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The
triumph in the World Cup: the celebration of words
The
full moon, full of the popular art
Jesús
Castañón Rodríguez
Spanish
version
The
last 30th of June, 2002, the World Cup came to an end, a football
trade show where the linguistic terms contend for their particular
matches as well. For the Latin-American Community, it has been the
happiest day of the 21st century, a new celebration based on words
thanks to the Brazil's win, a happy song to transform the moon made
of leather into a vibrant tambourine, after showing its crescent
and waning phases.
The
quarters of the moon
During
the eighth of final, the moon made of leather's movement of emotions
generated gaudy headlines in Mexico like for example "Senegol
de Oro" ("Senegoal made of gold"), to refer to the
"gold" goal scored by Senegal against Sweden, and in Spain,
with "La media luna ríe, el sol llora" ("The
half moon smiles, the sun cries") to describe the final result
of the Turkey-Japan match.
For
the Latin-American teams, the moon made of leather showed its waning
side to Paraguay and Mexico in its "conflicts" with Germany
and the United States. It allowed journalese to show the white and
red defeat like a goal-keepers' grief between "el galán
latino Chilavert y el rubio platino Kahn" ("the Latin
and handsome fellow Chilavert and the platinum blonde Kahn");
to greet the tricolor fall by means of an expressive "Bye,
se acabó el sueño" ("Bye, the dream ended");
to make the Paraguayan "caer como héroes" ("fall
to the ground like heroes") or to show an amateur or fan quarrel
near to the Angel of the Independence statue, distressed by the
adverse result, like a "tri-fulca", that means a quarrel.
The
crescent side was showed to Brazil thanks to an unexpected left-footed
shot by Rivaldo, who scored a goal against Belgique. And also the
Spain-Ireland match was particularly intense, where the Latin passion's
sweat prevailed over a team which analyzed their movements in real
time assisted by means of special programs based on information
technology. It stimulated the Gallego & Rey's imagination of
the pictorial humor to transform the outlines caused by the sweat
in the Chief National Coaching Director José Antonio Camacho's
shirt into an outline of the map of Spain which ran with sweat.
It created the "Romance de Iker Casillas" ("The Iker
Casillas's Ballad") so that all the jugglers could sing the
epic poetry based on stopping three penalties. It generated a special
dimension which altered reality in the headlines. "Las manos
de Dios" ("The God's hands"), "Ikermán"
("Ikerman"), "San Iker hizo el milagro" ("Saint
Iker carried out the miracle"), "Los tres milagros de
Iker" ("The Iker's three miracles"). Or it showed
a multiple reality: "España en dos puños"
("Spain in two fits"), to throw into relief the goalkeeper's
performance, or the expressive image "pies de geisha"
("geisha feet") to define the Irish mistakes as if they
intimidated their forwards' feet.
In
quarter-final, the waning moon was Spain with its match against
South Korea. The mistakes of a referee transformed grief, sorrow
into defeat in angry, in indignant headlines "Atraco"
("Holdup"), "Manos arriba" ("Hands up")
and "España cae en los penaltis" ("Spain is
defeated due to the penalties") and also in a feeling of pride
to "perder con la cabeza alta" ("to lose with pride
and honor") at the moment of having coffee with "churros"
(~fritters) for breakfast. It was lived through like a great displeasure
Matías Prats foresaw the previous day in the Antena 3 Television
network, when the special program about the championship was ended
hoping the breakfast wasn't transformed into "tila con churros"
("lime flower tea with "churros" (~fritters"))
The
crescent moon illuminated Brazil again, country which got rid of
the "Trio de Janeiro" ("Trio de Janeiro"), a
prediction by means of which the English press referred to the three
goals England wanted to score. Finally, the "R empire"
kept for itself the mass media's waves and their vibrations which
were in the song of the goals filled with emotion and pride the
Brazilians' breasts who sang the national anthem and danced along
the streets and beaches
The
full moon
The
full moon would be completed by Brazil, after the Ronaldo's cannon
shot in the semifinals with Turkey and his two goals before Germany
in the final. The "R" epic poetry gave rise to highly
favorable headlines like "El mejor fútbol del mundo
en todos los continentes" ("The best football in the world
in all the continents") or "El día más feliz
del siglo" ("The happiest day of the century"), but
also some puns with the Germanic goalkeeper's name: "Kahntada
y final feliz" ("Kahntada" (cantata) and happy end")
or "Spiderman" together with the success of the movie
"Spiderman" and also because he was the winner of the
Lev Yashin prize because of being the best goalkeeper of the championship,
nicknamed "La araña negra" ("The black spider").
