Fans celebrate ahead of the first Wold Cup match in Philly
Waves of yellow, red, and blue paraded down Center City and into the area surrounding the Philadelphia Museum of Art to celebrate the World Cup.
After 11 years of marriage, there are very few things Aurora and Jamaal Brown don’t see eye to eye on. Then FIFA announced its first scheduled World Cup match in Philadelphia: Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador.
“Ivory Coast is going to win and I will celebrate with some drinks,” Jamaal playfully teased his wife over the phone Saturday evening. “I am telling her, we are winners.”
The Jacksonville, Fla., resident grew up with friends from the Ivory Coast and recently found out through a DNA test that he has ancestry from the West African country, a genetic inheritance he takes seriously.
As an Ecuadorian native, Aurora thinks Jamaal is wrong. But she is letting him “live in delusion” because she and their kids were able to travel to Philly to support the Ecuadorian team. Jamaal had to stay behind to take care of his grandma.
“If they weren’t playing against Ecuador, the whole family will be Ivory Coast fans,” Aurora said while attending FIFA Fan Fest at Fairmount Park’s Lemon Hill on Saturday with her family. “We are going to buy him an Ivory Coast jersey for Father’s Day so he feels the love.”
Walking into the Lemon Hill park area, the mother of two was stunned to see so many Ecuadorian soccer shirts and flags, but no Ivory Coast representation.
Waves of yellow, red, and blue paraded down Center City and into the arteries connecting with the Philadelphia Museum of Art. An unusual scene in a city with little Ecuadorian representation.
Both the Ecuadorian and Ivory Coast communities are considered small in the Philly metro area.
According to the Census Bureau, 15,415 Philly residents claim Ecuadorian ancestry — less than 1% of the Latino population in the city. And numbers for Ivory Coast residents are hard to estimate because the bureau doesn’t tabulate them.
Maryland resident Michelle Diagne, 35, felt that absence.
The Ivory Coast native came to visit her Philly family from Rockville, Md. But realizing the tickets were too expensive, she and her two teenagers settled for attending Fan Fest and watching Sunday’s game at home.
While she had hoped to see more Ivory Coast fans in Philly, Diagne said just knowing the “Elephants” are playing in the U.S. fills her with pride.
“It makes me feel like we count,” Diagne said.
Ecuadorian native Magaly Moreira, 60, shares the sentiment. After decades living in New Jersey, she had never seen such a display of her country’s people.
“It fills me with happiness, pride, and so much joy,” Moreira said, Ecuadorian flags painted on her face. “It’s our opportunity for us and the players to represent Ecuador.”
She was one of thousands of Ecuadorians attending “El banderazo Ecuatoriano” outside the Art Museum. An event organized by group +593 (the country’s international calling code) that made fans put aside the traditional “Ecuadorian hour” to show up more than on time to support their team.
“Ecuador, Ecuador, Ecuador, vamos Ecuador,” resounded through the Rocky steps as the fans chanted, many sporting the Ecuadorian soccer jersey.
Defeating the heat, a crowd of all ages — from newborns to seniors — cheered and danced to the traditional highland dance “Zapateando Juyayay,” showcasing pride for their country, waving flags, and hugging each other with hope.
With a broken leg and dragging a wheelchair, Darío Galarza and his friend Marco Gallardo flew in from Ecuador two days ago to support their home team. They did not expect to see such an outpouring for their national team.
“The U.S. is accessible for us because we share the same currency and it isn’t far, but we didn’t expect to see so many people,” Gallardo said.
For Galarza, skipping the World Cup wasn’t an option. After undergoing surgery for his leg last month, he made it a point to be as recovered as possible to fly to Philadelphia.
“I guess it’s true, you will always find an Ecuadorian in every corner of the world,” Galarza said. “At least I knew it was going to be me because I wasn’t missing this for the world.”
As a man inside a guinea pig costume began a conga line around the Rocky statue, 77-year-old Ecuadorian Francisco Castellanos couldn’t help but reflect on the wonder of seeing so many Ecuadorians together and the weight of representation.
“There are so many of us here that now we must win,” Castellanos said. “Whatever it takes,” he added, as the crowd erupted chanting the Ecuadorian national anthem.
