As Guadalajara prepares for the 2026 World Cup, a Jalisco search collective has plastered downtown with World Cup-style “stickers” labeled “DESAPARECIDO” — missing — to keep Mexico’s disappeared from fading from public view.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Downtown Guadalajara is filling up with faces meant to be traded and collected.
Young men in Mexico’s green national team jerseys appear beside a FIFA-style logo, with a design that mimics the World Cup Panini stickers millions of soccer fans swap during the tournament.
But above each taped image, fixed to a concrete bench, a utility pole or a wall, is a blunt label: “DESAPARECIDO.”
Missing.
One poster shows Christian Emmanuel Rivera, disappeared in August 2023. Another shows Jaime Adrián Ramírez, missing since September 2020.
As Guadalajara hosts matches during the 2026 World Cup. families searching for missing relatives have reshaped one of soccer’s most familiar images into a campaign they hope will be impossible to ignore. They say the country’s roughly 135,000 missing people deserve the kind of attention normally reserved for match days.
The effort was launched by Luz de Esperanza, a search collective in the western state of Jalisco. Luz de Esperanza says it leads Mexico in disappearances. with more than 16. 000 people listed as missing in the state’s registry. Members say other groups have already contacted them about adopting the idea.
“This is our way of drawing attention to the fact that we miss our children, that they are absent from our lives,” said María de Jesús Solís, 57, whose son Jaime Adrián disappeared nearly six years ago.
She wears a pendant bearing his photograph around her neck.
“This is my boy,” she said. “The difference is that now he’s wearing the World Cup shirt.”
Guadalajara World Cup 2026 Mexico missing people Luz de Esperanza Jalisco disappearances Panini stickers DESAPARECIDO
So like… they’re using World Cup stickers to find missing people? That’s kinda wild.
I saw something like this on TikTok, but I didn’t think it was real posters in Guadalajara. Makes me sad though. Also 135,000?? That number sounds made up but then again idk.
World Cup coming so they slap missing dudes on benches… seems like a PR stunt? Like couldn’t they just contact the police instead of using Panini style images. Not trying to be mean, just feels like it turns people into merchandise.
My cousin’s from Jalisco and she said they do this stuff because nobody listens until there’s like a big event. I hope it helps, but also I’m confused bc Panini stickers are supposed to be traded and collected, so how does that not mess with the whole “family grieving” part. And it says they’re missing since 2020 and 2023 so… are these posters new or just been up? I just can’t imagine seeing my kid like that on a green jersey.