Coen Lammers: The intoxicating Latino flavour of the World Cup

Argentina fans cheer during halftime entertainment at the FIFA Fan Fest area on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. Photo / AP

Opinion

The Latino flavour of the 2014 World Cup is simply intoxicating.

The smells, the sounds and the backdrop of the Copacabana provide plenty of South American ambiance, but the real Latin flair has been provided by the travelling fans.

Thanks to its central location - Brazil borders just about every nation on the continent - Portuguese and Spanish speaking supporters dominate the streets from Porto Alegre to Fortaleza.

Previous World Cups in Germany and South Africa have seen large groups of noisy Argentinians, Mexicans and Chileans join the party, but Brazil's attraction has triggered an unstoppable invasion of dancing and singing Latinos.

Of the 32 competing nations, 12 nations have Latino roots when you include Portugal, Spain and Italy. When these people get ready to party, it is impossible not to get swept up in the tidal wave of friendly football fever.

Brazilians of course are quite partial to a wee shindig themselves, so the mix of the local samba gang with the excited visitors creates a terrific cocktail.

The trains nearly bounced off the tracks on Monday night as 50,000 chanting and jumping Argentinians rolled into the Maracana Stadium station in Rio de Janeiro to see their heroes take on Bosnia-Herzogovina.

The blue and white surge included tiny toddlers, wrinkly old men and a surprisingly high number of female fans and turned every passing metro station into mini-stadiums and made the train ride almost more exciting than the subsequent match itself.

The same scene is repeating itself all over Brazil, as thousands of crazy Columbians were rocking Belo Horizonte, the Mexicans took over Natal, the Chileans drowned out the Australians in Cuiaba and Costa Ricans went toe-to-toe with Uruguayans in Fortaleza.

Maracana Stadium. Photo / Coen Lammers

Bumping into a mob of English fans on Sunday was almost a let-down after experiencing so much Latino style.

English club supporters are famous around the world for their passion and witty songs, but suddenly the EN-GE-LAND, EN-GE-LAND chants seemed a bit tiring after a staple diet of salsa and samba.

And they are not alone. The traditional, repetitive ''Deutschland, Deutschland", "Allez Les Bleus" or "Hup Holland" all seem in dire need of a tune-up. Maybe some Europeans will get inspired by their new surroundings.

Until then, the first World Cup in a Latino country since Mexico's turn in 1986 is a delight for all senses.

Just walking down the street, you can spot fans and locals dancing in shops while trying on a new outfit, or a wannabe Pope hanging out the open roof of a car blessing all the Argentinian fans. Not something you would spot too often on Queen Street.

Photo / Coen Lammers

The most enchanting part of this Latino entertainment is that it all happens without any of them getting plastered, which may surprise certain European fans.