Queue to say goodbye to Pelé is 1 km and heat of 29ºC

Motoboy Lucas de Oliveira dos Santos, 33, took advantage of his day off this Monday (2nd), put his son Davi, 8, on the back and left Itanhaém, in Baixada Santista, to accompany the wake of the idol Pelé, which takes place in Vila Belmiro stadium, in Santos.

They queued up at 11 am and 1 km from the entrance to the lawn, a route marked by the report. An hour later, they hadn’t traveled half the way until they reached the Vila’s lawn, where the King’s body is laid to rest since 10 am. People have seconds to look at the coffin, as the kilometric queue cannot stop.

Father and son walked along part of Rua Dom Pedro 1º and Rua Guararapes, Avenida Bernardino de Campos and Avenida Tiradentes until finally entering the four switchbacks in front of Vila Belmiro. The report made the journey, walking without stopping, for 11 minutes.

“But it’s worth it”, says the motoboy.

The feeling is the same as that of Davison Souza Santos, 50, who, with two children and a teenage nephew and his brother, Dercilio, faced two hours in the sun, with a temperature of 29ºC and almost no shade along the way.

Residents of São Mateus, in the east zone of São Paulo, the five agree that it was worth it, so much so that the boys “stole” tufts of grass to take as a souvenir.

Also from São Paulo, Luiz Carlos Rugue, who says he has lost count of the number of times he has seen Pelé play, was getting ready to go to the end of the queue again after walking two hours to see the King’s face, the only part exposed, and ten meters away.

“It’s little for all he’s done for us,” he said.

dawn

The line grew a lot during the morning. Around 1 am, the corridor surrounded by bars, through which the fans would pass, had about ten people. Among them was painter Emílio Carmo, 58, who lives in Casa Verde, in the north of São Paulo.

As a child, he watched a Santos game at the old Palestra Itália stadium, in Pompéia, west zone. And he never stopped being a saint. “Santos tied 1-1 with Palmeiras, with goals from Pelé and Ademir da Guia, look what a privilege I had”, said the fan who arrived in line around 11 am on Sunday.