Skip to main content

New top story from Time: Argentines Bid a Raucous Farewell to Soccer Legend Diego Maradona Amid Clashes

https://ift.tt/376D7na

BUENOS AIRES — Soccer superstar Diego Maradona was buried Thursday in a private ceremony attended by only two dozen people — a stark contrast to earlier in the day when tens of thousands of weeping fans filed past his coffin for hours in an observance that mixed head-of-state-like honors with the chaos of a rowdy stadium.

Only family members and close friends were permitted at Jardín Bella Vista cemetery for the final religious ceremony and burial of Maradona next to the graves of his parents, Dalma and Diego.

Fans waving Argentine flags had gathered along roads as Maradona’s funeral car drove by under heavy security. Many tried to touch the vehicle whenever it was stopped by traffic.

The earlier viewing at the Argentine presidential mansion was halted shortly before 6 p.m., 12 hours after it started, as Maradona’s family wished and the body of the Argentine icon was taken away for burial, frustrating many who were waiting to pay their respects and causing new tensions at the gates of the cemetery.

Fans, some draped in the national flag, sang soccer anthems as they formed a line that stretched more than 20 blocks from the Plaza de Mayo, where Argentines gathered to celebrate the Maradona-led triumph in the 1986 World Cup.

But with the time for viewing the coffin at the presidential palace drawing short, police moved to cut off the back end of the crowd, enraging fans who hurled rocks and other objects at officers, who responded with rubber bullets.

The crowd overwhelmed organizers and the violence resulted in injuries and arrests, which led Maradona’s family to end the public visitation. The casket was placed in a car that carried the former footballer’s name on a paperboard by the window.

Desperate to say goodbye, Maradona’s fans climbed on the fences of the presidential mansion as if they were in a soccer stadium, while firefighters worked to clear the ground.

“Diego is not dead, Diego lives in the people,” people chanted as the coffin was taken to a cemetery outside Buenos Aires. The motorcade, accompanied by police, was followed on a local highway by dozens of honking cars and motorcycles.

Hundreds of fans blocked entry to the cemetery before the arrival of Maradona’s casket, dancing and chanting as police moved in to open a way. The crowd continued making noise after the final ceremony began.

Maradona died Wednesday of a heart attack in a house outside Buenos Aires where he had been recovering from a brain operation Nov. 3.

While the viewing bore the hallmarks of a state funeral, with Maradona’s casket laid out in the presidential palace, the atmosphere often was that of a soccer stadium — chanting, singing, pushing and the occasional whiff of alcohol.

Fans wept and blew kisses as they passed the wooden coffin, some striking their chests with closed fists and shouting, “Let’s go, Diego.”

It was draped with the Argentine flag and shirts bearing his famed No. 10 from the national team and the Boca Juniors club, with other jerseys tossed around it by passing admirers.

Open visitation began at 6:15 a.m. after a few hours of privacy for family and close friends. The first to bid farewell were his daughters and close family members. His former wife, Claudia Villafañe, came with Maradona’s daughters Dalma and Gianinna. Later came Verónica Ojeda, also an ex-wife, with their son, Dieguito Fernando.

Jana Maradona, who the player recognized as his daughter only a few years ago, also attended.

Then came former teammates of the 1986 World Cup-winning squad, including Oscar Ruggeri. Other Argentine footballers, such as Boca Juniors’ Carlos Tévez, showed up, too.

Early in the morning some fans grew impatient as police tried to maintain order, and began throwing bottles and pieces of metal fencing at officers outside the presidential offices in the heart of Buenos Aires. Police at one point used tear gas to try to control them.

Interior Minister Wado de Pedro said he was upset over what he called the “craziness” of police actions against fans. “This popular tribute cannot end in repression and running of those that came to say goodbye to Maradona,” he said.

President Alberto Fernández appeared at midday and placed on the casket a jersey from the Argentinos Juniors team, where Maradona started his career in 1976.

In tears, Fernández also laid two handkerchiefs of the human rights organization Mother of the Plaza de Mayo, who wore them for years to protest the disappearance of their children under Argentina’s military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983. Maradona, an outspoken leftist who had an image of Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara tattooed on one bicep, was a friend of the Madres and other rights groups.

The lines started forming outside the Casa Rosada only hours after Maradona’s death was confirmed and grew to several blocks.

A huge mural of Maradona’s face was painted on the tiles that cover the Plaza de Mayo, near the Casa Rosada, which was decorated with a giant black ribbon at the entrance.

