Tuesday was a memorable night in Mexico City following Mexico’s 2-0 victory over Ecuador,  with crowds estimated at more than 1 million people taking to the streets to celebrate the country’s furthest advancement in the World Cup tournament since 1986. 

Hundreds of thousands of them gathered around the Ángel de la Independencia in the middle of the stately Paseo de la Reforma, spilling into the surrounding streets. The celebration extended to the Historic Center, including the Zócalo, where the Fan Fest is located.   

President Sheinbaum also watched and celebrated with others, but in the north of the city. Noting the size of the downtown celebrations, she later praised the “happiness” that the team had brought to the country.

The massive celebrations in Mexico’s capital, which kicked off with several rounds of fireworks, went on until Wednesday morning. Videos on social media show a few dozen people still dancing and celebrating near the Angel of Independence monument at about 9:00 a.m.

Throughout the night, Mexico City’s main avenues were overflowing with fans celebrating with waving flags, chants, and caravans of honking cars. Along Reforma, from the Angel of Independence to the Revolution Monument, the crowd flowed through street lanes and sidewalks, while live music and mariachis kept the celebrations going.

Mexico will play another home match at the Estadio Azteca on Sunday against England, after the team secured its spot in the next stage with the goals of Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez.

The celebration inside the stadium after Quiñones’s goal was of such force that it registered on seismographs normally used to measure earthquakes in the capital. 

The toll of the mass celebration: Four tragic deaths

Despite the deployment of screens throughout the city to avoid over-concentration of viewers in one spot, and the imposition of an alcohol ban targeted to popular gathering areas of the city, the sheer magnitude of the events defied all civil planning and four people died during the celebrations. 

In a post on X, Mexico City’s Health Department (SS) announced Wednesday morning that it had received a report of “two unconscious people” on Hamburgo and Lancaster streets, suffering from asphyxiation. A 44-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman were taken to a hospital, the SS wrote on X. Despite receiving “advanced resuscitation maneuvers,” they later died.

According to the SS, both individuals have been identified by their family members.

Another victim, a 48-year-old woman, was also found unconscious on Berna Street in the Juárez neighborhood, where she received “resuscitation maneuvers” by paramedics, the SS said on X.  

By Wednesday, the number of confirmed fatalities rose to four, according to press reports.

Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada joined President Claudia Sheinbaum in expressing condolences to the victims’ families and pledged on her official X account to send “all the support they need” in the coming days.

Brugada also urged fans to “always celebrate with responsibility, care and empathy.”

With reports from Record, La Jornada, Infobae, El Financiero, and El Sol de México