The World Cup has arrived in L.A.

Good morning, it’s June 11, you can expect toasty weather with temperatures in the upper 80s.

There are fewer than 300 Paraguayans in the city of Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Census, and just 500 countywide. This tiny diaspora community will have one of its biggest moments in years this week, when the Paraguayan National Team kicks off against Team USA at SoFi Stadium Friday night; it’s also the first time Paraguay has qualified for the World Cup in 16 years.

“There is a lot of anticipation,” Silvia Campos, the director of communications for APCO – the Association for Paraguayans on the West Coast. “The Paraguayan national team is very well put together and they are going to put on a good show."

Campos, a retired journalist, came to the U.S. 15 years ago. She and her Paraguayan-Argentinean husband, who met on Facebook, live in Sylmar. 

Today, they are pillars of the Paraguayan immigrant community. Through APCO, they organize lectures and lessons in Guaraní (the indigenous language of Paraguay). Campos helps lead a book club that reads Paraguayan books. The organization also raises funds to help impoverished children back in Paraguay.

Campos said she hoped to be able to organize a gathering for all the Paraguayans in the area to watch the World Cup, but said that a rift with a rival Paraguayan organization, known as ARPCO — the association of Paraguayan residents of the West Coast — was complicating that goal. (A representative of ARPCO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)

“We wanted to make the effort to get together because I also happen to own the largest Paraguayan flag in all of Los Angeles,” Campos said, “but I get the impression getting together will be impossible.”

But Campos is nevertheless putting on a good face for this event – literally. She gave an interview from the dentist’s office where she was getting work done so that she could have a “good smile” for the Paraguayan reporter who plans to stay in her home while covering the World Cup. 

Campos, who said tickets to see the game in person were too expensive, lamented that she doesn’t know of a single Paraguayan restaurant in the L.A. area where people could gather to watch the games. 

It’s a similar story elsewhere in the United States. Paraguayans in Florida have to meet at an Italian restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, Patrizia’s. The restaurant will be offering a limited menu featuring typical Paraguayan dishes for the opening game. (The Patrizia’s in Williamsburg, Brooklyn recently went viral for offering a disturbingly-colored blue and orange “Jalen Brunson rigatoni” in celebration of the Knicks reaching the NBA finals). 

In Los Angeles, Paraguayan President Santiago Peña is expected to attend Friday’s game. Campos said she had heard that about 1,500 Paraguayans had purchased tickets for the event. That would be a small contingent in a space as vast as SoFi Stadium, which seats 70,000. But Campos said she was not surprised that there was not a bigger influx. After all, she said, “for the same amount of money it costs to make the trip here, you can buy a house in Paraguay.” 

Parking at any major sporting event or concert in Los Angeles has long been an exercise in a particular kind of local torture. But for drivers looking to attend this Friday's matchup between Team USA and Paraguay, the price to leave your vehicle in a sea of paved asphalt is $300.

That's not a typo. Three hundred dollars. Seriously.

While many Angelenos and out-of-town visitors rooting on their teams will take advantage of Metro's menu of enhanced public transit services, what if you really, really want to drive to SoFi Stadium for the World Cup... while saving yourself a little bit of cash?

From cheaper off-site lots that require walking the length of 17 soccer pitches to the dirt backyard of longtime Inglewood homeowners taking advantage of the city's economic rebound, L.A. Material Creative Producer Pablo Goldstein looked into the available options.

For the next month, L.A. will be hosting some of the best soccer athletes from around the globe. But all year round, Angelenos are blessed with access to the world’s best cuisine. There are restaurants across L.A. that represent nearly all of the countries that are competing. And so we here at L.A. Material are hosting our own championship… of restaurants! The top 16 countries to advance in the World Cup will be represented by restaurants serving corresponding cuisines in L.A. Material's 2026 Culinary Cup.

If you would like to nominate a restaurant to compete, upgrade and join the L.A. Material Forum — if you haven't already — to submit the restaurants you think deserve a spot, and help shape the final bracket before voting opens to the public.

AMERICAN FUTBOL: Craving more World Cup context? Futuro Studios is releasing a limited series podcast about soccer culture in the U.S., hosted by Fernanda Echavarri. 

E-YIKES: The Los Angeles Times reports on the increased popularity of e-bikes and modified e-bikes, which have resulted in injuries and at least one death. An LAPD officer warns: "If these bikes are not treated with respect and care, it could be just as dangerous as handing over a firearm."

PALISADES FIRE TRIAL: Opening statements were heard Wednesday in the federal case against Jonathan Rinderknecht. Rinderknecht has pleaded not guilty to starting the deadly Palisades Fire.

BASS'S BROTHER’S LAWSUIT: L.A. Material broke the news that Kenneth Bass — the older brother of Mayor Karen Bass — is suing the city of Los Angeles after his home burned down in the Palisades Fire. The couple’s claim is among thousands lodged by home and business owners in connection with the fire.

MURDER MYSTERY ORGY: In case you missed it, L.A. Material contributor  Arielle Dachille has an exclusive look into one night at a ticketed Los Angeles "play party" aboard a 100-foot yacht — an evening of consensual sex with a dinner-theater twist.

Known for its signature chili, Chasen’s was a Hollywood haunt for decades. Its iconic booths played host to several presidents and generations of celebrities. The homey chili was so celebrated that legend has it, Elizabeth Taylor had it shipped to her in Rome while filming Cleopatra.

Here’s the recipe, as published in the 1979 cookbook Great Recipes from Los Angeles:

AND FINALLY… A poem to pair with your morning coffee: “Words” by José Luis Appleyard.

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