With
an European style based on discipline, order and progress, the Scolari's
"combinado"(team) got new quotas. Firstly, the fact of
being penta-championships after 7 consecutive wins, 18 goals in
favor and 4 against. Secondly, to play the final during three consecutive
times (1994, 1998 and 2002). Thirdly, it has got Ronaldo to make
equal the number of goals scored by the legendary Pelé in
the history of the championship. And fourthly, to include the "R
empire" in the ideal selection team, chosen by the FIFA during
this final phase: Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho Gaucho and
Rivaldo.
The
popular art
When
the final ended, the night fell in the rising sun country, Japan,
while the uncontrollable happiness expressed a special pride. The
moon made of leather was a Brazilian tambourine which had influence
so that the flags could go up towards the sky, the beats could be
stronger and more intense, the breasts could be hit with the hands,
the lamentation, Ronaldo's tears could be transformed into the people's
tears of emotion and happiness vibrating with the triumph, according
to the president of the country's statement. The moon made of leather
of the 21st century had yellow and green color, shone like the sun
and gave a special warmth to the people who allied words with music
to break out as expressions of popular art.
In
the Yokohama stadium, firstly, it had the atmosphere of prayer.
The goalkeeper's arms, Marcos, in the previous prayer, begging for
the Redeemer's help and the Ronaldo's arms in the wind celebrating
the goals gave rise to the offering within a circle of coaches,
assistant, players
. And secondly, it threw the necessary fantasy
to transform a lectern into a podium where Cafú took the
Cup. And thirdly, it made the "combinado" (team) go out
of the changing room surrounded by songs and musical instruments.
In
the streets, beaches and avenues of Japan and Brazil, the influence
of the rays of happiness, which illuminated the yellow full moon,
"opened", "uncorked" the alliance of the words
and the music. In Japan, the fans walked for three hours from the
stadium to the concentration's hotel and vice versa to the rhythm
of the music intercalating the slogans "¡Todo el mundo
lo intenta pero sólo Brasil es el penta!" ("Everybody
tries to do it, but only Brazil in "penta"!") and
"¡Pen-ta-campe-o-nes!" ("Penta-champions!").
in Brazil, the popular expression of the win surrounded the positive
energy of the people: din of fireworks, proliferation of flags in
streets and balconies, adornments with bunches of balls hanging
on the palm trees, streamers, graffiti, the footballers' caricatures,
the flag with 600 meters of length which covered the sambódromo
(the area or place for the processions, parades of the samba schools)
of Rio de Janeiro, the performance of the national anthem to the
rhythm of pagode, the constant sound of samba melodies or axé
music in Salvador de Bahía, crowds of people with a hair
cut like Ronaldo along the avenues of Rio de Janeiro and Sâo
Paulo, planes which wrote in the sky of Brasilia "Penta"
The
linguistic and literary commentary
The
linguistic and literary commentary of the second phase of the championship
has given us several interesting examples. Among others, the article
"Ante julio" by Fernando Lázaro Carreter who attacks
at the "cojitrancos" of the language or journalists who
use communication inserting rude words and they also spread confusions
like "entreno" instead of "entrenamiento" (coaching),
"incontinencia" instead of "contingencia" (contingency),
"enaltación" instead of "exaltación"
(hotheadedness or overexcitement), "ponerse los pelos de gallina"
instead of "ponerse la carne de gallina" (to have goose-flesh
or goose-bumps).
