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![\"Gustavo](\"https:\/\/www.amny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1000098100.jpg\" "\\"World")
<\/a>Gustavo Estrada (left) at his stall in Jackson Heights.\n<\/p>\nEstrada forecasted that Jackson Heights will come alive when Colombia plays at the World Cup next month. As he was speaking, a small group of supporters nearby began breaking out in an impromptu chant of \u201cColombia.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He is also hoping that visiting fans will travel to the neighborhood to experience the atmosphere, adding that everyone is welcome for the celebration.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
But as 37th Avenue moves eastward, the picture changes and the Colombian tricolor gives way to that of Ecuador\u2019s and the borough\u2019s Colombian enclave gives way to a thriving Ecuadorian community in Corona.<\/p>\n
Much like Little Colombia, Ecuadorian flags can be seen hanging from every business, while replica Ecuadorian soccer jerseys are currently on sale in the most unconventional locations \u2013 like a money transfer business with a small convenience store attached.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ecuador, unlike Colombia, will be playing one game at MetLife Stadium \u2013 against Germany on June 25 \u2013 in addition to other group games in Philadelphia. Like many other participating nations with significant communities in the US, however, Ecuador tickets rank among the most expensive at the World Cup, with tickets for that German encounter currently available for $992 on resale markets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It is on the streets of Corona in Little Ecuador, therefore, were much of New York\u2019s Ecuadorian community will come together for a World Cup that seems increasingly out of reach.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nestor Dutan, owner of Ecuadorian restaurant Rinc\u00f3n Melania, which boasts two locations across Queens, said Ecuadorian communities like Jackson Heights and Corona have been bristling with excitement \u201cfor many months.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dutan\u2019s restaurants are not actually in Little Ecuador, with one located in Sunnyside, another Queens neighborhood with a dense Ecuadorian population, and the other located in Maspeth. Dutan said he will be hosting his World Cup watch parties in Maspeth because the Sunnyside location is not big enough to cope with the demand he has seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor many months now many clients and people from the community have expressed their excitement for the World Cup,\u201d Dutan said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dutan is forecasting a \u201csummer to remember\u201d in the Ecuadorian enclaves littered throughout Queens.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
On the other side of Roosevelt Avenue in Elmhurst lies the much smaller enclave of Little Argentina, but Marcello Civelli of popular Argentinian restaurant El Gauchito is still forecasting large crowds at his restaurant and the surrounding streets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Civelli recalled the joyous scenes of December 2022 when Argentina reached the mountaintop with a penalty shootout victory over France to claim its first World Cup since 1986, with many local Argentinians braving the winter cold to party on the streets of Corona.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Argentina\u2019s status as world champions, coupled with the cult-like following of Lionel Messi, has sent ticket prices through the roof, with tickets currently fetching between $800 and $1,000 on resale markets.\u00a0<\/p>\n Facing sky-high prices and trips to Arlington and Kansas City \u2013 where Argentina will play its group games \u2013 Civelli is forecasting that many local members of the Argentinian community will be put off and opt to enjoy the festivities in their own community.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just very, very expensive to get to the game,\u201d Civelli said. \u201cThe prices are just overwhelming.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Two of Argentina\u2019s group games will run past El Gauchito\u2019s usual closing time of 10 p.m., but such is the demand that Civelli will be remaining open on both occasions.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to be having pizzas, empanadas and picadas (a type of Argentinian appetizer board),\u201d he said. \u201cThese games are very important for this area, for the Argentinian community. I also have friends from France who want to come here and watch Argentina play.<\/p>\n \u201cYou come and watch the game here and then you go out on the street and start waving the flag\u2026 it\u2019s a place to celebrate.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Civelli is forecasting that \u201cmuch more people\u201d will line Corona Avenue for the upcoming World Cup than they did in 2022, when cold weather deterred some crowds from gathering in the street.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe just want to be around where everybody\u2019s at.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n While Argentina enters as world champions and one of the favorites to lift the trophy this summer, some Latin American participants do not. But it has not dampened excitement.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the Brooklyn neighborhood of Flatbush, New York\u2019s significant Panamanian community is preparing for just its second-ever World Cup finals appearance and Michelle\u2019s Cocktail Lounge \u2013 which has stood as a bastion of Panamanian culture and pride for the past 54 years \u2013 is preparing to lead those celebrations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a>Marcello Civelli at El GuachitoPhoto by Shane O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n