Search results for: World Baseball Classic

Official Silence on Electoral Abstention Data in Havana and Santiago De Cuba

14ymedio, Havana, 27 March 2023 — The suspicions raised in the Cuban population by the 76% participation number in the parliamentary elections on March 26, as reported by the Government, do not make a dent in the provincial official press, which pulls out all the stops and registers even more participation. Thus, as read in … Continue reading “Official Silence on Electoral Abstention Data in Havana and Santiago De Cuba”

Team Asere Does Not Belong to the Dictatorship, It Belongs to the Cuban People

14ymedio, Rolando Gallardo, Quito, 16 March 2023 — I once heard an influencer, whose name I don’t want to remember, say that the “Cuban opposition was facing a scientific regime using improvisation.” This idea may have arisen creatively and spontaneously or come from the argument of Gene Sharp [an American political scientist]: “The idea that … Continue reading “Team Asere Does Not Belong to the Dictatorship, It Belongs to the Cuban People”

Cuba Falls in the Caribbean Series: Causes of an Historic Crisis

EFE (via 14ymedio), Juan Carlos Espinosa, Havana, 9 February 2023 — The Agricultores, Cuba’s card in the Caribbean Series, ended their participation in last place this Wednesday and with the memory of the 20-3 beating against Venezuela, leaving in question the current level of a historic country in this sport. The plummet of the ninth, … Continue reading “Cuba Falls in the Caribbean Series: Causes of an Historic Crisis”

Monica Baro: "You Can’t Sacrifice Yourself for a Utopia" / Ivan Garcia

Iván García, Havana, December 9th, 2019 — This interview is the fruit of much bargaining. In various profiles that Journal of The Americas aims to publish on independent Cuban journalists of different generations, the name Monica Baro is underlined in red. The plan was to open the season with an interview of the brilliant young … Continue reading “Monica Baro: "You Can’t Sacrifice Yourself for a Utopia" / Ivan Garcia”

The ’Vision’ of Antonia Eiriz and The Curse of the Beard

14ymedio, Ernesto Santana, Havana, 4 January 2018 —  Last year, while the national baseball team was finishing the World Classic with one of its most disastrous international performances, at the Havana Gallery there was an exhibition Cuba in Baseball, by Reynerio Tamayo, which was an inflamed artistic confession that got into the fiery debate about the crisis of … Continue reading “The ’Vision’ of Antonia Eiriz and The Curse of the Beard”

Barcelona-Real Madrid: Also Mourning in Cuba / Iván García

Iván García, 4 December 2016 — There are three things in the spirituality of the island. Rumba, Santeria, and baseball, which for a decade has been replaced by the passion for football (soccer) among Cubans, especially the youngest generation. But Fidel Castro is overwhelming. When the cedar casket reposed in Santa Ifigenia Cemetery in Santiago … Continue reading “Barcelona-Real Madrid: Also Mourning in Cuba / Iván García”

The Year of the Venezuelan Tiger / Ivan Garcia #Cuba

We already know that Cuba is a country of paradoxes. Around here it’s not rare to see a nuclear physicist selling cotton candy in an amusement park. A plastic surgeon working 4 hours as a taxi driver. Or a university student alternating her studies with work as a prostitute. If there is something Fidel Castro’s … Continue reading “The Year of the Venezuelan Tiger / Ivan Garcia #Cuba”

Havana, A Unique Metropolis / Ivan Garcia #Cuba

In spite of the decay and the grime, it is still a vain city. A varied architecture, rows of archways and tall columns topped with plaster figures. Neighborhoods with their own flavor.Atarés, El Pilar, Carraguao, La Víbora, Lawton, Sevillano, Mantilla, Párraga, Buena Vista, Pogolotti, San Leopoldo, Colón, Cayo Hueso, El Vedado o Miramar. Each with … Continue reading “Havana, A Unique Metropolis / Ivan Garcia #Cuba”

On the Day After, Who Could Replace the Castros? / Ivan Garcia

Some people in Cuba are already placing bets. Everyone knows that within five to ten years power could change hands. The unknowns are whether the successor will have the last name of Castro, and if the inefficient political and economic system will be preserved. Raúl Castro crafted a law limiting time in political office to … Continue reading “On the Day After, Who Could Replace the Castros? / Ivan Garcia”

The Disappearance of a Myth / Fernando Dámaso

Cuba’s baseball team could not take the title in the recently ended World Cup, which took place in Panama, the honor going to the Netherlands. This is nothing new, as the same thing happened in the two previous Cups and in other events. Those times when the Cuban baseball team – always manned by professional … Continue reading “The Disappearance of a Myth / Fernando Dámaso”

Aroldis, the Cayo Mambi Missile / Iván García

When he played Cuban baseball, Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz was called “the Cayo Mambi missile,” after the town in Holguin where he was born on February 28, 1988. Now, in the United States, they call him, “the new king of speed.” The left-hander recently made major league history, throwing a fastball at 105 miles … Continue reading “Aroldis, the Cayo Mambi Missile / Iván García”

In Cuba We Lack A Lot of Things, But We Have Omara Portuondo / Iván García

There is a bit of a soap opera in the life of Omara Portuondo. The diva of the Buena Vista Social Club was born on October 29, 1930 in the Havana neighborhood of Cayo Hueso. Her mother, Esperanza Peláez, belonged to a rich family of Spanish ancestry, and hoped she would marry a white man, … Continue reading “In Cuba We Lack A Lot of Things, But We Have Omara Portuondo / Iván García”

Havana Celebrates for its Ball Players

This April 1st, we forgot about the lack of food and the tragedy of living without a future.  We set aside our empty refrigerators, as well as all the anachronistic internal politics that don’t work. We ignored the bad taste left by an inoperative government, and the empty wallets. It is Thursday of Holy Week, … Continue reading “Havana Celebrates for its Ball Players”

Ballplayers Longing For Six Figure Salaries

They can’t sleep easy at night.  The millionaire salaries that they pay the ballplayers in the Big Leagues of the United States give the Cuban players a migraine.  It’s no small wonder. Every time a newspaper from the other side of the pond falls in their hands, or they watch it through Florida TV Channels, they see the … Continue reading “Ballplayers Longing For Six Figure Salaries”