Two brothers and a friend arrived in Havana in 1864 after studying in Philadelphia for several years. They brought some equipment and a certain habit for a game, unaware that they would pave the way for what would become Cuba’s National Sport by the beginning of the 20th century. A passion that lives on to this day on the island and has been declared a National Cultural Heritage Site since 2021.
Roughly speaking, this is how we could summarize the starting point, or some of the reasons why this December 13th, the National Library of Cuba hosted the Scientific Conference “160 Years of Cuban Baseball: Origin, Culture, and International Links,” jointly organized by the philanthropic platform Cuba Foundation, the Cuban Baseball and Softball Federation, and the Library itself.
Attendees were greeted by a poster depicting Esteban Bellán at bat, the first Cuban and Latin American player to play in the professional league in the United States. Supporting it is the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre, patron saint of Cuba, and other important symbols of the nation. All the inscriptions are in this image.
Sports students pose next to the event poster at the National Library of Cuba. Photo: Courtesy of MadWoman.
“The same process that led to the construction of the nation in Cuba and the country’s independence is that of baseball. The first baseball club was created in 1868, the year Carlos Manuel de Céspedes gave the Grito de Yara (Cry of Yara); so we’re talking about things too profound and essential to the life of the nation to ignore, precisely at a time when Cuban baseball, from a competitive perspective and also from a perspective of popular taste and what it represents in people’s imaginations, is at its worst,” explains essayist, historian, and university professor Félix Julio Alfonso López, one of the panelists.
Félix Julio Alfonso López and Omar Valiño opened the Scientific Conference “160 Years of Cuban Baseball.” Photo: Courtesy of MadWoman..
The topics covered at the scientific conference were diverse, ranging from history to the presence in New York, Colombia, and Mexico. Participants, both in person and virtually, included Leonardo Padura, Norberto Codina, Rafael Acosta de Arriba, Omar Valiño, and Roberto González Echevarría, to name a few. The presentations were complemented by book presentations and an exhibition.
An attendee at the “160 Years of Cuban Baseball” event leafs through one of the books presented at the event. Photo: Courtesy of MadWoman.
“It’s important to celebrate this event because it marks the origin of this great institution we call ‘baseball’ here in Cuba. We’re commemorating how it arrived from the United States, and how it spread from here to other parts of Latin America. It’s a very beautiful, rich story, and it’s important to talk about it with young people,” Gustavo Arnavat, CEO and founder of the Cuba Foundation, told OnCuba. He also previewed some of the platform’s future baseball projects.
Gustavo Arnavat, CEO and founder of the Cuba Foundation, one of the organizers of the Scientific Conference “160 Years of Cuban Baseball.” Photo: Lied Lorain.
“One is to restore the Palmar de Junco, which would be a very interesting project. Obviously, it must be done with respect for this very special place, working with architects, engineers, and designers based on the best practices in architectural restoration. It’s something we’re looking at as a long-term project. We also want to work on connecting playing instruments—gloves, balls, and caps—to bring them to Cuba and distribute them in an inclusive and free manner. And next year, we’d like to hold a technical conference like this one that focuses more on the ties between the United States and Cuba, but particularly on the important role of the Negro Leagues. That’s a very rich story that needs to be told,” Arnavat explains, making it clear that this Friday’s meeting is just one step along the path they hope to take at the Cuba Foundation, where sports are one of the five lines of cooperation between private actors in both countries.
Norberto Codina during the Scientific Conference “160 Years of Cuban Baseball.” Photo: Courtesy of MadWoman.
“There’s a very powerful relationship; baseball arrived from the United States, and then over time in the Republic, there was a very strong bond between Cubans and Americans. That bond has been broken for reasons outside of sports, for eminently political reasons, but today there’s a significant group of Cuban baseball players playing in the United States and succeeding. They demonstrate that quality is alive, that it hasn’t died, but that it needs other incentives and also another way of doing things, another perspective on the sport,” summarized Professor Félix Julio.