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Leloir Park, Buenos Aires 1981 - Freddie and Ricardo Petracca

Dinner of the band at Ricardo Petracca's house after the show.

Petracca : "I remember Freddie, he was a great, great guy"

Not everyone can take a picture with a glittering artist worldwide. Ricardo Petracca (67) did it some time ago, and today he can boast of having an image no less than with Freddie Mercury, when he was 29 years old. And as if this were not enough, it is not just any, because it takes the Queen vocalist on his shoulders.

It is known that the legendary British rock band took their music to the last corner of the planet. In 1981, for example, it was the first great band to include Latin America in its tours. Many Argentines treasure in their hearts the passage of "The Queen" by the Club Vélez Sarsfield, in Capital; by Rosario, Córdoba and Mar del Plata.

Ricardo Petracca, a neighbor of Pilar for 25 years and nephew of the then president of Vélez, was one of the few people who could enjoy the stay of Queen well up close. "I did not want a normal photo, so it got on my shoulders and the photographer of the band captured the moment," he laughs.

Account that Mercury had the custom to sing the subject "We Will Rock You" raised "to caballito" of a custodian disguised of a personage of science fiction. This is how the idea came about and the moment was reflected in a photograph that is currently framed in the house of Ricardo's younger son.

As good hosts, his family invited the British group to a barbecue in his villa in Parque Leloir, in Ituzaingó. But Petracca only wanted to have a picture with the singer.

"To be honest, I was never a faithful follower of 'Queen'. I did not know them as much, I preferred to listen more to the Rolling Stones and even Latin music, "he reveals against what anyone could imagine. And he says: "One day they offered to buy me the photo, but I did not want to. It's something I keep for myself, and it transpired from one day to the next. "

The photograph shows that original moment, but the reality is that the Pilaren was with the members of the band during the 20 days of his stay in the country. That 27 of February of 1981 had to go to look for them to the Airport of Ezeiza, where hundreds of fans waited for their arrival. "There were many people willing to do anything to get close to their idols. With custody we had to invent a kind of fence to protect Freddie and make him enter the hotel, "he recalls.

"The shows in Vélez I lived on the side of the stage. During the recital, Freddie was transformed and was carried away by the adrenaline ", recognizes. The 40 thousand people who crowded the stadium vibrated to the rhythm of rock and remember that it was so powerful "the blow of the sound of the speakers that ran to the people of their place".

"I remember him as a guy, we spent hours talking about life," he admits modestly. In the course of those days, they cultivated a friendship that kept her in time with the sending of letters. "At that time my family had the largest glass company in Argentina. In the barbecue we shared, he saw one of our vitraux and commissioned one for us by letter for his house in London, "he says. Although with a hand in his heart he confesses that he doubts that the piece has reached its destination.

The photo, his anecdotes with the emblematic band and his personal bond with Mercury, make Petracca the envy of the followers of Queen. "I lived very nice moments. If he were alive, I'd love to meet him again. He was a very special character, "he says with some nostalgia

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