LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Roberto Garza will return to his roots Sunday to appear at a Super Bowl celebration in Mexico City.

The veteran Bears guard, whose family emigrated from Mexico to Rio Hondo, Texas, about a year before he was born, will attend a football-themed foot race and a Super Bowl fiesta event.

Roberto Garza joined the Bears in 2005 after spending his first four NFL seasons with the Atlanta Falcons.

“I’ve never been to Mexico City,” said Garza, one of 19 Hispanic players currently in the NFL. “So it’ll be a great opportunity to experience the city and then to get a chance to promote the sport that I love.”

The race will feature 32 teams—one for each NFL club—of 80 runners each. The top team, based on average time, will win tickets to watch a telecast of Super Bowl XLII at the fiesta event, which will also include interactive activities and a concert for nearly 10,000 guests.

The popularity of the NFL in Mexico is skyrocketing. In 2005, the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers played the league’s first regular-season game outside the United States at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, drawing an NFL-record 103,467 fans.

“The fan base is there,” said Garza, who has played seven NFL seasons. “They follow the NFL. They know the rules. They know the game. That’s an untapped market, and the NFL’s really trying to reach out to them and hopefully they can get a game there next season.”

Garza would be thrilled if the Bears were selected to play a game in Mexico City.

“That would be a dream come true for me,” he said. “Being able to reach the community, speak the language and promote the game would be amazing. They know me, but being able to see me play live would be pretty cool.”

Garza is actively involved in the Hispanic community. He has been featured in a national United Way commercial, donated 19 tickets to each Bears home game to children at various Hispanic organizations throughout Chicago and spearheaded “Futbol Americano con Roberto,” a program that introduced over 250 Hispanic children to youth football and promoted healthy living.

“I enjoy sharing my story of how I got to the NFL,” Garza said. “I’m a first generation [American]. My parents were born and raised in Mexico. There are a lot of kids that are like me and grew up just like I did, so being able to tell them how I got here and what I’ve been able to accomplish hopefully will help some kids along the way.”