The first fan to visit was Nahuel de Lima, 30, using crutches to move because of a disability.

“He made Argentina be recognized all over the world, who speaks of Maradona also speaks of Argentina,” de Lima told The Associated Press. “Diego is the people. … Today the shirts, the political flags don’t matter. We came to say goodbye to a great that gave us a lot of joy.”

Maradona’s soccer genius, personal struggles and plain-spoken personality resonated deeply with Argentines.

He led an underdog team to glory in the 1986 World Cup, winning the title after scoring two astonishing goals in a semifinal match against England, thrilling a country that felt humiliated by its loss against the British in the recent Falklands war and that was still recovering from the brutal military dictatorship.

Soccer-stand insults chanted by the funeral crowd echoed that nationalist pride: “The one who doesn’t jump is English,” “Brazilian, Brazilian, you are so bitter, Maradona is bigger than Pelé.”

Many Argentines deeply sympathized with the struggles of a man who rose from poverty to fame and wealth and fell into abuse of drug, drink and food. He remained idolized in the soccer-mad nation as the “Pibe de Oro” or “Golden Boy.”

Many fans proudly displayed Maradona tattoos. Others, mindful of Maradona’s often tense relationship with the press, insulted journalists.

Lidia and Estela Villalba cried near the exit of the lobby. Both had a Boca Juniors shirt and an Argentinian flag on their shoulders.

“We told him we love him, that he was the greatest,” they said at the same time.

Many of those in line to enter the Casa Rosada wore masks because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they struggled to keep social distancing.

Social worker Rosa Noemí Monje, 63, said she and others overseeing health protocols understood the emotion of the moment.

“It is impossible to ask them to distance. We behave respectfully and offer them sanitizer and face masks,” she said. Monje also paid her last tribute to Maradona.

“I told him: to victory always, Diego,” Monje said as she wept.

Associated Press writer Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo, Brazil, contributed to this report.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

New Muni Service Changes Start Saturday, August 19

New Muni Service Changes Start Saturday, August 19 By Clive Tsuma 28R 19th Avenue will run on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. starting Monday, August 21.  Back to School  With SFUSD students returning to school August 16, many families who rely on Muni to get to school will see service increase after school as part of the new schedule. Because Muni vehicles often become crowded during morning peak hours and sometimes pass up stops when there is not enough room for more riders, families are encouraged to plan their trips ahead of time and hop on Muni early to make sure students get to school on time.  With every public school in the San Francisco Unified School District being served by at least one Muni route , students can expect extra Muni service on the first day of the school this fall and continue providing service throughout the school year. While the Muni service changes won’t be implemented until August 19, school tripper service will be offered starting Au...

Muni Highlights in 2021: More Service to More Destinations

Muni Highlights in 2021: More Service to More Destinations By Jonathan Streeter Our goal for Muni in 2021 was to match the service we offer with the changing travel patterns of an unpredictable era, as San Franciscans grappled with a second year of the COVID-19 pandemic.  To achieve this, we expanded on the core routes that formed the nucleus of our early 2020 pandemic network by adding and improving service in key areas throughout San Francisco. We focused on access in neighborhoods where essential workers live, as well as on adding service in busy corridors and even creating new lines. At the beginning of the year, even with our reduced schedule, 91% of San Franciscans were within two or three blocks of a Muni stop. This included 100% of residents in San Francisco’s neighborhoods identified by the Muni Service Equity Strategy . By summer 2021, we added enough additional service so that 98% of San Franciscans were within two or three blocks of a Muni stop. To the relief of ma...

Transit Lanes Keep Muni Moving on Mission Street in SoMa

Transit Lanes Keep Muni Moving on Mission Street in SoMa By Erin McMillan The full-time transit lanes on Mission Street downtown installed as a temporary emergency measure during the pandemic will be made permanent. The first of the city’s Temporary Emergency Transit Lanes to get permanent authorization, they were unanimously approved by the SFMTA Board of Directors at their June 15, 2021 meeting. This shows how a quick-build project can be installed, evaluated, and refined in a relatively short amount of time.   Thousands of daily riders have already felt the impact of the full-time transit lanes since they were first temporarily installed last summer. Now, riders of the 14 Mission, 14R Mission Rapid, and many SamTrans and Golden Gate Transit customers will continue to benefit from the transit time savings we have seen with the implementation of these lanes. Mission Street in SoMa has been a major transit corridor for years, serving regional commuter...

