This Tuesday (3), the body of Edson Arantes do Nascimento was disconnected from Pelé. The man who died aged 82 was buried at the Ecumenical Necrópole Memorial, in Santos, after a 24-hour wake in Vila Belmiro and a three-and-a-half-hour procession through the streets of the city that gave him worldwide recognition.
The last act before the public, when the coffin was removed from the fire truck, took place to the sound of a funeral march and under a light drizzle, which refreshed those present after an intense heat all day. Once on the ground, the body was carried inside the place to the sound of the anthem of Santos and, in sequence, by the religious hymn Segura na Mão de Deus ( Take hold of God's hand). Inside, only family members accompanied the burial, in a 25-minute ceremony.
In the streets, however, Pelé, the myth, lives on. His stories and deeds were retold and exalted by thousands of fans around the world in the last six days, since the confirmation of Edson's death, on December 29th, in São Paulo. Between Monday (2nd) and Tuesday (3rd), according to a survey released by Santos Futebol Clube, more than 230,000 people passed through Vila Belmiro to pay homage to the idol.
An invaluable number of fans accompanied the procession on foot, waving from the windows of houses and apartments or even from a distance, on television.
Translated by Cassy Dias