A football match in Argentina is not complete without drumming, melodic horns and papelitos floating through the air but, perhaps most importantly, it is not complete without telones, the banners that represent the fans and act as a flag for their community. Pepe Perretta, one of few artists who has the honour of painting these huge tifos, is a man in high demand.
Perretta began his artistic career by spraying his motorbike helmet but his talents were first spotted by football fans when he when he painted a friend’s portrait on her 15th birthday. She was a Boca Juniors supporter and it wasn’t long before their barras approached Perretta and asked him to create a banner to be unfurled at La Bombonera.
Impressed by what they saw at their cross-city rivals, a group of River Plate supporters recruited Perretta to produce a tifo for them, paying him with two tickets to a SuperClásico at the Estadio Monumental. Perretta went to the game with his father, a grocer who had always been sceptical about his son’s art. When the flag was unfurled, Perretta’s father turned to his son and asked if he had made it. “Yes,” he replied. “It’s a present for you.”
While Perretta’s largest creation was a 220m-long banner for Racing Club and his most famous work is probably his depiction Argentina’s holy trinity – Diego Maradona (God), Pope Francis (the Father) and Lionel Messi (the Messiah), his “sacred robes” have dominated stadiums throughout the world, from Madrid to Mexico, Patagonia to Panama, and from Naples to his beloved Nueva Chicago in Buenos Aires.
Perretta’s work has helped him met Messi, Juan Román Riquelme and Sergio Agüero, but he still puts every ounce of his heart – and gallons of paint – into creating art that is truly memorable for fans. Making telones is not just a livelihood for him, but an honour and a responsibility. As he says: “Every tifo is a son to me.”
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