Railways allows e-catering facility at selected stations https://ift.tt/2LsUU1b

The Indian Railways on Friday allowed e-catering services to resume at selected railway stations. In a statement, the Railway Ministry said that it will be subject to compliance with all the guidelines on health and safety matters issued by Central and state governments and other authorised agencies under them. The ministry said that it may be noted that IRCTC had written to the Railway Board for the resumption of e catering at selected railway stations.

Adani Group to acquire 74 per cent stake in Mumbai airport https://ift.tt/2YN31Jp

Billionaire Gautam Adani's Adani Group on Monday said it has reached an agreement to acquire GVK Group's shareholding and control of Mumbai airport. Adani Airport Holdings has "entered into an agreement to acquire the debt of GVK Airport Developers," Adani Enterprise said in a regulatory filing.

New top story from Time: Russian Opposition Politician Alexei Navalny Has Been Poisoned and Is in Intensive Care

https://ift.tt/327PYTE MOSCOW — Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was placed on a ventilator in a hospital intensive care unit in Siberia after falling ill from suspected poisoning during a flight, his spokeswoman said Thursday morning. The 44-year-old foe of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin felt unwell on a flight back to Moscow from Tomsk, a city in Siberia, Kira Yarmysh said on Twitter. “The plane made an emergency landing in Omsk. Alexei has a toxic poisoning,” Yarmysh tweeted. She told the Echo Moskvy radio station that Navalny was sweating and asked her to talk to him so that he could “focus on a sound of a voice.” He then went to the bathroom and lost consciousness. Yarmysh says the politician must have consumed something from the tea he drank this morning. “Doctors are saying the toxin was absorbed quicker with hot liquid,” she tweeted, adding that Navalny’s team called police to the hospital. The politician is in grave condition, Russia’s state ne...

Better Connections from Bayview and Hunters Point to Downtown

Better Connections from Bayview and Hunters Point to Downtown By Enrique Aguilar To better connect southeast San Franciscans with downtown, the SFMTA debuted the 15 Bayview Hunters-Point Express in late January, coinciding with the return of T Third train service. Within weeks, average daily boardings reached 1,000 customers on this new service. The 15 Bayview Hunters Point Express  We added this route based on community feedback from the Southeast Muni Expansion Project in 2018, which prioritized a more direct trip to downtown from the Bayview. With the sudden rise of the COVID-19 pandemic and its disproportionate impacts on communities in the Bayview and Hunters Point, fast-tracking the project became critical to our transit planning. Adding service capacity and a direct connection between these neighborhoods and downtown is a crucial step in supporting the City’s economic recovery and increasing job access for essential workers using transit. Using data from the SFMTA Equ...

April 2022 Service Change Details

April 2022 Service Change Details By Mariana Maguire The SFMTA is restoring the 8AX Bayshore Express and 8BX Bayshore Express buses on weekdays mornings and evenings, starting April 18, 2022, to provide quicker trips from Visitacion Valley to downtown and stronger connections between Visitacion Valley, Outer Mission, Ingleside, City College and Chinatown. Additional Muni service changes, beginning Saturday, April 16, 2022, include: Extending the 56 Rutland to provide a more direct connection to Burton High School Supplementing the 30 Stockton, with additional buses on a 30 Stockton “short” route to reduce crowding and wait times from about 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends Changing the frequency of the 9R San Bruno Rapid from 10 to 12 minutes These April service changes mark the second phase of implementation of the 2022 Muni Service Network plan. In summer we expect to bring back additional routes that have been temporarily suspended since...

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J अमेज़ॅन प्राइम की फिल्म 'पेंगुइन' में साइरस नाम का एक कुत्ता निभा रहा है महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका- डिटेल्स

अमेज़ॅन प्राइम वीडियो की आगामी मिस्ट्री थ्रिलर 'पेंगुइन' 19 जून 2020 को रिलीज होने वाली है। इस फिल्म के साथ ईश्वर कार्तिक बटोर निर्देशक अपना डेब्यू कर रहे है। वही, मुख्य भूमिका कीर्ति सुरेश द्वारा निभाई गई है जो एक बेहद from टेलीविजन की खबरें | Television News in Hindi | TV Serials Update in Hindi – FilmiBeat Hindi http:/hindi.filmibeat.com/television/a-dog-will-play-an-important-role-in-amazon-prime-video-film-penguin-090376.html?utm_source=/rss/filmibeat-hindi-television-fb.xml&utm_medium=23.213.205.54&utm_campaign=client-rss