One week after watching the Aguacateros in the outskirts of Antigua, we (roommates of the host family house) convinced Samuel and Sergio of the school to take us to the Capital to watch a Major League soccer match.
After such a great time in Antigua, Rollo and I raised a crowd to come along, filling a 15-passenger van with a really great group :) Yeah buddy!
On leaving the van, we were hounded by scalpers looking to dump tickets at 'the best price' ("mejor precio!" as they would say), which, according to our school trip leaders, are always higher than the going rate. This seems to be the norm in Guatemala (note: I don't make a value judgement here so much as an observation of cultural mores), that of offering a valuable service of 'ostensible pure altruism', laced with a hefty kickback right to the back pocket... This norm transcends soccer tickets, pervading the tourism industry, and, lamentably, the political sphere.
After we minnows outwitted the sharks, we proceeded to the gate, where police + guards were present in numbers as if at airport security (no joke). A quick frisk and on to pay the 20Q entry fee for some fun!
As we entered the gates we couldn't help but notice the Tigo girls trying to get participants to win mobile minutes (Tigo is 1 of the 3 major mobile companies in Guatemala). Neither Rollo nor I succeeded, though he was admittedly closer to some free air-time. All was not lost as we at least managed to get a picture with the crew before finding our seats.
Everything about the experience was a bit more 'official', if not professional, from the stadium to the vendors to the billboards, to the balloon tunnel the players ran out from to start the game (the Antigua tunnel had just 1 primary vault, while this stadium's was made of 3 different directions, fancy!).
The 'porra', as the fan section is known at the futbol games, was equally rowdy, though equipped with a few less firecrackers, making for a slightly 'safer' atmosphere (no brawls this time).
All in all it was a great match + evening, on return rounded out with the almighty 'Shuko', Guatemala's infamous sub sandwich at one of Antigua's finest, 'La Perrada', which sits on the main strip near the market. MMM.
No comments:
Post a Comment