Episodio 76: Celebrating the Super Bowl (Celebrando el Super Bowl)

Duolingo English for Spanish Speakers Podcast

Era un día de enero del 2020, soleado pero frío en Kansas City, Missouri.

Janel Carbajo y su familia se unieron a miles de fanáticos para ver jugar a su equipo favorito de fútbol americano, los Kansas City Chiefs.

My team, the Kansas City Chiefs, wasn’t doing well.

We didn’t score enough points at the beginning of the game, so it seemed like we were going to lose.

I was nervous, but I still hoped that we could win.

Janel y su familia estaban al borde de sus asientos porque este no era un partido cualquiera, eran los playoffs, que en español sería la “postemporada”, donde participan los seis mejores equipos.

Quienquiera que ganara este juego iría al Super Bowl.

En los Estados Unidos, este campeonato es tan grande como la Copa del Mundo.

The Super Bowl is the most important game in American football.

It’s the final game of the season, and the winners are the champions of the year.

My team, the Kansas City Chiefs, hadn’t played in this game in 50 years.

But suddenly, during the playoffs, they started scoring! I wondered, would they go to the Super Bowl?

Welcome, les damos la bienvenida a “Relatos en inglés”, un podcast de Duolingo.

Soy Diana Gameros.

En cada episodio podrás practicar inglés a tu propio ritmo, escuchando historias reales y fascinantes, contadas por las personas que las vivieron.

Hoy, les traemos historias sobre Super Bowl, el partido más importante en los deportes estadounidenses, y cómo dos personas celebran de diferentes maneras: una, amante del fútbol, en el estadio; y otro, espectador casual, en su casa.

Desde que tiene memoria, Janel Carbajo siempre fue fanática de los Kansas City Chiefs.

En 1970, cuando era una niña, los Chiefs llegaron al Super Bowl.

Fue un gran acontecimiento.

El Super Bowl ocurre solo una vez al año y cada año sucede en otra ciudad.

I watched the 1969 Super Bowl at home with my parents on television, and we celebrated when our team won! But, after that year, the Chiefs stopped winning.

And for many years, they didn’t play in the Super Bowl.

But my family still loved them.

So, every season, we cheered for the Chiefs and looked forward to watching the big game.

Ya de adulta, Janel se convirtió en maestra.

Y su amor por el fútbol siguió intacto.

Cuando conoció a su esposo Tom y formó su familia, juntos crearon sus propias tradiciones en torno al juego.

It became a tradition in my family to attend every Chiefs game at the stadium in Kansas City.

We always got great seats! Like any big football fan, I always dreamed of going to the Super Bowl, but it seemed impossible.

It was too expensive to buy tickets.

So instead, I watched the game at home with my family.

Algunas veces, durante la temporada de fútbol, Janel y su familia organizaban fiestas en el estacionamiento del estadio.

En esas fiestas, llamadas tailgate parties, las personas se reúnen alrededor del maletero del auto con comida y bebidas para pasar un buen rato antes del juego.

We always went early to get a parking spot for the tailgate parties.

And sometimes, we even brought a grill to cook burgers.

We played games and decorated signs to hold while we cheered for our team at the game.

Sometimes, we hung out with friends who were also there or we made new friends with the people who parked next to us.

One hour before the game started, there were fireworks in the stadium, and that meant that it was time for the game to start.

En cada partido, Janel y su familia se aseguraban de ponerse los colores de su equipo: rojo y dorado.

Otros fanáticos se disfrazaban de maneras más extravagantes, con pelucas o pintándose la cara.

En 1993, cuando su hija mayor tenía dos años, Janel llevó al estadio un accesorio diferente.

Era un títere, o puppet.

My daughter was really young at the time, and sometimes she got bored during the games, so I brought a puppet.

I dressed it in a small Chiefs football uniform and helmet.

Then I found another puppet, and I dressed it with the helmet and uniform of the other team.

The puppets were great entertainment for my daughter.

Janel empezó a llevar los títeres a todos los partidos.

Sujetaba una muñeca en cada mano y simulaba que boxeaban entre sí.

Janel se dio cuenta de que también habían captado la atención de los demás espectadores.

One day, I noticed TV cameras started filming my puppets! So, I was on TV all over the U.S.! I thought that was fun, so every weekend I tried to get the cameras to film me.

Soon, people started to recognize me at games and in the football community because of my puppets.

They started calling me “The Puppet Lady.”

Durante los siguientes veinte años, lloviera a cántaros o saliera el sol, Janel siguió apoyando a su equipo.

Un día, en 2019, una organización llamada Ford Hall of Fans se puso en contacto con ella para hablar de sus títeres.

The Ford Hall of Fans was having a contest to see who was the biggest football fan in the country.

The Chiefs knew about me and my puppets, and they wanted me to be in the contest.

