‘This is a special place for us’: A sea of color embraces KC for last time

Kansas City has seen a blanket of colors as thousands of fans have traveled to support their teams in one of six matches for the World Cup.

The city first kicked off the World Cup with Algeria and Argentina, two host countries, facing off in a highly anticipated game. Only a month after the city was adorned in blue and green for the first time, it’s now experiencing a sea of color for the last time — once again with Argentina.

Almost a month since Argentina held its first pep rally the night before their June 16 match against Algeria, the South American country continued the celebration in venues across the city Friday evening, the night before Switzerland and Argentina.

Thousands of fans came together in Mill Creek Park, where they chanted for hours and waved dozens of flags as the smell of Argentine barbecue hung in the air from the many grills cooking beef, chorizo, sausage and more.

Santiago “Asabomba” Alberdi has made a name for himself during the World Cup, having taken his Argentine grill to every stop along Argentina’s path to the quarterfinals. He came from Argentina, purchased his special grill in Miami, and brought it to the first banderazo last month. Alberdi and his “asamobile” have now made it back to the city.

“The first banderazo was in Kansas City, so this is a special place for us,” he told The Star. “What a great place, thank you, Kansas, for receiving us this well.”

Alberdi is not the only one who has followed Argentina to each match.

Hernan Romero invested $24,000 in a camper van covered in stickers and Argentine memorabilia that took him 12 hours to finish. Born in Argentina, Romero has spent the last 28 years living in New York, where he hatched the camper van plan about a year ago. Now, he’s spent 170 hours driving over 6,000 miles to support his team.

He’s used his dad’s poetry as a mantra to explain why he’s made the adventure.

“‘When you are born with a passion, it penetrates your heart, and you can’t take it out,’” Romero said from his dad’s words. “That's what reflects the passion of Argentinians.”

Romero has had friends join the trip along the way, currently joined by seven others in the camper van he calls “La Banda de New York.” Half of them have tickets to the Switzerland versus Argentina match, and they took the opportunity to look for more during the banderazo.

Not everyone traveled to make it to the match. Olivia Schneider and her husband have lived in Kansas City for five years. She has been part of each KC celebration, having grown up watching the World Cup and supporting her Argentine heritage.

“It’s a dream come true that we’re a host city to Argentina,” Schneider said.

She’s proud to see the city immerse itself in Argentine culture, and she said it’s special to participate in both banderazos and watch the matches surrounded by the culture. She’s even more proud to pass the tradition on to her 2-year-old daughter, Charlotte.

Her toddler has excitedly embraced the spirit, learning the players and chants. Before the second banderazo, she asked her parents if she could put two flags on her face, and spent a lot of the celebration waving an Argentine flag that was twice her size.

Fans from all over ‘live soccer’ with Argentina

Specks of yellow could be spotted in the crowds of white and blue during the banderazo, because Argentines weren’t the only ones supporting the team. Colombia and Switzerland faced off last Tuesday to determine who would make it to the quarterfinals in Kansas City. While both countries put up a fight, Switzerland scored one more goal than Colombia in penalty kicks. Many Colombians had traveled to Kansas City for the match against Ghana last Saturday, and figured they’d stay if Colombia advances. Despite being eliminated, some fans already had the tickets to the match, like Juan Paolo Perdomo and his wife.

“I wanted to be here with Colombia in the Colombian banderazo, unfortunately it didn’t work out, but we already had everything bought so we decided to come and support the only Latin American team left in the World Cup,” Perdomo said.

It’s Perdomo’s first World Cup, and while he hoped he would get to see Colombia play, he’s a fan of Messi and wants to see the Cup stay in South America with the winners of the 2022 World Cup.

“We got here this morning, and it’s been spectacular. The environment of Argentinians is incredible,” he said. “I like the culture Argentina has around soccer, the way they live soccer, this passion, I think is something many countries need to learn, including Colombia. “

As people chanted near the Mill Creek fountain, dozens of vendors spread out along the path, selling everything from decorative team hats, flags, and grilled meat.

Brian La Broca was one of the vendors, selling water and a traditional drink called fernandito, a cocktail mixing Coca-Cola with fernet. He arrived in the U.S. from Argentina at the beginning of June, and has been traveling to each match ever since. La Broca was planning to return to Argentina before the match, but his excitement led him to miss his flight and stay until the World Cup was over.

“This craziness to see the best player in history, we have to stay here,” he said. “You have to enjoy the moment.”

Now La Broca is “lost in the United States,” selling drinks at the banderazo to make up for all of the living and traveling expenses he’s amassed over the last month. It’s not his first World Cup, and La Broca is confident it won’t be his last.

“Every time I like Kansas (City) more. Very happy to be here, and hopefully will be returning to Atlanta and eventually New York,” he said.

After the Mill Creek banderazo, people traveled to various places to continue the celebration. Cafe Corazon was one of the main destinations, holding yet another banderazo that blocked off Southwest Boulevard for dancing and singing.

Romero encourages anyone who has enjoyed the many celebrations to head south to explore Argentina. His travels have been so exciting because of the people he’s met along the way, he said.

“It’s something beautiful because I encounter a lot of Argentinians. It’s like being in Buenos Aires,” Romero said. “Everything people see here is Argentina.”