On Monday, June 22, 2026, Merl\u00edn\u2014the unofficial duck mascot of the 2026 World Cup who has captured hearts across social media\u2014made a special appearance at Mexico\u2019s Palacio Nacional during President Claudia Sheinbaum\u2019s morning press conference. Accompanying Merl\u00edn were Carla, a 48-year-old street vendor, and her two sons, Carlos, 22, and Cristian, 14, who care for the beloved duck daily.<\/p>\n
Carla expressed her gratitude for the invitation, telling reporters, \u201cWe feel very honored to be here with the President. It\u2019s an honor for us to stand before you and show the world the beautiful side of Mexico.\u201d The family earns their living selling drinks and snacks as street vendors in the historic center of Mexico City. Carla, a single mother, emphasized the dignity with which she has raised her children.<\/p>\n
Merl\u00edn\u2019s rise to fame was unplanned. Carla shared that the duck had a modest social media presence before the World Cup, with TikTok videos showing him \u201cselling waters.\u201d However, his popularity exploded internationally during celebrations of the Mexican national team\u2019s victories. \u201cWe are a very grounded family. This situation doesn\u2019t make us feel superior to anyone\u2014we are equals, we are the people,\u201d Carla said.<\/p>\n
Her son Cristian, a secondary school student, helps after classes and on weekends by carrying packages and attending customers. Carlos, the eldest, also works daily despite recently undergoing psychiatric treatment for psychosis, as Carla revealed.<\/p>\n
Journalists were curious about Merl\u00edn\u2019s care, noting his signature protective socks\u2014worn because his shoes were stolen\u2014and his Mexican national team jersey. Carla explained that Merl\u00edn\u2019s diet includes special bird food, vegetables, fruits, proteins, live snails in his water, and crickets. On Sundays, a viral detail: \u201cHe eats a carnitas taco.\u201d The family confirmed Merl\u00edn receives veterinary care and that ducks typically live between 14 and 17 years.<\/p>\n
President Sheinbaum framed the meeting as part of her government\u2019s humanistic approach. \u201cIt\u2019s a matter of humanism, to know the family, who they are, their challenges,\u201d she said. She added that the government aims to turn Merl\u00edn\u2019s fame into a better quality of life for the family. Sheinbaum previously described Merl\u00edn as \u201ca small symbol of our culture and who we Mexicans are,\u201d and announced that social welfare programs will be accessible to them.<\/p>\n
Merl\u00edn\u2019s popularity has crossed borders: fans in Vancouver now dress their own ducks and sell figures inspired by him. FIFA even filmed a commercial featuring Merl\u00edn, though experts clarified that no legal issues arise as long as he is not used as an official tournament image.<\/p>\n
This story highlights how grassroots culture and community resilience can shine on the global stage\u2014reminding us that behind viral moments are real families with real stories, deserving of recognition and support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Monday, June 22, 2026, Merl\u00edn\u2014the unofficial duck mascot of the 2026 World Cup who has captured hearts across social media\u2014made a special appearance at Mexico\u2019s Palacio Nacional during President Claudia Sheinbaum\u2019s morning press conference. Accompanying Merl\u00edn were Carla, a 48-year-old street vendor, and her two sons, Carlos, 22, and Cristian, 14, who care for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nacional"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1701"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1702,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1701\/revisions\/1702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}