Fan Fest

6/17/14

After many unsuccessful attempts to finagle some Mexico v. Brazil tickets, we decided to check out the FIFA Fan Fest and watch the much anticipated match-off from the boardwalk in Fortaleza. We were warned by our Brazilian friends to be very careful of pick pockets at the festival. (Another entertaining language lesson: it’s apparently very hard to say “pick pocketing” with a Brazilian accent.) So we locked down all of our belongings and headed downtown to check out the town and all the festivities that FIFA and Fortaleza had set up for everyone. The crowds were crazy but it was great – you really felt the celebratory feeling of everyone congregating in the streets which were decorated in festive green and yellow. Traditionally, Brazilians decorate the street pavement when the national team plays. We only saw a few street paintings, however; Fe thinks this might be because there’s been so much protest against the games, people don’t want to draw to much attention to it or their little neighborhoods. We bought Brazilian window flags from one of the many street vendors to hang off the rental car but sadly they were no match for the crazy strong Fortaleza winds; they broke off within hours. [Nick: For $2 each I was expecting titanium. J] There was no getting around the Fan Fest in a car – the crowds and traffic were just too thick – so we decided to rent a cab to drive us around the city and see the main historic sights before the match started. The nice thing in Brazil, for Brazilians, is that when the team plays, it’s a national holiday. So many businesses and cultural sites were closed for most of the day, but we did get a chance to check out an old church and historical theater under renovation. [Nick: The theater in particular was very beautiful with stained glass windows, maybe one day we can come back to see the completed restoration and take in some music.]

Decorated Street

Our Decorated Car

Street Vendors Before the Game

Downtown Fortaleza

Soccer Volleyball

The day had gone off without a hitch until we exited the cab and within seconds of the car driving off, Filipe realized he had accidentally left his phone in the car. I’ll spare you the details of our many attempts at calling the phone, tracking its GPS location, going back to the taxi stand to try and meet up with the cab driver, showing his picture around to get in touch with him, calling his friends to get his number, finally getting a hold of him and him blowing us off, and then hours later finding him back at the taxi stand where he insisted that it must have been the gringos he picked up after us that stole Filipe’s phone. Needless to say, it was a huge bummer that this cab driver potentially stole Filipe’s phone (which is no small thing, since due to import taxes and configurations, an iPhone in Brazil can cost over three times what you would pay in the US!), but it’s highly unlikely that some American tourists who found a cell phone in a car would think “oh yeah, I can sell this in Brazil real quickly.” So that sucked, but we didn’t let it ruin the rest of our day because BRAZIL WAS ABOUT TO PLAY MEXICO! And we had paid for good seats (really standing room only) to see it at the Fan Fest. [Nick: Fan Fest is free to all, but they sell tickets for booths that are on the sides. We decided to dip our toes into the madness, instead of going straight into the general admission area, to see what it was like. The general area was very crowded but everyone seemed respectful of each other and there seemed to be no incidents. The organization of events is going off very well and the Brazilian fans have been great.]

Brazil Fan Car

Cultural Center Plaza

Pretty Building

More Pretty Buiildings

Cathedral

100 Year Old Theater

Inside Theater

So after a crazy delicious meal of fresh caught shrimp (at least for me, since no one else I’m traveling with eats seafood – their loss!), we arrived at the notorious Fan Fest – people have been talking about crazy crowds and pick pocketing, etc. It really wasn't that bad – at least for us, since we bought tickets to view the big screen from a balcony rather than the free general admission SRO area below, which did seem like it would be hard to move or breathe in, at least if you’re short like me. But it was still pretty crowded, and why wouldn't it be? It was a Brazil game! And the crowds come to cheer: both Mexicans and Brazilians, alike – it was awesome! The excitement and nationalism was infectious. Everyone would cheer and chant for their respective team and we were along for the ride. We’re definitely rooting for Brazil – it would be awesome to see them in the final! – but part of me definitely enjoyed seeing Mexico do so well! Ochoa did an AMAZING job as goal keeper – so impressive against the Brazilian attackers! It’ll be great to watch both teams going forward. This is definitely “the best World Cup” ever – so many exciting moments in the games, high scores, impressive turnarounds, we couldn't ask for a more thrilling Cup!! [Nick: And Ticos are the darlings of the tournament!]

Fe is ready for the game!

Mexico & Brazil Fans

Fan Fest

And the crowd goes wild!

We finished the night at a Brazilian fast-food chain restaurant, Habib's, which is more or less like a Lebanese Taco Bell, if you will. And the quality was about the same, as my stomach was super pissed at me after eating there. [Nick: Fe and Filipe said the quality was worse than they were used to at Habib's, and yeah it was not great, but I wanted to try this fun Brazilian invention.] But they had good milkshakes – which seems to be a fairly constant theme here. Lots of restaurants promote signature milkshakes. The most interesting thing about the restaurant was its logo – a very non-PC stereotype of a Middle Eastern merchant. Something that would never fly in the U.S.

Habib's