Édgar Perea

Édgar José Perea Arias was a Colombian politician and football radio and television commentator. In a country where soccer is the national pastime, Perea was considered one of Colombia's greatest sportscasters. He was known in Colombia for his thunderous voice and for the way he intoned the traditional Spanish-style "Goooooooool!" sound when a goal had been scored. Perea commentated on eight football World Cups, fifteen World Series for CBS Spanish Radio, seven Olympics, many boxing matches and thousands of soccer matches in Colombia and abroad. He became so successful as a sportscaster that he transcended himself into a national politician. Perea was Afro-Colombian and broke down many barriers that kept black Colombians from gaining admiration and respect in Colombian pop culture and in entering the ritzy social scenes of Colombian society. After gaining popularity for his picturesque way of narrating football matches, Perea joined the Colombian Liberal Party with the support of then presidential candidate Horacio Serpa and ran for the senate. In 2009 he was appointed Ambassador to Colombia in South Africa.