While all of Argentina exploded with joy over the 2026 World Cup final berth, a handful of anonymous heroes celebrated in the most inhospitable place on the planet: the Esperanza Joint Antarctic Base, at 30 degrees below zero. Lieutenant Colonel Fernando Sosa, base chief, and Principal Sub-Officer Jorge Urrutia, the man from the viral video who danced in the snow, spoke exclusively and told how that epic night was lived.
“Yesterday our cooks treated us to spectacular hamburgers, and then there are some like Jorge who have their ritual of watching it alone, in silence, with his wife,” Sosa revealed. The tension was palpable until the referee blew the final whistle. “The cold came out,” the military man said with a laugh, referring to the outburst of joy.
Fifty-eight people live at the base, including eight families. “It is the only base in Antarctica with families,” Sosa highlighted. During the match, 35 followed the game together, while the “hardcore ritualists” did their procession in the houses. Afterwards, everyone joined to celebrate.
Asked whether the proximity to the Malvinas Islands and the rival added a mystical plus, Sosa was cautious: “We see it as a match, it’s sports. We enjoy as Argentines this discipline that others represent us before the world.” And regarding the controversial flag with the legend “Las Malvinas son argentinas” that the players displayed, he asked that there be no sanctions: “The feeling of one as an Argentine is common to all, but we avoid mixing sports with issues that surpass all levels.”
The 58 base members were described as “true heroes” for maintaining sovereignty in extreme conditions. Sosa thanked: “Our effort is for the good of Argentine sovereignty and support for science.” And he compared the grit of the National Team with the daily struggle on the ice: “They are leaving us values: not giving up, keep rowing in the worst moments, work for dreams. Here we come to do sovereignty. They are dreams that anyone can have.”
While Argentina dreams of the Cup, at Esperanza Base they already have their own trophy: the pride of having lived a unique feat, at 30 degrees below zero, but with hearts racing.
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para mí es una vergüenza que estos héroes estén festejando mientras los zurdos rompen las bolas con ideología de género vamo los pibes aguante Argentina y la familia tradicioná firme ElLoco69
Para mí los gorilas lloran mientras los 58 héroes antárticos festejan a 30 bajo cero. Esto huele a dictadura del frío que nos da la razón: el pueblo argentino hace todo gigante. Vamos Argentina carajo, aguante el socialismo antártico y la Selección que nos deja valores!