40Danilo Gomez Herrera
preacher of your story
Sixty years ago, in full celebration of the first Centennial of Pereira, the city was experiencing a hectic controversy over what would be the installation of a monument in homage to the Liberator Simón Bolívar. The work was commissioned to the sculptor Rodrigo Arenas Betancur. It would be a naked Bolívar mounted on his horse. And it was decided that it would be located in front of the Cathedral Church. The one in Troy was armed. Pereira’s naked Bolívar was the central theme of many journalistic media on the continent, when its construction was just beginning in the workshop of the sculptor Arenas Betancur in Mexico.
Meanwhile, in Villa de Cañarte, some voices pointed out that it should be located in the Olaya Herrera Park because it was an affront to have it installed in front of the main temple of the city. The artist who would give shape to the colossal sculpture in homage to the Liberator took the spokesperson, and declared that… “My Bolívar should be located in the main square of Pereira and preside over the most important events in the city.” It was like a sentence. The naked Bolívar was transferred from Mexico by boat to Buenaventura, and from there to Pereira where he was received with astonishment and joy to be installed on August 30, 1963.
Six decades later, one of the most representative sons of the city, its soccer team, won its first title in the Dimayor League, achieving the historic qualification for the Copa Libertadores. The red and yellow flags will gather in the square to honor the Champion against the Libertador.
It will be the second time that the Plaza de Bolívar will have Deportivo Pereira as the main actor. The first was in 1990 by the artist Martín Alonso Abad who occupied this emblematic space in the city with an imaginary match between Deportivo Pereira and the German National Team. It happened on June 19 when Colombia faced the Teutons with a great goal from Fredy Rincón and the historic 1-1 draw in the World Cup in Italy.
With the name of a world classic, some colossal figures with the emblems of Deportivo Pereira on one side, and those of Germany on the other, caught the attention of those who that day appreciated a soccer square in Bolívar, with a really special color, and very original. That day, Pereira “played in the Plaza de Bolívar” thanks to the imagination of the sculptor Martín Alonso Abad, the hermit artist who died in 2017.
The monumental performance of goalkeeper Harlem “Chipi Chipi” Castillo, the decisive man in the 180 minutes against Independiente Medellín, will go down in history. In Atanasio Girardot’s match on December 4, he saved Andrés Cadavid’s penalty in regulation time. And in the final game on December 7 in front of 30,000 Matecana fans at the HRV, he once again shone against the “two great captains of the red of the mountain” Andrés Cadavid and Adrián Arregui, drowning out the goal cry on two occasions in the definition. from the penalty spot after 0-0 in the 90 minutes.
Leonardo Castro was also decisive with his goals for the Matecaña title, and highlighted by Acolfutpro as the footballer of the year in the League according to the vote of his colleagues from the 19 remaining teams. Pereira swept in that survey qualified as the team of the year, four players in the starting eleven and Alejandro Restrepo as the best coach.
This distinction from the Colombian soccer players association recognizes that it was a title with authentic teamwork, with its coach as a great leader, conviction in the squad, and in the management part the management of the sports director Héctor Ospina and the liquidator John Candamil .
It was a long wait for the fans of Deportivo Pereira and to be able to see their team win their first star. This achievement has him on the verge of playing in the Super League against Atlético Nacional, playing in the 2023 League as reigning champion and making his debut in the Copa Libertadores in the group stage in April.
Whoever writes these lines has been following Deportivo Pereira since August 6, 1972, first as a fan of the popular stands, and since 1978 with a microphone transmitting all his experiences of goals with days of joy and also frustration. The title was close in 1966, 1974 and 1982, but the anguish lasted until a blessed night, the night of the candles on December 7, 2022.
Alejandro Restrepo and all his directors will receive an ovation with the chorus that we have dreamed of for many years: CAMPEÓN, PEREIRA CAMPEÓN. Let it be a cry of victory that resounds on the four sides of our Plaza de Bolívar. Let it be a party. How much I would like to be there, but I am left with the feeling of December 7, when I had the enormous joy of being in the stands and seeing Pereira become the best in the League, the Champion.
And the sentence of Arenas Betancur 60 years ago will be fulfilled… “My Bolívar must be in the main square of Pereira to preside over the most important events in the city.” This time Deportivo Pereira is the most important protagonist of Villa de Cañarte.