It’s astonishing to consider that Mexico is hosting 13 World Cup games, sharing host duties with the U.S. Estadio Azteca in Mexico City will host five games. And then another 8 will be split across Monterey and Guadalajara.

There are entire states of Mexico that the U.S. State Department considers so unsafe that it warns all Americans to avoid them. Guerrero and Colima, and pieces of Baja California, Chiapas, and various northern border zones are contested by cartels, ruined by bandits, or just so known for kidnapping that they are no-go zones. And yet, Mexico sort of chugs along, with middling economic performance, flourishing life in the major cities, and tourist areas that still thrive.