Hundreds of thousands of fans, around the Obelisk. /
festivities
More than four million people celebrate the triumph in the World Cup and block the path of the players to the point that the triumphal ride of the Albiceleste ends by helicopter
December 20 was marked as the day of skepticism in the world. It may have been in many parts, except in one country: Argentina. In the country of Borges, December 20 was the world day of happiness. Culture focused on soccer, the most admired photograph was that of Messi sleeping with the World Cup, the albiceleste flags and shirts adorned all citizens, on a splendid summer day. There was no other news in the main media. A sea of gratitude flooded the streets. Argentina lived his dream come true. A madness that ended with the Albiceleste through the air. Faced with the impossibility of completing the established route by road, the players boarded two Prefectural helicopters and flew over the sky of Buenos Aires to return to the starting point.
Until now, this nation of more than 45 million inhabitants had nine festivals on its calendar. This Tuesday he added another: the celebration of the three-time world soccer championship, brilliantly won in Qatar. Some four million Argentines – some sources spoke of five million – celebrated a carnival never before experienced. No Argentine remembered having participated in a party like the one that prompted him to get up early this Tuesday and wait many hours on the highways, streets and avenues for the victorious parade, the caravan of the new world champion. A whole tide, the largest crowd of excited and happy citizens celebrating the historic triumph of Argentina’s Leo Messi. Everyone wanted to see the champions. They wanted to touch them. Their throats burned so much from chanting their names and worshiping their idols that many waited until the early hours of the morning at the Ezeiza airport for the arrival of the plane that transported the team from Doha. They were passionately living a dream that had been denied them since 1986.
All of Buenos Aires took to the streets very early, the fans collapsed the tracks along which the caravan of the champions was scheduled to pass on paper. The Plaza del Obelisco was populated from the early hours of the morning. The players greeted and showed the conquered trophy, while others shared the mate on duty, or any other drink. The bus wandered wherever it could for more than six hours, until it collapsed at a point in the city where it could neither turn towards the Obelisk nor towards the Casa Rosada. Such was the accumulated delay and the problems to move forward that the solution that was taken was to divert the selection bus to a heliport and put an end to the agonizing advance of the procession.
total collapse
The Government of Alberto Fernández had declared December 20 a national holiday so that the Argentine people could express their deepest satisfaction with the national team “and pronounce themselves in favor of sport and the homeland.” No one hesitated to go out to celebrate and enjoy a joy that, as they explained, “we needed.” The soccer world title is a gift for President Alberto Fernández, a kind of anesthesia for a few days for an Argentina that is experiencing an inflationary crisis that reaches 90% per year, and poverty that reaches 30% of the population. But this Tuesday, nor tomorrow, are days to think about the bad or the reality of the country. A former president like Mauricio Macri preferred the world title to being elected again to lead the country. The labor minister, Raquel Olmos, spoke of priorities and the first thing was to win in Qatar and then attack the problem of inflation in depth. And a good percentage of Argentines favored soccer rather than their deteriorating economy.
“God had become Argentine again”, shouted the crowd that had to change the scene when they found out that the bus with the champions would no longer pass through the Obelisk but would end up on the balcony of the Casa Rosada, where in principle it was not planned to attend There was chaos. The route of the national team caravan was changed more than five times, and almost all the routes were blocked or impassable. But nothing could prevent the Argentines from continuing to jump and sing, and remember the painful moments, singing that song that has become famous under the title of ‘Boys’ that describes the good and the bad of this country: «In Argentina I was born, land of Diego and Lionel, of the kids from Malvinas that I will never forget ».
It was a historic day to sing, to laugh, to enjoy. “I can’t explain it to you because you won’t understand the finals we lost for how many years I cried for them.” This Tuesday, December 20, they did not cry and if they did, it was from happiness. “Papa Lionel” had given them what he had wanted since 1986, and what he had been pursuing for 16 years. The party had only begun. In each city where the champions were born, another celebration was being prepared for them. A whole day, a month, a year that will be unforgettable for Argentines, to live a few days with madness.
#Argentina #crazy #champions
