Fans Kick Into High Gear for Colombia’s World Cup Team

Colombia, mi equipo, eres el mejor, puedes meter goles, todo con valor .

--Cheer for Colombia’s World Cup team

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For the past three months, these chants have echoed through the dance halls of Candilejas nightclub in Hollywood:

“Colombia, my team, you are the best/You will score goals, all of them with zest (courage).”

Fists clasping yellow, blue and red pompons punch up, down, in and out as hips jolt in unison to the tempo of the cheer. The slogan is voiced by 10 Colombian American women called the Porristas Colombianas--the Colombian Cheerleaders.

The Raiders, yes, high schools and colleges, certainly. But cheerleaders for a national soccer team? Unheard of, even by American standards.

But such is the power of the world’s most popular sport. The Porristas are one example of how soccer mania has reached a fever pitch as the World Cup draws closer to its opening games in Pasadena and around the United States on Saturday. The cheerleaders’ enthusiastic support for the national team matches that of thousands of Colombian zealots flocking to Los Angeles from all over the world.

Credencial magazine, which cites studies on the World Cup’s impact on local economies, calculates that between 9,000 and 10,000 Colombians will travel to the United States for the Cup. Area aficionados will either watch their team firsthand or view the matches on television at home or at local bars and restaurants.

Colombia, with its flashy stars Asprilla and Carlos Valderrama, is among the favorites in the 24-team tournament. The country’s emergence as a world soccer power has inspired excitement in fans inside and outside the South American nation.

“The atmosphere is going to boil in Los Angeles,” says Dora Sanchez, the mother of three of the cheerleaders and the affectionately titled godmother of the squad.

The group, after a false start, formed in March and began practicing its dance routines mixed with original chants and the rah-rah cheers familiar to American sports followers.

The Porristas, whose average age is 25, all were born in Colombia, immigrated to the United States and have become residents in all areas of the Los Angeles Basin. Porristas Adriana Cardenas, her sister, Vicky, and Soraya Gomez are from South Gate.

Dressed in the same colors as the Colombian flag, the group hopes to perform on the sidelines of the Rose Bowl, where the team makes its debut against Romania on Saturday. Colombia’s second match is against the United States on June 22. They have asked authorization from Colombian and Cup officials but have yet to hear.

In the meantime, the women have performed three times for club patrons. They are scheduled to perform their routine at Candilejas at midnight on Wednesday.

“When people watch us perform they applaud as if they were watching the national (soccer) team,” says Adriana Cardenas as other team members concur in laughter.

To ensure that the Porristas will attend at least one World Cup match, Romeo Linares, owner of Candilejas, gave the cheering squad tickets for the USA-Colombia match on June 22, where they can cheer from Section 17.

The thousands of fervent, globe-hopping Colombian fans hitting Los Angeles are filling not only hotels but the homes of local residents.

Armand (Capitan) Echeverria, owner of the Panamericana travel agency chain, said his Glendale home “has been invaded with people, many of whom are going to have to sleep on the floor.” Echeverria said he is hosting 11 compatriots, including four priests and one bishop.

Oscar Buitrago, known by friends as “El Abuelo Pachanguero”--roughly translated as “The Partying Grandpa” for his music business and work as a deejay--plans to close his store for the U.S.-Colombia match.

“In my case, I want Colombia to win. But I’ve been here for many years and I want to pull for the United States all the way also. It puts me on the spot.”