Screaming “Cámara La Reta!”

Enrique Medina, Mexico

My name is Enrique Medina. I’m a 33-year-old filmmaker and photographer born and raised in Mexico City in a family and culture that are very passionate about football. I’ve been playing amateur football in many different forms ever since I can remember, and in recent years, I’ve focused most personal projects in and around football. For around three years I’ve been visiting and shooting different amateur football fields in 35mm film. This is an ongoing series, Nacer Con Cancha, that tries to show the diversity of Mexican society through its common passion for the game of football.

But I’ve had to leave out a whole category of football; the unofficial games that don’t have a referee, linesmen, or official start and end times - in English they are known as pick-up games but in Mexico they’re known as “retas”. It’s well known, especially around Mexico City, that if you arrive at a spot where there is a match going on, and you and your team want to be considered to play next, you must scream in the right accent “Cámara la reta!”

What did you try to show with the photos? Was there any wider meaning with the photos?

You can see “pick-up” football games (“retas”) in several fields of Mexico City. I made a list of parks and spots where I knew or was told people played and I walked around for two weekends trying to find games; one time with my wife, once with a friend and another time with my dad. I didn’t know anyone who was playing, I just got there and found out.

I tried to show a glance of what this side of unofficial football is and how it’s so important for people in Mexico; it’s always ready and available, free for all and just as fun as organised matches. I also tried to get enough variety of fields to show how rich and diverse this monster of a city is and its widespread love for football.

Are there any good stories connected with the people or teams you photographed?

I got a couple of portraits of some of the players on different days, coincidentally both wearing Barcelona shirts. The first one was the younger kid - I had seen these colourful concrete blocks on the playground just behind where they were playing; he was sitting with his team, waiting for their turn to play and I liked the expression he had on his face plus I knew the colours he was wearing would look cool for a photo on the playground. The next weekend I arrived early to a park and parked where I had been told people played. In front of me, a friendly older man parked and asked if I knew where the pick-up game was; I told him I was looking for the spot but wasn't sure. We parted different ways and after I walked in circles for half an hour, I found a hidden run-down small field where the man was playing with some others. He recognised me and when his team took a break I asked if I could take a portrait of him. I later shot a photo of him playing just before he scored a goal.

On that same five on five field, there is a team drinking beers during a break. One of them said that the police were close behind him and didn't want to risk being recognised, everyone laughed, and it was clear he was joking, but he still stood up and left the scene before I took the shot.

What is your favourite photo?

I interrupted these guys during their break beer drinking routine. It’s not like it happens everywhere, but it's a scene you can find here and there; their casual attitude towards the camera and the camaraderie says a lot about “retas” and football culture in Mexico.

How has Covid-19 affected football in Mexico and your community?

It’s hard to speak about Covid-19 because I know the pandemic has affected the world in difficult and sad ways, and I don’t want to minimise it. But speaking for myself and how cautious I’ve been during the pandemic, it’s the longest I’ve been away from playing football, and it hasn’t been fun. Now, with vaccinations starting to be more available around the country, some leagues have started to resume activities. But at certain points before that, “retas” were the only available option for people to go out and play, each taking their personal cautions.

Why is football so important for Mexico and its people?

Football is the most popular sport in the country, it gives people identity, a sense of togetherness and community. 

What does football mean to you?

Football has been with me throughout my life, it has been very meaningful in the great relationship I have with my dad, in defining me and my interests as I was growing up, and in bringing me together and making strong bonds stronger with the friends I play with.

What is the future of Mexican football?

It’s always growing and ever changing. I don’t really like the complications that come with the business side of football with the leagues, teams and sponsors, corporations and money involved. But the amateur love for the sport is beautiful, just people playing and loving the sport. The biggest difference I’ve seen in recent years has come with the creation of the professional female league and the chance that young girls now have to dream about growing up to be professionals. So I really hope that keeps getting bigger and more popular so in the future I can walk around a park on a weekend and see as many girls in the “retas” as there are boys.