"Medallas al corazón" by Joel García

Havana, Feb. 10 (RHC)—The Cuban Higher Institute for Sports and Physical Culture hosted Thursday the presentation of the book ‘Medallas al Corazón’, by Cuban journalist and writer Joel García León.

Released by Pablo de la Torriente publishing house, belonging to the Association of Cuban Journalists (UPEC), the text is a compilation of 50 interviews with Cuban sport stars, all of them Olympic Medalists, granted to García León at different moments over the years and published on different Cuban media outlets.

‘Medallas al Corazón’ then includes an interview with Enrique Figuerola, the first Cuban Olympic Medalist after the 1959 Revolution, and also with iconic baseball players like Antonio Muñoz, Luis Giraldo Casanova and Braudilio Vinent.

Readers will also find good and sometimes funny anecdotes told by track & field legends Alberto Juantorena, Maria Caridad Colón and Javier Sotomayor.

A common feature of all interviewers on the book is that they’re already retired from active sports, some of them are no longer with us.

The book then serves as a tribute to these and other Cuban sports legends, their trainers, their families and their fans.