Liliana Michelena

3 weeks ago | missionlocal.org | Liliana Michelena

You can measure a city by the things it celebrates. On Tuesday, inside the gold-trimmed walls of City Hall, San Francisco tipped its cap to a Mission District taquería, a scrappy soccer team, and the siblings somehow running both. El Farolito SC — the team that has knocked out professional sides with part-time players who also drive Ubers, install drywall, and work double shifts — was officially commended by the Board of Supervisors today.

1 month ago | missionlocal.org | Liliana Michelena

The dream slipped away on Wednesday night in Sacramento, under floodlights that shone just a little too harshly on El Farolito. A 1-0 loss to ended the amateur side’s underdog run in the U.S. Open Cup. El Farolito was cut short in the third round for the second year in a row. From the opening whistle, it was clear El Farolito wanted this, perhaps too much. The players’ movements betrayed their anxiety — legs just a beat too fast, passes just a touch too long.

1 month ago | missionlocal.org | Liliana Michelena

When the El Farolito soccer team punched its ticket to the third round of the U.S. Open Cup with a stunning comeback over Monterey Bay, its players didn’t head out for a lavish celebration. They clocked in for work the very next morning, as if nothing extraordinary had happened — because, for them, it’s just another day in the life of the hardest-working team in American soccer.

2 months ago | missionlocal.org | Liliana Michelena

It’s spring in the Mission, and the days are finally stretching their legs. That golden-hour glow—the one that used to be gone before you even left work—is now hitting at a much more respectable time. On the corner of 21st and Bryant, El Chato eases into the evening, opening its doors at 4 but truly coming to life around 5. Inside, the air is warm, the wine is flowing, and the line between regulars and newcomers dissolves as quickly as the first sip.

2 months ago | missionlocal.org | Liliana Michelena

The blue and gold is about to hit the road again. Not the Golden State Warriors —now enjoying a late-season boost— but the Mission’s own 2024 fútbol sweethearts El Farolito SC. Arguably the best soccer team in the city of San Francisco, the beloved taquería’s amateur squad plays its first-round U.S. Open Cup match against the Real Monarchs, an affiliate of the Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake, on March 19. The game will be in the Salt Lake City suburb of Herriman, Utah.