Despite being considered the quintessentially American pastime in the US, baseball is tied to Cuban nationalism on that anti-American island. Because the Spanish colonizers promoted bullfighting and banned baseball, the sport became associated with rebellion, national independence, and Cuban identity. As the forbidden fruit, its allure made it Cuba’s most popular sport.
That remained the case after the Cuban Revolution. Nonetheless, Fidel Castro’s deprofessionalization of sport was part of a broader effort to create a socialist Cuban baseball in opposition to capitalist American baseball. He predicted that “we shall beat them at baseball too and then the advantages of revolutionary over capitalist sport will be shown.” Given all the Cuban defectors currently playing in MLB, it is safe to say that did not come to pass.
just_one_random_guy on
They loved the sport so much they’re also the reason the sport was exported to the Dominican Republic
TheJute on
Bullfighting is ducking medieval. Stop torturing. Please.
3 Comments
Despite being considered the quintessentially American pastime in the US, baseball is tied to Cuban nationalism on that anti-American island. Because the Spanish colonizers promoted bullfighting and banned baseball, the sport became associated with rebellion, national independence, and Cuban identity. As the forbidden fruit, its allure made it Cuba’s most popular sport.
That remained the case after the Cuban Revolution. Nonetheless, Fidel Castro’s deprofessionalization of sport was part of a broader effort to create a socialist Cuban baseball in opposition to capitalist American baseball. He predicted that “we shall beat them at baseball too and then the advantages of revolutionary over capitalist sport will be shown.” Given all the Cuban defectors currently playing in MLB, it is safe to say that did not come to pass.
They loved the sport so much they’re also the reason the sport was exported to the Dominican Republic
Bullfighting is ducking medieval. Stop torturing. Please.