That Hug

An image can describe things better than a million words. And it’s precisely an image what made me write this. Or more like a series of images, that would make anyone’s heart stop for a minute, especially in this times when another World Cup is being held.

Together, this pictures constitute an incredible mix of historic witness, artistic work, and naked humanity, and this has won “El abrazo del alma” (as this series of photographs have been named) many awards. Roughly translated it means “The Hug from the Soul” and just yesterday it was their 32nd anniversary.

32 years ago, yesterday, Argentina won its first ever World Cup, in 1978. With a chaotic background of the most bloody military regime South America has ever seen; fear, ignorance, passion, anxiousness, and loads of other feelings only people who lived it can express, Argentina was achieving the national dream, a tiny little bit of fake fresh air our suffocated society needed to stay alive for a bit longer.

Here I leave you the impressive shots and hope you like them. Below, there’s the short story behind them.

25th June 1978. River Plate’s football stadium. Argentina has just become World Champion for the first time. Seconds after the referee calls the end of the match.

Tarantini, one of the Argentinean players lets himself fall on the pitch and starts crying. Fillol, the goalkeeper, goes up to him to share the same feeling and kneels next to him to put their arms around each other.

A young fan whom had been hiding for an hour before the end of the match, comes running towards them. He wants to share this glorious moment with his idols. They’ll never be so close to him again, and only God knows how long will it take for these circumstances to repeat themselves.

But he’s got no arms.

He himself recalls it: “I saw the players right there, so close to me…they held each other, so I had to stop. And right then the sleeves of my blazer went forward and rested on both their backs. That’s when Alfieri took the picture and it looks as if the three of us were holding”

Victor Nicolás Dell’Aquilla was 22 at that time, and he had lost his arms during his childhood after an accident with an electrical post.

Pictures by Ricardo Alfieri (Senior) for the classical Argentinean sports magazine “El Gráfico”.

La Boca

La Boca is a picturesque neighbourhood of Capital Federal in the border with Greater Buenos Aires and it's the place most linked to Tango in the world.

There are no subway stations in this area, you can only take local buses and it's very convenient that you ask the bus driver to tell you where to get off.

He will probably leave you about 2 blocks away or maybe closer, which will give you a good opportunity to see what the area is like.

Boca Juniors' Stadium is located here, and guided tours are offered.
About La Boca

La Boca was always a low class neighbourhood: First a port, then an immigrants' spot, and now simply low class but touristy.

The coulourful houses you find here are not currently inhabited, they're just real size monuments of past times. Although some are used as shops or museums.

These houses were built on high pillars due to the common floods, and one house could be shared by many families at the same time. This time of buildings were called "Conventillos".

The most famous person that represents La Boca is painter Benito Quinquela Martín whose pictures describe the port life of the neighbourhood in the early 1900's.

A block or so away from Boca Juniors Stadium and right in front of the river, there's Quinquela Martín's museum.

His pictures are unique.

La Boca is full of touristy shops, cafes and restaurants, which tend to have touristy prices as well, what in Argentina means double price.

In La Boca everyone shouts at people who walk past, advertising their shop. Here you can find, clothes' shops, souvenirs' stores, restaurants, cafes, cd stores, neighbourhood-dedicated museums...Many of these are inside the colourful buildings.

There are also many "tango dancers" in the streets of La Boca.

This people generally just stand there asking people if they'd like to a picture with them (which of course you have to pay for) but they're hardly ever dancing though.

The streets of La Boca are only for pedestrians. Cars are not allowed, so you can walk freely all along and across La Boca enjoying the view without worrying.

important!   If walking randomly down its characteristic colourful streets leads you up a dangerous area, the neighbours of La Boca will warn you and barely let you keep going any further.