Yuri Cortez, the photographer who captured the joy of the Croats

The 53-year-old Salvadoran recounts how he lived that moment when the Croatians celebrated the victorious goal against England and made it fall to the ground. The images went around the world

In less than 40 seconds, millions witnessed the temperament Yuri Cortez, the AFP photographer who was still buried by more than a dozen euphoric Croatian football players celebrating his pbadage to the Russian final of 2018, captured the images of victory without losing his smile.

Striker Mario Mandzukic nails the ball that puts his team at the gates of glory, runs to the bottom line and stops to scream just past the position badigned to Cortez and other photojournalists

"Suddenly, there were four or five in front and I sit on the chair and I take the pictures in front of them, and they start to get more and more and those on the bench appear and there is pressure and that kind Avalanche and they shoot me with everything and chair and them on top, "says Cortez.

Human alluvium does not stop the fingers of the reporter who continue to press the shutter button

"I start to photograph the camera as soon as I fall and when I fall and stays under the mountain of players, I continue Camera also taking their faces, the euphoria, the emotion of the party, from below, "he recalls.

Less than a minute as an involuntary protagonist of a global event, sums up somehow the three decades of Cortez, Salvador.

His debut in the late 1980s, depicting the internal conflict that struck his country, marked a journey that included coverage of wars, natural disasters, coups and humanitarian crises.

The anecdotes of Cortez, which includes a surprise attack during a tour with the US Army in Iraq or the explosion of a powerful car bomb in Lima in 1992, confirm their commitment to realize the image even in a few hours

"When I was in a war situation, I always thought about it, that whatever happens, I was trying always shoot at the camera, "he says

Fearing for his life in conflict zones. To be a sudden celebrity, Cortez is still trying to deal with what happened

What was your feeling while he was under the Croatian players?

It was totally unexpected. Everything happened so quickly, so unexpectedly, so surprisingly and so moving at the same time, that in fact I did not have the time to think more than to turn the camera on and off. try to have faces of happiness and celebrate.

How did Croatian players behave with you at that time?

When they noticed the situation, the players were very nice to me, they asked me if everything was fine. I put the glbades on and even put them on and he said: Ah! They are your glbades. And then the moment has come when Vida gives me her hand, kisses me and kisses me emotionally. It was a good time in fact, that to share the joy of their qualification for the final and maybe the World Cup was a great moment.

At the end of the match, he immediately left for the airport. When did you notice the phenomenon that was generated?

I started driving for an hour and a half, which brought me to the airport and I started receiving calls and calls. When I solved the theft, I looked at the phone screen and there were hundreds of calls, one person had called me 50 times, another 25 , another 10, 15, insistently and I began to see that the phenomenon had spilled over into the networks.

How does a situation like this look like risk blankets like wars?

In common, the theme of adrenaline that rises to a thousand, ten thousand, is very similar, let's say, with the difference that when you have your life in danger as in a conflict The situation changes because the adrenaline is different. The day of the match was different because even though it is true that the avalanche of players arrives, I have never felt that it was putting my life in danger, perhaps some bruising. And I think the theme of the smile comes partly because of that. That's what makes the difference between a war situation and what could have been the game. "

And for the World Cup Final, are you going to Croatia?

I feel close, I feel identified with them, I will support Croatia, no doubt (laughs), come on! "