PRENSA CHILENA NO LO PUEDE CREER ARGENTINA GANA A RITMO PERUANO

CHILEAN PRESS CAN'T BELIEVE IT: ARGENTINA WINS TO A PERUVIAN RHYTHM There are nights when football blends with music and something unforgettable is born. Wednesday, July 15th in Atlanta was one of those nights. Argentina was trailing 1-0 against England, with elimination looming, when in just seven minutes they turned everything around: Enzo Fernández equalized in the 85th minute and Lautaro Martínez, after a right-footed assist from Lionel Messi, scored the 2-1 winner in the 92nd minute to send the Albiceleste to the 2026 World Cup final. And while the Mercedes-Benz Stadium erupted, an unmistakable psychedelic guitar sound filled the air: that of Los Mirlos, the Amazonian cumbia band born in Moyobamba, Peru. Because this detail is no coincidence. Weeks ago, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) submitted a list of songs to FIFA to accompany the Argentine national team's goal celebrations during the World Cup, and among them was "La danza de Los Mirlos" (The Dance of the Blackbirds), one of the great classics of Peruvian cumbia. It had already been played before, after Lisandro Martínez's goal against Cape Verde. But hearing it in a semifinal, crowning one of the most dramatic comebacks of the tournament, had a special flavor for Peruvian ears. During the broadcast of the match, as Lautaro's shot rattled the net, the Chilean journalists could be heard in disbelief at what had just happened: the way Argentina, against all odds and in the final minutes, had turned around a match that seemed lost. The astonishment in the broadcast booths was as prominent as the goal itself. The reaction, of course, wasn't limited to South America. In England, the media spoke of "heartbreak" and "cruelty": The Sun headlined by pointing to "Argentine arrogance," and The Times reflected the disappointment of English fans after Lautaro's goal. In Spain, on the other hand, they celebrated: AS ran its "Messi is not of this world" headline, and Marca summarized the night as a "surprising comeback by Argentina." But for Peru, beyond flags and rivalries, there was a source of quiet pride: the soundtrack to Argentina's triumph bore a Peruvian stamp. With more than five decades of experience, Los Mirlos have established themselves as the leading exponents of Amazonian cumbia, a genre that fuses the sounds of the jungle with the electric guitar. Their founder, Jorge Rodríguez, had already expressed weeks earlier what it meant for the group to be played at a World Cup: he described it as an indescribable honor and a victory for the Amazonian cumbia they have so fiercely championed. And this Wednesday, as Argentina secured its place in the final against Spain, those guitars once again proved that, as Rodríguez himself says, his roots know no borders. On Sunday, July 19, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Argentina will seek its second consecutive title against Spain. And if history repeats itself, every Argentine goal celebration will once again be accompanied by the rhythm of Peru. Subscribe to The +    / @thepodcast1098   Subscribe to The Noticias    / @canalthe   Subscribe to The 2    / @thenoticias2