Argentina’s trauma as devoted fans bid a sad farewell to El Diego
Navigating life in a world without Diego Maradona, the crowds in the Argentinian capital sought a collective embrace yesterday. “You find some kind of consolation in this,” said Marcela Rodriguez, 52, amid the thousands who had come to pay their final respects to her country’s greatest footballer in Buenos Aires.
“He was an ambassador. You go to another country and you say you’re from Argentina, it’s basically the same as saying Maradona. And that fills you with pride.
“So I’m going to remember him as a great man.”
It has been an emotionally intense 24 hours in Argentina, already reeling from the economic impact of the pandemic and now on its knees over the death of one of its most celebrated sons. Maradona died of a heart attack on Wednesday. He was 60.
Argentines sobbed and tried to numb their pain with singing and dancing in the streets.
Thousands spent the night at the Buenos Aires Obelisk, moving under cover of darkness to the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace, where Maradona’s body lay in state. Fathers brought their daughters. Mothers clung on to their sons.
The smell of choripanes, the nation’s street hot dogs, wafted in the air, as vendors unfurled T-shirts, scarves, posters and all manner of Maradona memorabilia.
As day broke, the masses grew impatient to see their dead hero, and skirmishes broke out at the front of the line to the Casa Rosada as people tried to push through, throwing beer cans at riot police who repeatedly pushed them back.
Those who emerged from the viewing appeared shell shocked, too distraught to speak.
“It was the saddest thing I saw in my whole life, Diego, in a coffin, with the Argentine flag,” said Christian, who clutched a bouquet of yellow and blue flowers – the colours of Maradona’s former club Boca Juniors – that he plucked from the garden in front of the presidential palace.
“It was too fast, you pass that coffin for a touch, it hasn’t hit me that he’s gone. Everyone processes this the best they can, but it’s very hard, very hard,” said Anibal Diaz.
By noon, the line-up to get into the Casa Rosada snaked along the
Avenida 9 de Julio, Buenos Aires’ central street that is punctuated by the Obelisk landmark.
The wake is expected to carry on until at least today and a million people are expected to attend. A state funeral is also being planned.
“What did he signify? Everything,” said Wilfredo Orellano, 57, who yesterday stood in Plaza de Mayo, selling roses to mourners.
Maradona brought joy to Argentina and for Mr Orellano he also brought good fortune. He owes his first car to El Diego – a Chevrolet 400, that he bought selling flags during Argentina’s World Cup run in 1986. “Diego is the village. Look around, everyone comes from humble means. From the neighbourhood. And he gave us the greatest joys. A World Cup,” he said.
Maradona’s humble beginnings were often pointed out by mourners. La Poderosa, a social organisation that works in the slums of Argentina, unfurled banners near Plaza de Mayo.
“We don’t know what planet you went to, but we know you never forgot where you came from,” read one. “All the slums in one person: Diego Armando Maradona,” read another.
President Alberto Fernandez paid his respects yesterday morning. Vice-president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner arrived in the afternoon.
In a statement, the presidential palace said hundreds of thousands of people had lined up for dozens of blocks to bid farewell to Maradona in an “organised and emotive” way. But as visiting hours drew to a close, skirmishes broke out at the front, with people managing to push their way in. Violent clashes broke out between police and fans who did not get in.
The family decided to suspend the ceremony after the confrontations, and the body of Maradona was taken by motorcade to Bella Vista cemetery in Buenos Aires province, where his parents are buried. Fans cheered and chased him out. They climbed onto the highway, clapping, waving Argentine flags and football club shirts, crying and yelling his name.
Tributes continued to pour in from around the world. In Naples, which considers Maradona an adopted son after he carried them to Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990, the mayor has started a campaign to rename the city’s football stadium in his honour.
‘It hasn’t hit me that he has gone. Everyone processes this the best they can but it’s very, very hard’