The word VAMOS must have been screamed, yelled, shrieked, roared, barked, cried over at least a billion times yesterday by Argentinians; so deafening it could have been heard all the way up from the moon. Such was Argentinas state of the nation the whole day yesterday up to the wee hours today. The pulse of its people was beating as one: wild, rousing, exhilarating, determined. Thrilling would have been a misnomer. Young and old, man and woman, rich and poor, fit and disabled, every single soul in the land that gave birth to the legendary Diego Maradona breathes and eats the sport of soccer. Its a way of life. Lionel Messi is so revered by his fellow Argentinians that every family would probably willingly offer him its firstborn if here were to ask for it. His face is on everything that one would easily think its the nations coat of arms. Yesterday was the best day to be in Argentina. Especially so in Buenos Aires. July 9 is the countrys Independence Day. Marked by riotous street dancing and merrymaking, I, as a visitor, was treated to one of the greatest parties on earth. Independence Day plus winning the World Cup semifinal match on the same day; go figure. The Presidential Palace (Casa Rosada) was even opened for public viewing yesterday of which Ive had a chance to see its opulent and greatly storied halls. In the afternoon I braved the crowd and went to Plaza San Martin (a beautiful park surrounded by skyscrapers à la NYCs Central Park) where a giant viewing screen was mounted for everyone to enjoy. I felt like being in Brazil watching the game live, if not better. It was pandemonium in an exciting way. The 120 minutes worth of goalless chasing, kicking, headers, yellow cards, fouls, near misses was too painful to watch. The thunderous OOOHs and AAAHs punctuated with thousands of flying fists were both torturous and amusing to experience. And when the moment of truth came, when the matched boiled down to a gut-wrenching shoot-out, the nation came to a heartrending standstill as if the future of its people was hanging by a thread. And in less than five minutes, the future was secured. And the greatest party on the face of the planet, in that very moment, unfolded. Im no Argentinian but I became one of them. I got hugged by strangers. I got offered Quilmes several times. I got invited to hop on on a pickup truck. Before I knew it, I was waving their flag. I was screaming their joy. It really felt good to be in the right place at the right time. At midnight, I couldnt ask for a better way to welcome my birthday. In the company of my fellow Argentinians. Feliz cumpleaños a mí!
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 13:22:49 +0000
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