Maybe it's not just wine: Los Piojos, Ciro Martínez and another of his passions that he brought to Mendoza

The lice returned to Mendoza after 16 years and exploded at the Greek theater, Frank Romero Day.

Delfina Álvarez – Los Andes

However, wine may not be Ciro's only well-known passion . The Los Piojos singer is a true soccer fan . This is evident not only when he sings the verses of "Maradó" —with its inevitable intro —but it has also been seen at countless Los Piojos shows , perhaps the most historic. Because Ciro is a great collector of soccer jerseys .

Pupi Zanetti struck up a close friendship with Ciro , so much so that he gave him the singer's jerseys that he wore in his shows . In addition to his Inter Milan jersey, Ciro sang in Zanetti's number 8 jersey for the Argentine national team . It's the one he wears in this live version of "Genius" (El mendigo del Dock Sud) .

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And they even collaborated with each other on solidarity actions for the Sí Foundation ( Zanetti 's), which included raffles for soccer jerseys in 2020 and to collaborate with workers in the entertainment industry who were out of work for several months in 2020 and during the pandemic .

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One of the most emotional songs by Ciro, Pity, Micky and company is "Canción de cuna" (Lullaby) . Included in "Máquina de Sangre" (Blood Machine) , it's the song that brings tears to any parent's eyes when they hear or sing it, and they can't help but think of their son or daughter .

Between late 2003 and almost all of 2004 , during the "Máquina de Sangre World Tour" - where the band presented that album -, in one of the shows at the Monumental , Ciro performed "Canción de cuna" wearing the blue shirt of the English club Chelsea , with the number 21 of the Argentine Hernán Crespo . This shirt was also a gift from the Argentine striker to the musician .

"Maradó" , with the heroic recitation that describes Diego Armando Maradona and the version of the Argentine National Anthem played on harmonica by Ciro included (this, in the live performances), is one of the great works of "Tercer Arco" (1996) .

And as such, being one of the most Maradona-esque songs in national rock, the live version of this song with Maradona himself could not be missed (Diego also went up on stage with Bersuit Vergarabat , with Andrés Calamaro and even with Rodrigo to sing the pieces in his honor).

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It was in 2005 , during the Pepsi Rock (at the Obras Sanitarias Stadium, Buenos Aires ) of that year, when Ciro and Los Piojos played for 9 minutes with an XL version of "Maradó" . The sequence was as follows: the inevitable "Y ya lo ve, el que no salta es un inglés" as an appetizer, the Anthem on harmonica (by Ciro) and then Ciro singing in front of the microphone where Diego Armando's iconic "Pumas Borussia" boots stood out.

At first, with a rather shy attitude, the world football genius listened calmly to the song that paid tribute to him. He even bit his nails . But then, letting himself be carried away by his great love, Maradona joined the musicians on stage and even played tricks with the ball , all while the chords continued to play. The final moment was filled with hugs and the emotion of the musicians , who had just embraced God himself.

As Ciro recalled in an interview with Líbero (TyC) , he himself asked Diego Maradona to go to that concert .

"I had said that we should play 'Maradó' when Diego arrived and I think he arrived right on the tenth song . As we left I told him, 'if you want, you can sing, do what you want.' 'Calm down, maestro, you sing,' he said . We finished playing and he came out to take his bow , which was the most intense and longest ovation I've ever experienced in my life ," he confessed.

For years, Ciro hung the cleats Diego gave him (the last ones El Diez wore) on the microphone stand every time he sang "Maradó" live. Until one day, he stopped doing so, for fear of losing them .

Years earlier, on November 10, 2001 , Andrés Ciro Martínez had played in Diego Armando Maradona's farewell match .

In the run-up to Argentina's debut at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar , "Ciro y Los Persas" gave a performance in Doha . There, Ciro wore the national team's alternate jersey with the number 27 .

In 1979 , the Argentine Under-20 team (starring Maradona and Ramón Díaz ) won their first title in their category . It was in Japan , after defeating the USSR (or CCCP , according to its initials in Russian). That red shirt , with the four letters across the chest ( CCCP ) and featuring the Hammer and Sickle emblem, transcended much more than the national team. And it's also in Andrés Ciro Martínez's shirt collection .

The same goes for the "87" number of the German national football team —it doesn't belong to any specific player, but rather, it's the number that represents "Los Piojos" in the football pools and, consequently, is the band's popular identification number. Or the black and white shirt of Newcastle United . Ciro's shirt museum is packed!

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In Mendoza , at Los Piojos ' concert on May 3rd , it wasn't Ciro who wore a soccer jersey . But there was a direct allusion to this passion at the concert. It was guitarist Juan Manuel Gigena Ábalos (a member of Los Persas and part of the renewed Los Piojos lineup ) who wore an Argentina jersey , specifically number 8 with the name Marcos "El Huevo" Acuña on the back.

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The singer of Los Piojos and Ciro y Los Persas is a self-confessed Boca Juniors fan. However, he once admitted to having been a "San Lorenzo fan for a week." He said it was when, as a five-year-old boy, he discovered he liked the Ciclón's color combination (blue and red) .

Without hesitation, a friend of his father bought him the entire San Lorenzo team . But it didn't last long, as his father—literally—threw it out the window . In the same interview, Andrés Ciro Martínez praised the San Lorenzo fans and the adaptation they made of "Civilization " for the bulletin board.