The Cerro Stadium is now called The Latinoamericano Stadium​​​​​​

By Orlando González Cruz

Havana, October 26 (RHC)-- The 76th anniversary of the founding of the Latinoamericano, one of the most emblematic baseball stadiums in Cuba and the world, was celebrated today.

As a tribute to the date, a conversation with baseball glories of the island was held in the Adolfo Luque hall of the sports facility. 

Minutes later, on the Coloso del Cerro field, a minute of silence was observed for the death of Máximo García Cárdenas, an outstanding amateur and professional baseball player who played between the 50's and 60's in Cuba, Mexico and Nicaragua, mainly as a pitcher and starter.

Afterwards, recognition was given to outstanding workers of the institution and a tribute was paid to Luis Zayas, a living legend of Cuban baseball.

Zayas made a statement to Radio Habana Cuba (RHC) and confessed to being a regular listener of the radio station: "I listen to your radio station and I learn a lot with you". Then, he told us about the emotions he felt at the sports facility and about his time in professional baseball in the largest of the Antilles with the Cienfuegos and Havana teams.

Margarita Malleta, Julio Romero, Antonio (Toni) González and Pedro Medina also honored us with their words.

Malleta, head of women's baseball in Cuba, when referring to the Latino said: "we are in the presence of a house of sports and culture", and recalled the main results of her girls during the year that is coming to an end and the challenges for 2023.

For his part, Romero, stellar pitcher of the teams of Pinar del Rio and the largest archipelago in the Caribbean, told us: "here I was applauded by the public of Havana, which has a very demanding fan base, but recognizes the merits of the opponents. Here, in the '73 World Cup, I was one strike away from giving a zero jit - zero run, and in '84 I won the final game against the United States".

Toni reminisced about his beginnings in baseball and the recommendations he received from the established figures of his time.

Meanwhile, Medina expressed, "the Latin American was my second home." The former catcher of the Blues and the senior team is currently working with the Cuba U-18 team, and affirmed that he is working hard to achieve positive results.

The tribute ended with a match between the U-18 national pre-selection team, which is preparing for the Pan American Championship of the discipline, and its similar team from Havana. 

The match ended with a 4-0 victory for Cuba over the capital.  From November 4 to 13, this team will be looking for one of the four tickets granted by the continental tournament for next year's U-18 World Cup.