The
literary commentary based on the creation furnishes the "Romance
de Iker Casillas" ("The Iker Casillas's Ballad) by Luis
Ignacio Parada or the gloss of the current affairs in 21 tenths
by Ricardo Bada in the Colombian HJCK radio broadcasting, as well
as the literary vision of the Argentinian worry by Horacio Vázquez-
Rial or the "greguerías" (image in prose which
presents or shows a personal and surprising vision of some aspect
of the reality) by the Colombian Óscar Domínguez:
"La chilena es un golpe de estado al balón" ("The
chilena (shot at the goal or clearance with the feet in the air
which lies in kicking the ball backwards with the body in the air
and in horizontal position) is a coup d' état to the ball")
and "El fútbol es el esperanto de las patadas"
("Football is the universal language of the kicks"). Besides,
the World Cup has generated in Marbella (Spain) the contest "Historias
de fútbol, días de mundial", organized by Premiosliterarios.com,
and promises a book about the conquest of the penta-championship
in the charge of the coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Palomero
and árbitro de área
From
the 31st of May to the 30th of June, the final phase of the World
Cup has succeeded in becoming truth the Latin-American dream: the
triumph of the humanism over technology and the combined labor.
As
far as the sports aspect is concerned, it has got America to keep
its supremacy during the finals against Europe and has left the
following ranking: Brazil (1st), Spain (5th), Mexico (11th), Paraguay
(16th), Argentina (18th), Costa Rica (19th), Portugal (21st), Ecuador
(24th) and Uruguay (26th). And for the global history of the whole
championship, with 69 countries which are participants, the Latin-American
participation is in the 21st century as follows: Brazil (1st), Argentina
(4th), Spain (7th), Uruguay (11th), Mexico (13th), Chile (20th),
Paraguay (22nd), Portugal (28th), Peru (34th), Colombia (36th),
Costa Rica (39th), Cuba (50th), Ecuador (52nd), Honduras (53rd),
Bolivia (56th) and El Salvador (59th).
As
far as the journalistic aspect is concerned, in Latin America the
sports story got great quotas based on audience in Spain and Brazil:
the Antena 3 Television Spanish network caught the attention of
92% of the television sets tuned to the hour of the Spain-South
Korea match, while the Rede O Globo Brazilian network got the 91%
with the Brazil-Turkey match. In the digital journalism, the Spanish
language has extended its social broadcasting, dissemination with
its presence in the FIFA's official web-page (which spread and popularized
the championship in several languages: German, Chinese, Korean,
Spanish, French, English and Japanese) and has become the web-site
of sports more visited in the history of the high competition.
Finally,
for the language it has showed a great linguistic and literary fantasy
creating headlines, using puns, with the epic sonority of the "R"...
And it has also created two new words which has to do with the game
and a proposal of the French Michel Platini for the world of the
referees: palomero (unjured footballer who goes on playing in the
field so as not to disappoint his team being inferior, once the
proper player substitutions were finished) and árbitro de
área (assistant of a referee who is behind the goal to observe
what happens in the little area). Also, it may occur the fact of
referring to the matches of direct immediate heat with the tennis
voice "muerte súbita" ("sudden death")
and "mata-mata" ("kill-kill").
The
moon in 2006
The
Latin-American dream has become truth in a new continent. It will
sleep till the year 2006 under the full moon colored with yellow
and green between words and artistic displays, being expecting for
reappearing in the new edition of the World Cup which will be held
in Germany.

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CASTAÑÓN
RODRÍGUEZ, Jesús: La luna llena del arte
popular . Idioma y deporte [en línea]. 15 de
julio de 2002, número 31. [Consultada: 15 de julio
de 2002]. Disponible en Internet: <http://www.idiomaydeporte.com/copa5.htm>
ISSN: 1578-7281.
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Copyright
© Desde 1999 hasta la actualidad, Jesús Castańón Rodríguez.
Asociación Cultural Asociación de Ideas. Reservados
todos los derechos. Aviso.
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