KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories in Overland Park, Johnson County and topics about government accountability. Share your story idea with Isabella.
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Thousands in Kansas City's Hispanic community were out in full force Tuesday night to watch Mexico and Ecuador play for a spot in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16.
The Rock Island Bridge hosted a watch party with hundreds of fans of rooting for Mexico's men's national soccer team. A smaller crowd of supporters cheered on Ecuador squad.
An organizer of the watch party told KSHB 41 News the bridge reached capacity right before the end of the first half of the match.
Kansas City, Missouri, along with Kansas City, Kansas, have strong Hispanic communities that go back generations and pride in their heritage comes out in full force when their country is competing on the world stage.
"We as a community, and me as myself, super duper excited that Mexico is in this knockout round," Leo Prieto said.
For the thousands of Hispanic Americans in the metro area, it's not just fun to go to the watch parties. It's part of cultural pride.
"It's no surprise that people are coming out in droves for the Mexico games because it's in our DNA," Prieto said.
Prieto is the chief community impact officer at the Guadalupe Centers. It's one of the oldest social services resource centers for Latinos in the country.
"It's not some first generation, but there's third, fourth, fifth and sixth generations of Mexican-American immigrants that migrated [to Kansas City] that made it a home here on the West Side and beyond," Prieto said.
Kansas City's Hispanic ties can be traced all the way back to the 1800's. Thousands of immigrants settled in the metro during the Mexican Revolution in the early 1900's.
"A lot of people make the joke and say they were on their way to California or Florida, then they had a flat tire so they decided to stay here," Prieto said with a laugh.
But what many found instead was consistent work with railroad companies and in the stockyards.
Those early immigrants created a vibrant Hispanic community that still thrives today.
"We have families here, especially families here on the West Side, that are pioneers," Prieto said. "They are pioneers that were here from the very beginning."
Fast forward to 2026 and Hispanic pride can be seen in all corners of Kansas City and the country.
"That's what this game has done, I think, is really brought the world kind of together to learn fun facts and learn how much more in common we have with this game called football than the differences that people make us out to have," Prieto said.
Mexico defeated Ecuador 2-0 on Tuesday night, advancing to the Round of 16.
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