NewsLatin AmericaKing Pele receives the final goodbye from 230,000 fans and President Lula at the wake

King Pele receives the final goodbye from 230,000 fans and President Lula at the wake

For 24 hours the parade of fans of the heart and people who simply admired him has been incessant before the coffin of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele, oh king, died at 82 years old. The new president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has arrived at the wake for what many consider to be the perfect footballer early this Tuesday, shortly before the end of the popular tribute at the Vila Belmiro stadium, in Santos. Immediately afterwards, the coffin has followed a procession through the main streets of this coastal city, with a special stop in front of the house of his mother, a hundred-year-old housewife named Dona Celeste. The family burial will take place this afternoon in Santos, 70 kilometers from São Paulo, where the global soccer icon died on the 29th of complications caused by a colon tumor.

No other player has managed to emulate the feat of winning three World Cups, as he did more than half a century ago. And only Brazil has five World Cups, more than anyone else.

Lula’s visit to the wake, lasting about 15 minutes, was his first public act as head of state. On Sunday he took office in a multitudinous and festive ceremony (for a third term of four years) and on Monday he dedicated it to holding bilateral meetings in Brasilia with the foreign leaders who attended the ceremony. The Brazilian president arrived with his wife, Rosangela Silva, known as Janja, in a helicopter that landed near the stadium. He did not make statements.

President Lula comforts Pele’s relatives this Tuesday at the wake, held in Vila Belmiro, in Santos (São Paulo).Andre Penner (AP)

The fans who left the farewell to the last minute were lucky because this Tuesday morning the line was moving at a very fast pace and the sky was cloudy. Quite a contrast to the day before, when we had to wait up to three hours under a scorching sun. During the early morning, the parade of citizens has continued. Always at a brisk pace, urged not to stop, as at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II of England, as some Santos remembered while waiting. Pele was resting in the center of the Vila Belmiro lawn, in an open coffin, with his face protected by a delicate veil. At the feet of Rei, the flags of Santos (black and white) and that of Brazil. Several of his children and grandchildren surrounded him in the last public tribute.

The gates of the field where Pele scored more than a thousand goals have closed at ten in the morning after 24 hours. A simple wake for the most famous Brazilian on the planet for the man who knew monarchs and presidents. Many compatriots who delighted in Pele’s art have come to pay him a simple, close tribute, like the one paid to a friend or relative. Yes, he has missed the great glories of Brazilian football. Some of those who accompanied Pele in the conquest of the three World Cups (in 1958, 1962 and 1970) are old, but neither the youngest nor the current stars of the Canarinha have come close to Santos.

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After the wake, the coffin with the remains has traveled through the center of Santos on the roof of a fire truck. Thousands of residents and vacationers who are enjoying the New Year holidays in the city have gathered on the sidewalks to watch the procession go by and immortalize the moment on their mobile phones. When you have reached the promenade, the beach has emptied as if by magic. No one wanted to miss the moment. Thousands of local and foreign journalists have disembarked to cover the final farewell to the Brazilian soccer player who, thanks to his talent and television, popularized this sport created by wealthy Britons among the masses, including the poor in his country and the rest of the world.

“Pele is known wherever there is a television signal,” said Jose Bispo do Santos, 77, who completes his pension behind the wheel of a taxi. Atypical for a Brazilian, he openly confesses his lack of interest in the beautiful game, but comments with admiration that Pele stopped a war.

The Catholic priest has highlighted in his response for the soul of the deceased that the king displayed “elegant, artistic and creative football”. He has also said that he will be in good company in heaven: “Cruyff, Maradona, Di Stefano they are waiting for him to play a party”.

Two decades ago Edson Arantes do Nascimento bought the niche where it will rest. It is in the Ecumenical Necropole of Saints Memorial Cemetery, which is the highest in the world and looks more like a luxury building. They comment in the city that each space costs about 50,000 reais (about 9,000 dollars). O Rei will be entombed this afternoon in a private ceremony in that quiet space overlooking the Vila Belmiro lawn.

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