A story that began as a hopeful bridge between Mexico\u2019s indigenous heritage and modern sportswear has sparked a heated national debate. The New York Times published an article by Jack Nicas revealing the voices of Nahua women from Naupan, a small mountain town in central Mexico, who handcrafted the Mexican national soccer team\u2019s World Cup jerseys. <\/p>\n
The controversy started when Someone Somewhere, a Mexican apparel company, questioned why indigenous artisans weren\u2019t involved in making the jerseys. This idea caught Adidas\u2019s attention, leading to a collaboration that brought 150 Nahua women to embroider the iconic stripes by hand. The jerseys, priced over $200 each, sold out quickly, and some artisans even traveled to Germany and to a Mexico friendly match to showcase their work. <\/p>\n
However, last month, activist Luz Valdez accused the companies of exploiting these women, claiming they were paid just 36 pesos (about $2.06) per hour\u2014below Mexico\u2019s minimum wage\u2014and forced to abandon traditional embroidery techniques. Her viral videos ignited outrage across social media, with millions watching and many condemning the brands. <\/p>\n
To understand the full picture, journalists visited Naupan on May 31, 2026, where the community was buzzing with attention. At a government-organized event, Marina N\u00fa\u00f1ez Bespalova from Mexico\u2019s Ministry of Culture offered free textile training and workshops to help artisans sell directly, bypassing intermediaries. <\/p>\n
Inside a modest workshop, over 25 Nahua women sat embroidering jerseys, speaking in their native Nahuatl. Contrary to the viral claims, nearly all the artisans described the work as fair and flexible: <\/p>\n
– M\u00f3nica Mar\u00edn, 45, said it was better than any other job available.
\n– Micaela P\u00e9rez, 41, a widowed mother of two, appreciated the flexible hours.
\n– Anabel Guzm\u00e1n, 35, credited the work with helping her support her children. <\/p>\n
Their main concern was the temporary nature of the project, which would end with the World Cup, forcing many back to physically demanding farm labor with lower pay. They also expressed frustration that negative social media attention might scare away future employers. <\/p>\n
Edith Carballo, 38, who joined after losing her pharmacy job, criticized influencers for unintentionally harming the community while claiming to help. <\/p>\n
The artisans declined to disclose exact wages publicly, fearing safety risks, but confirmed they earned more than 36 pesos per hour and received bonuses for efficiency and extra tasks. Someone Somewhere\u2019s CEO, Antonio Nu\u00f1o, corroborated this, showing payroll records for nine women with hourly wages above the contested figure. <\/p>\n
This story highlights the complexities of blending traditional craftsmanship with global markets and the importance of listening directly to those involved. For many Nahua women in Naupan, this project has been a rare opportunity for dignified work and economic empowerment\u2014one that deserves careful consideration beyond viral headlines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A story that began as a hopeful bridge between Mexico\u2019s indigenous heritage and modern sportswear has sparked a heated national debate. The New York Times published an article by Jack Nicas revealing the voices of Nahua women from Naupan, a small mountain town in central Mexico, who handcrafted the Mexican national soccer team\u2019s World Cup […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-974","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\/974","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=974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/974\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnews.mx\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}