After 24 hours, King Pelé’s wake ended at the Vila Belmiro stadium. The coffin of the greatest player in football history was removed from the tent around 10 am this Tuesday (3) and left the lawn in a cart.
Pelé’s body was placed in the Fire Department truck, which began a procession through some streets in Santos and is heading to the burial site, scheduled for 2 pm. The ceremony will be closed to the family.
Members of organized supporters, with flags and musical instruments, crowded Avenida Bernardino de Campos, close to the main gate of Vila Belmiro, waiting for the body to pass through.
The stretch of the avenue was completely taken over by fans, who sang non-stop, like at a football game. “A thousand goals, a thousand goals, a thousand goals… only Pelé, only Pelé, who played for my Santos”, shouted the crowd. The official anthem of Santos was also sung, in addition to songs organized by the team.
The truck passed in front of the house of Celeste Arantes, Pelé’s mother, on channel 6. Thrilled, the King’s sister, Maria Lúcia, went to the balcony, waved and said goodbye to her brother. Pelé’s mother did not appear. She is 100 years old and lives in the house, but is in poor health and under care.
In some stretches of the path covered by the procession, people on the balconies of their homes and at the windows of apartments threw rose petals to the King.
The beachfront, in the neighborhood of Gonzaga, is crowded with people waiting for the procession, from bathers to people wearing Santos shirts and work clothes.
With traffic prohibited on Presidente Wilson Avenue in front of the beach, fans take the road with the Santos club’s flags.
Retired Maria Letícia Brito, 64, from Indaiatuba (SP) left her husband in charge of the chairs for the couple, who spend their holidays in Santos, to go to Presidente Wilson Avenue to see Pelé’s body pass by.
“How many people,” she said into the crowd. With the song of the thousand goals that only Pelé has, fans followed the truck.
Ana Rita Santos, 24, who works at a store on Avenida Anna Costa, had permission from her boss to go to Presidente Wilson’s median.
“Go with God, Pelé,” she shouted, claiming to be a sick person from Santos. “At home, everyone is,” she said with tears in her eyes.
During the body’s passage, people waved from the balconies of buildings and businesses.
Lula went to the wake, participated in a religious ceremony and left the village in 15 minutes
By early morning, more than 150,000 people had passed the wake to say goodbye to the King. At the end of the wake, the figure released was over 230,000 people in Vila Belmiro.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) was at the stadium this Tuesday morning to pay his respects to Pelé. He arrived at Baixada Santista by helicopter, which landed in the field of Portuguesa Santista, very close to the stadium of the alvinegro team.
From the early hours of the morning, a strong security scheme was set up in front of the stadium.
The president entered the lawn at 9:12 am, hand in hand with First Lady Janja and accompanied by a delegation.
When approaching the coffin, Lula embraced the relatives of the King of soccer. Shortly after, a religious ceremony began. The president stood next to Father Javier Mateo Arana, from the diocese of Santos.
Soon after, Lula left the pitch. On the way, she stopped to hug and take pictures with people.
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