The best part was the prize: tickets to the Super Bowl in February! Going to the Super Bowl was my dream, so I decided to enter the contest!

Janel entró al concurso y empezó a hacer campaña por sus marionetas.

Mientras tanto, su equipo ganó las eliminatorias y se encaminaba hacia el Super Bowl.

Por fin, el martes anterior al gran partido, Janel recibió la noticia: ¡había ganado el concurso y se había coronado como la mayor fan! Janel y sus títeres irían al Super Bowl para ver el partido entre los Kansas City Chiefs y los 49ers de San Francisco.

Ese año, la gran final se celebraba en Miami.

After I heard that I won the contest, I started crying because I was so happy.

But at the same time, I realized the Super Bowl was only two days away! I had to pack and get ready for my flight.

At that moment, I was so excited that I didn’t know what to do.

My team was going to the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years, and I was going to see it in person!

Janel podía llevar a un invitado, así que eligió a su marido, Tom.

Y cuando bajaron del avión en Miami, ¡fueron tratados como verdaderas celebridades!

We were invited to a tailgate party at the stadium before the game, but this wasn’t anything like the parties before the games in Kansas City.

This was the most incredible party ever! Pitbull was performing, and the place was decorated with sculptures made of ice.

There was also a lot of food, and you could eat whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted.

Al principio, los Chiefs empezaron perdiendo.

Aún así, Janel nunca dejó de alentar a su equipo.

I was a teacher, but I was also a volleyball and basketball coach at my school.

So, I knew you should never worry about the score.

You just have to keep trying and never give up.

When the Chiefs were losing, I cheered for them as loudly as I could with my puppets in hand.

And then they started scoring points!

Después llegó el medio tiempo, la pausa que se produce a mitad del partido y que incluye un esperado espectáculo.

Es un acontecimiento en sí mismo, y hay gente que sólo sintoniza el partido para ver el show.

I always watched the half-time show on television, but watching it in person was a totally different experience! It was amazing to see the field become a huge concert, with all the lights and the dancers.

There were also performances by Shakira and Jennifer Lopez.

It looked amazing, and I loved it!

En el segundo tiempo los equipos estaban empatados.

Pero en los últimos quince minutos el equipo de Janel perdía por diez puntos.

Pero repentinamente, casi al final, los Chiefs comenzaron a repuntar y ¡ganaron el partido! Janel se emocionó y saltó tanto que uno de los cascos de sus títeres se cayó.

The Chiefs won the Surper Bowl! It was incredible.

When they won, there were fireworks, and my husband and I started hugging and celebrating.

I couldn’t believe that I was able to go to the Super Bowl because of my puppets.

There are so many huge football fans, so I feel so lucky and grateful that they picked me.

It was the biggest honor of my life.

Muy pocos tienen la suerte de ver el Superbowl en persona como Janel.

En Estados Unidos, la mayoría de la gente ve el partido en su casa o en fiestas con amigos y familiares.

Así es como nuestro segundo protagonista, Meir Kalmanson, también conocido como Meir Kay, disfrutó siempre del gran evento.

I’m not a big fan of sports, but the Super Bowl has always been a time for me to get together with family and friends.

When I was a kid, I always watched the game with my cousins, who were big football fans.

As I got older, it became a time to hang out with my friends.

We got together at one of my friends’ houses, ordered food, and watched the game.

But it was also an opportunity to connect and talk about our lives.

En 2017, Meir vivía en Nueva York.

Había estudiado para ser rabino y ahora era orador motivacional y creador de contenido.

Todos los videos de Meir difunden la bondad y el positivismo.

When I made videos, I wanted to inspire people to be kind to others.

I was always thinking about new ideas for videos that could create positive energy in the world.

I knew the Super Bowl was happening in February, so I tried to think of ideas for a video about that special day.

Ese mismo invierno, en una helada noche de enero, Meir paseaba por el centro de Manhattan cuando vio a un hombre sentado en una esquina con un cartel.

The sign said: “I don’t want food.

I don’t want a drink.

I only want to be seen.” It was the first time that I saw a sign like that, so I stopped to talk with him.

He told me that he felt very alone, and he just wanted to connect and spend some time with other people.

After this conversation, I had an idea for my Super Bowl video.

Meir se dio cuenta de que, si bien en Estados Unidos las personas sin hogar, o unhoused people, solían recibir apoyo comunitario adicional en las grandes festividades como la Navidad, no existía la misma generosidad el resto del año, incluido el Super Bowl.

I knew the owner of an event space that was on the roof of a building in Manhattan, and he was having a Super Bowl party there.

I called him and told him my idea: I wanted to invite unhoused people to the party so they could enjoy the game like everyone else.

And then, hopefully, they could feel less alone.

The owner loved the idea and welcomed us.

Así que, unas semanas más tarde, el día del Super Bowl, Meir recorrió las calles de Nueva York e invitó a varias personas a unirse a la fiesta en la terraza.

