performers, Colombian artist Ryan Castro drew attention for an outfit that balanced visual restraint with deep cultural meaning. He wore a white shirt, black pants and a beret, paired with a carriel in yellow and red inspired by the colors of the flag of Jericó, Antioquia. The carriel Ryan Castro wore on that stage carried the full story of a culture that has been fighting to preserve itself for generations.

The carriel is a traditional leather bag associated with the culture of the arrieros and the broader identity of Antioquia, and one of the most enduring symbols of Colombian cultural heritage from that region. In September 2025, the Association of Manufacturers of the Traditional Antioquian Carriel received the denomination of origin “Carriel Antioqueño” from Colombia’s Superintendency of Industry and Commerce, a recognition that acknowledges both the artisanal craft involved in its production and the cultural identity it represents. Each carriel requires hours of skilled handwork, and the designation was a formal acknowledgment of that tradition in an era where artisanal crafts face growing pressure from a globalized market. Ryan Castro bringing one to the World Cup opening ceremony in front of a global audience was the kind of visibility that no marketing campaign could have manufactured.

Outside the Stadium, a Different Story

While the ceremony proceeded inside the Azteca, groups of protesters gathered at various points across the southern part of Mexico City with the intention of reaching the stadium. The majority were family members of disappeared persons and teachers on strike, communities whose concerns sit at a considerable distance from the celebration taking place inside the venue. Police deployments kept the demonstrators away from the stadium while allowing fans to pass through, a division that captured something true about the gap between the image Mexico presented to the world on Thursday night and the realities its people continue to navigate outside the frame of the tournament.

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