Today marks 19 years since the death of the Dominican actor Nelson de la Rosafamous for having been one of the men smallest in the world. It measured 71 centimeters, less than the complete left hand of Diego Maradona. And it was precisely because of his encounter with number ten – among other unimaginable encounters with local stars – that he is still remembered by Argentines.
According to repeated accounts that Maradona’s former representative and friend Guillermo Coppola was done in different television programs, such as Controversy in the Bar, Good Boys or Shortsflix, you can reconstruct a story that has nothing to envy of those that surrealist artists dreamed of back at the beginning of the 20th century.
It is common that one tends to question oral accounts, and even think that Coppola, in this case, often resorts to hyperbole to generate greater impact. So the notion of what is real and what is not risks becoming blurred.
However, when it comes to the Nelson and Maradona anecdote, Coppola has no contradictions. The events reported by the manager are always more or less the same, which checks a tendency that his story could be faithful to the facts.
The unforgettable party
At the beginning of the 90s, Maradona and Coppola returned from Chile – where Diego had traveled to participate in a television program – to see Bono, from U2, in the fashionable Buenos Aires club at that time: Buenos Aires News. The place was packed with people.
Nelson de la Rosa met Diego in a Buenos Aires bowling alley.After greeting the singer, Coppola and his henchmen settled into the VIP, which was one floor above the track and had a balcony overlooking it. At that, Maradona asked to go to the bathroom. “It was quite a ceremony every time I went,” the representative acknowledges in one of his stories. And there, in that interim of the night, is when the magic happened.
“Suddenly, a little lump flew away. Osvaldo ‘El Gato’ Santos, who was a goalkeeper and was next to me, saved him and sat him in a chair,» says Coppola, who does not hesitate to affirm that «it was a grace from God» that the goalkeeper was there because otherwise that «little lump» could end up in the void.
That which had flown through the air in complete darkness and chaos was nothing more than Nelson de la Rosathe Dominican known at that time for being one of the smallest men in the world.
The actor was furious. He kept insulting the air for the treatment they had given him. “Something that talks… What is it about?”Coppola remembers thinking at the time. «The dwarf was angry. He was such a small thing.»
Maradona returned from the bathroom and, back at the bar, told his friend that they had given him «something» and he got scared, so he flipped it. Coppola put the dots together and, alarmed, revealed the truth: «Diego: he was a human being». The one from Fiorito, who had Nelson in his sights, responded: «This?».
Nelson de la Rosa died in 2006 at the age of 38.As Maradona «didn’t give a damn» to Nelson and the other was enraged, Coppola suggested his friend apologize. «Absolutely, it didn’t cost him anything.» Diego, true to his style, not only went to look for Nelson on the couch and asked for forgiveness. but also invited him to a party in the famous house of Guillote on Libertador street located 300 meters from the dance venue.
Before leaving, Diego picked up Nelson and Coppola offered the Dominican «a shot» of champagne, a measure carefully chosen for fear that De la Rosa would not tolerate a larger glass. But the little man complained and demanded: “Old shit, give me what you think.”
Thus, Maradona left Buenos Aires News and crossed the 300 meters that separated the bowling alley from Coppola’s house with Nelson aúpa. What happened in there went to the graves of that strange duo.
Of that night, Coppola would only say that Diego wanted to drown Nelson because “the dwarf was bad.” Not much more. «In the end, Diego gave him the shirt. He became a good friend. We wanted to have fun and he wanted to do the same thing we did.»concluded the manager.
The historic representative of Diego Maradona, Guillermo Coppola. Photo: EFENelson de la Rosa, whose fame transcended borders after having participated in circuses and Hollywood films, died at the age of 38 in New York. His time in Argentina was unforgettable.