Además, llevó a un camarógrafo para que filmara la velada.

We rode the elevator to the top of a very tall building.

When we got off at the roof, my guests seemed really excited.

It was an amazing party, and there were hundreds of people there.

We had a special table near the big TVs where they played the game.

There was lots of food and music.

We filled our plates with burgers and sat down at our table.

Everyone was having a great time.

And if you looked around, it was just people enjoying a game together.

Durante el descanso, Meir y sus invitados salieron al balcón para contemplar la vista de Nueva York.

I had a long conversation with my new friends.

I appreciated that they shared their stories about being unhoused, and their hopes and dreams for the future.

They had difficult lives, but they still had positive attitudes, and that inspired me.

It reminded me that even though our lives are different, we are all very similar.

Meir publicó el vídeo del evento en su canal de YouTube y se viralizó.

Personas desconocidas se pusieron en contacto con él para preguntarle cómo podían participar de un evento así.

Con el año 2018 en el horizonte, Meir reclutó voluntarios y recaudó algo de dinero.

Empezó a llamar la fiesta “Super Soul Party”, es decir, una fiesta que se enfoca en las relaciones humanas y en crear un lugar seguro para las personas sin hogar.

We had two parties in 2018, one in New York City and one in Los Angeles.

We invited people who were housed and unhoused for a community event, and everyone felt welcome and appreciated.

We also had barbers and extra clothing at the parties, in case anyone wanted a haircut or some warm clothes.

The parties were successful, and I realized that people were coming for the game, but they stayed for the human connection.

En 2022 las fiestas crecieron y se extendieron a 35 ciudades de todo Estados Unidos.

Ese año, Meir asistió a la fiesta Super Soul en Nueva York.

Y mientras charlaba con otros invitados, se fijó en un hombre que vivía en un albergue, o shelter, y estaba solo en un rincón.

Le llamaremos Jim, para proteger su identidad.

When I first noticed Jim, he was sitting by himself, and he wasn’t talking to anyone.

A person who worked at the shelter where Jim was staying told me that Jim was dealing with mental health issues, and he was staying at the shelter due to a difficult situation.

Pero a medida que la fiesta se iba animando, Meir notó que Jim empezaba a abrirse con otras personas.

People were cheering and watching the game, and another group even started dancing.

Jim began talking to people and even got up in front of the room and started singing! Jim had a talent and he wanted to share it with the party.

Everyone loved it!

Esa noche, todos percibieron un cambio en el comportamiento de Jim.

Para Meir, las fiestas Super Soul significan más que ver un simple partido de fútbol americano.

Se trata de romper el estigma hacia la gente sin hogar y de crear espacios seguros para que la gente se sienta vista y escuchada.

The party helped Jim feel reconnected to his healthy self, and a community that cared for him.

The next year, when Jim walked through the door, I was so happy to see him! He looked great, and he was in a really good mood.

He said he came back because the Super Soul Party helped him feel human again, and part of a community.

The football game is great to watch, but it’s even better to help people who may feel invisible or forgotten.

We create a space where everyone can come together and where no one feels alone.

Meir Kalmanson es un orador motivacional y fundador de “Super Soul Party”, una organización sin fines de lucro.

Él vive en Los Ángeles donde sigue creando contenido positivo para las redes sociales.

Su objetivo es tener una fiesta en cada estado de los Estados Unidos.

Nuestra primera protagonista, Janel Carbajo, vive en Spring Hill, en el estado de Kansas.

Es profesora suplente y agente inmobiliaria.

Sigue llevando sus títeres a cada partido de los Kansas City Chiefs, quienes ganaron nuevamente el Super Bowl en 2023!

Este episodio fue producido por Gabriela Saldivia, una periodista y profesora que vive en Sevilla, España.

Este es el último episodio de esta temporada, pero volveremos pronto con más historias reales.

Los productores han sido Samia Bouzid, Juan Pablo de Dovitiis, Stephanie Maltarich, Alexandra Martinez, Gabriela Saldivia, Laura Tillman, Laura Ubaté y Caro Rolando, quien es también nuestra asistente de producción.

El diseño sonoro y la edición de audio estuvo a cargo de Samia Bouzid, Iván Cabrera, Mauricio Mendoza, y Giovana Romano Sánchez.

Supervisor de diseño de sonido, mezcla y masterización: David De Luca.

Nuestros editores han sido Martine Chaussard, Lorena Galliot y Tali Goldman, quien también contribuyó a traducir.

Nuestra editora principal es Laura Isensee.

Nuestro gerente de producción es Román Frontini y el coordinador de producción es Nicolás Sosa.

Queremos agradecer especialmente a Edna Otuomagie por su asesoramiento.

El gerente editorial es David Alandete y la directora ejecutiva es Martina Castro.

Yo soy Diana Gameros.

Thank you for listening!