Sergio Ortega is the son of Manolo Ortega, who was a “personal friend” and official presenter of Fidel Castro at political events.
14ymedio, Havana, 30 December 2024 — Sports commentator Sergio Ortega of Tele Rebelde has left Cuba. The reporter and his family arrived this Sunday at Miami International Airport. According to journalist Henry Morales, they plan to settle “in South Florida,” where 1.1 million Cubans reside.
The abandonment of Ortega, son of Manolo Ortega, who was a “personal friend” and official presenter of Fidel Castro in political events, caused surprise. As the page La Tijera on Facebook recalls, the communicator “had certain privileges on the Island, such as his vacations in the hotels of Varadero,” whose images he himself spread on social networks, and “other facilities that the rest of his colleagues in the guild could not enjoy.”
Ortega, 67, has not commented on his departure, which could be via humanitarian parole – which has allowed the entry of more than 110,000 compatriots since January 2023 – or through a family reunification visa. In any case, his departure is part of the unstoppable migratory wave, driven by economic and social deterioration, blackouts, and lack of healthcare in Cuba.
A hydraulic engineer by profession, Ortega broke into the Cuban media in 1994. The Coco station – where his father worked – in Havana, gave him his first opportunity in sports announcing. Throughout a career of 30 years, he ventured into the narration of basketball, volleyball and soccer matches, among other disciplines. Alongside Renier González, he covered World Cups and Olympic Games.
More than this trajectory, however, he is known by fans for his blunders and his narratives about Cuban athletes who competed under another flag. In the World Cup Brazil 2014, for example, he said, “What a cannon shot!” about a kick by Englishman Raheem Sterling that hit one side of the goal post defended by the Italian Salvatore Sirigu. Seconds later he recognized his mistake: “Ay, if it had gone in, my God!”
An Internet user considered that Sergio Ortega was “the worst thing about the World Cup” in Brazil 2014. “We have bad commentators; they are also partial, which doesn’t go over very well,” said a reader in a Cubadebate article. Cuban sports announcers deserve “expulsion from Cuban TV,” he stressed.
His false goals were common. He celebrated an alleged score by Real Madrid striker Eden Hazard against RB Leipzig. “Real Madrid’s superb collective goal,” he narrated. “Goal at (minute) 80: they were tied and now secures first place in the Champions League group (European club tournament).” The ball never entered the goal.
Ortega was also very loud after he fell asleep during a broadcast, then woke up and invented a soccer play.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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