“He kicked me, I was very drunk”

“Prepare me two ears of corn and I’ll look for some beers.”“No one – neither the Argentine tourist, nor Dirli, the saleswoman at stand 69, nor the other traders on the beach – would have thought that this harmless sentence would be the trigger for a fight with punches and flying kicks that would eventually spread across social networks.”

The incident reportedly occurred on December 30 on the central beach of Camboriú, on Atlantic Avenue ClarionIt featured an Argentine tourist and several street vendors.

This beach is the largest and most famous in the city, stretching over almost six kilometers of sand and is very popular. Opposite there are countless bars and restaurants that never end. Tourists from different countries, street vendors and locals mix there, and volleyball and soccer fields can also be seen.

The video that went viral shows an uncontrolled dispute over an alleged fraud when purchasing two corns. But according to Dirli, the owner of position 69, the story was completely different.

Dirli has been working there for more than a decade. She has been running her corn stand for 12 years and has been associated with tourism for 14 years. She is used to dealing with foreigners, especially Argentinians. That’s why he still doesn’t understand what happened that day.

After his reconstructions, the tourist approached his stall and asked for two corn, which was priced at 15 reais each. Before he left he said to him, “Prepare the corn for me and I’ll look for some beers.” He paid with a credit card and left. Everything seemed normal. But an hour later he came back completely upset.

First he went to the neighboring kiosk run by Jessica, convinced he had been scammed. “The Argentinian came very aggressively and entered the kiosk saying we had robbed him,” the dealer said. As he explained, the man showed his cell phone and screamed.

“She showed her cell phone and there she had a purchase, and another. I tell her that ours was in the name of Jessica Manuel Machado for 20 reais and the one below was in Marli for 270 reais.”

Jessica tried to explain the difference between consumption, but the weather was getting worse. “And he came screaming aggressively. And I said get out of here!” “He’s not coming in,” he said. Minutes later, the tourist went to the 69th post.

Dirli’s 18-year-old daughter was there. The man started insulting her and showing her cell phone in her face. The situation boiled over. Dirli claims the tourist was out of control. “He hit the chair, He kicked my arm because I was sitting there on the chair.“He didn’t want to hit me, but he was crazy,” he described.

In the middle of the fight, other providers intervened. Among them, the one in the yellow shirt who kicked him in the back, causing the Argentine tourist to fall to the ground.

“The guys here always do it to defend. That’s what I think.” “It’s stupid to come here wanting to kick a woman, a coward.”said Dirli in reference to his colleagues’ behavior.

The police arrived at the scene and Dirli presented his documents and payment receipts. “The police came here, I went to my clipper ship and showed them my name, there was my company name, my everything,” he explained. He also showed his identity and the transactions recorded on his phone.

According to him, there was no tourist consumption. “I showed him my phone and my purchase didn’t show up at my kiosk, it cost nothing because he didn’t have the expense on his bank statement.”

Instead, the tourist gave a different name of the company that listed the highest expenses. “The Argentine gave a different name: Marlín, and we don’t know who he is,” Dirli said. Nevertheless, the episode ended with mutual complaints and violent revelations on social media.

Since then, the saleswoman claims her life has changed. “Everything went wrong, I didn’t think it would have such an impact, “People from all sides are sending me threats.”he said.

He also denied trying to defraud the tourist. “Since last year it’s 15 reales. The small plate costs 20 reales,” he said while showing the stall’s posters. And he was blunt: “How am I supposed to cheat on this son of a bitch?”

For Dirli, the problem was not the price or the payment, but the condition in which the tourist returned to his post. “I don’t think it was a scam, for me it was his drink,” he said. And he added: “He was very drunk. He also entered the other kiosk in a super aggressive manner.”

Dirli has been married to an Argentinean woman for years and is the mother of an 18-year-old daughter. She has never experienced anything like this, assures Dirli. “I have never had any other altercations with another tourist, I have been working in tourism here for 14 years, I have had the job for 12 years and I have never experienced an episode of this nature.”

A dispute over two corns, a confusion and a violent reaction were enough to trigger a cross-border scandal.

On a beach accustomed to the constant traffic of tourists, what happened that day still has repercussions among those involved and sparks a debate about coexistence, excesses and safety in a destination chosen by many Argentines.