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MIAMI (AP) \u2014 Lili Cantero considers soccer like family.<\/p>\n
The Paraguayan artist, whose work has been praised by the likes of Argentine national team captain and Inter Miami star Lionel Messi and has built a passionate following in the world of soccer, still has fond memories of his childhood, when he would gather around the radio with his relatives almost every weekend to listen to matches.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where my love for the game started,\u201d Cantero said. “For me, soccer, football is about being with family and being with friends. The game is more than just a game. It’s a culture. It’s love. It’s family. It’s friendship.”<\/p>\n
And now it’s her job.<\/p>\n
up to The beginning of the world cup<\/span> In June, Cantello plans to use her specialty, painted soccer balls, at 10 different businesses in the Miami area known as Wynwood. Wynwood is a place known for turning warehouses into art galleries and turning just about anything into a mural. This is the heartbeat of the Miami art community, and for Cantero, combining her work with soccer seemed like a perfect fit.<\/p>\n“I think it’s the perfect combination of the perfect people and the perfect moment,” said Cantero, who has called Miami home for about two and a half years. “Messi coming to this city… was an interesting way to grow this sport in this city and in this country, because a lot of kids look at Messi with a lot of ambitions and dreams and everything, so I think they can make the decision to play this sport and grow in this sport. And I think that’s great.”<\/p>\n
Cantero’s approach is simple. She believes that soccer, like art, can bring together people of different races, different backgrounds, different languages, all different people. Her biggest break may have come in 2018. That’s when a pair of soccer cleats she designed (decorated with images of Messi and his family) were sent to the soccer legend. When Messi posed in the cleats, images of the moment went viral, and Cantelo suddenly received official approval for the match.<\/p>\n
Both Diego Maradona and Pele knew of her work. The same goes for former Brazil forward Ronaldinho, FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Messi’s former Barcelona and Inter Miami teammate Jordi Alba, among many others. Her first visit to the Wynwood Series ball exhibit was last week, when she unveiled a piece depicting how Spain won the 2010 World Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am honored to be known for this art and what I do,\u201d Cantero said. “I believe that art and soccer have the power to change the world. It changed my life, so I can say that it’s true. And when I go to a favela and see kids playing and thinking that soccer is the only way they can do anything in life, that’s art to me.”<\/p>\n
Wynwood is always busy. This area is dominated by art and fashion, and there’s no shortage of people working hard to keep it vibrant. The World Cup is expected to bring tens of thousands of people to South Florida, and Winwood wants everyone to know that everyone is welcome in the arts district.<\/p>\n
“We’re always promoting the arts, we’re always changing the art, the murals in the neighborhood,” Wynwood Business Improvement District Chairman David Lombardi said in announcing Cantero’s first ball of the series. \u201cIt\u2019s vibrant, it\u2019s changing, it\u2019s alive, and people want to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cantero has never played the game, but he’s addicted to it. She appeared at the unveiling for the first time wearing a Spain jersey. Yes, they were keeping in mind that Spain ousted their native Paraguay en route to winning that title.<\/p>\n
Some soccer balls take Cantero days to paint. For some, it only takes a few hours. At the project’s launch, she set up a tablet to her left and did some work while looking at an image of Spanish star David Villa celebrating a goal at the 2010 World Cup.<\/p>\n
Deftly moving her right hand, she gradually added Villa’s image to the back of the ball, oblivious to the crowd that had gathered to watch her work.<\/p>\n
Every soccer ball she designs in this series will depict a new moment of the World Cup.<\/p>\n
“I grew up in Paraguay and everyone says you can’t make a living from art. And now I’m doing this far from my homeland to express who I am and my roots,” Cantero said. “It was an honor.”<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP World Cup coverage: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/fifa-world-cup<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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