• Submitted by: manso
• international
• 09 / 16 / 2010

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David Villa returned to the headlines of the main Spanish media. This time the journalists did not talk about one of his frequent goals or stunning celebrations, it appears that fans didn’t even want to comment about soccer either, because they criticized, often crudely, the Spanish striker for having sent a signed shirt to the relatives of the 33 Chilean miners, trapped in a mine 700 meters (2300ft) underground.

The picture toured the world. In it, two relatives showed the Barcelona shirt, with the signature of Villa and on which one could read this phrase: Cheer up miners! In addition, the Spanish footballer wrote in his own handwriting: “Support to you, miners and much strength”. The event raised very diverse reactions, from the broadest support to the gesture of the Asturian player to reproaches against him and the Catalan club.

Villa is the big signing in the current season of the Barcelona and when he scores his next goal, in an official game, he’ll leave Raúl González behind and will start heading the list of the top scorers in the history of the Spanish national squad. Maybe critics forgot that “El Guaje” feels mining as something very close, because his father, grandfather and great-grandfather were miners.

Not very few applauded Villa’s idea, because they considered it an open token of solidarity with the families that increasingly despair and expect greater progress in the machines that will open the way for the final rescue of their beloved beings from the bowels of the mine; but others saw a publicity of the Barcelona in Villa’s action, as well as a dirty way of taking commercial advantage from a tragedy. Even in online opinion forums, certain fans urged Villa not to send the piece of clothing but money instead.

The stream of criticisms did not end there. Some focused their attention on the ever complex topic of the autochthonous regions in Spain. The shirt that Villa sent was from the Barcelona and certain people did not like this, because they would have preferred one from the “Red Fury”, the world champions in South Africa.
 
Likely, the controversies will continue, but Villa’s shirt will remain there, accompanying the relatives, as a token of an interest —hopefully real— from one of the great soccer stars for the life of the 33 men. He never met them and perhaps “El Guaje” doesn’t even know, as the forums affirmed, the exact place where the miners are trapped for over a month; however, it’s pleasing to get to know the sports idols worry about something beyond their bank account.

Thousands of kilometers away from the mine, in Havana, hundreds of Cubans attended a special concert, given by singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez, in salutation to the bicentenary of Chile’s independence. At the presentation, the ambassador of that South American nation spoke about the topic of the miners. The audience that filled “Lázaro Peña” Theater interrumped his words with an applause that was increasing in intensity.

Everybody stood up and continued applauding for several minutes. The diplomat, visible excited, pressed his hand to his heart and bowed. This was the way the concert attendees found to show their solidarity with the men who have suffered a lot and whose final fate, unfortunately, is still surrounded by uncertainties.

The short signed by Villa and the prolonged applauses at a Havanan concert by Silvio Rodríguez are two different events, two valid ways of letting the world know and especially the miners’ relatives, that many in the world care about what is happening to those men who are enduring the huge psychological pressure of ignoring what will happen tomorrow.

By Miguel Ernesto Gómez Masjuán ([email protected])

Cubasi Translation Staff