PODIUM. Journal of Science and Technology in Physical Culture, January-April; 16(1): 1-3

 

Translated from the original in spanish

 

Reflections on historical aggressions against Cuban sports

 

Reflexiones sobre históricas agresiones hacia el deporte cubano

 

Reflexões sobre as agressões históricas ao desporto cubano

 

Fernando Emilio Valladares Fuente1*https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4952-1846

 

1University of Pinar del Río "Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca". Faculty of Physical Culture "Nancy Uranga Romagoza". Pinar del Río, Cuba.

 

*Corresponding author: fernando.valladares@upr.edu.cu

Games and sports activities are inherent phenomena in human activity; even in expressions and metaphors, word play is used as an allusion to imagination and creativity. It is in these activities where social relationships based on values such as friendship, solidarity, respect and responsibility are materialized, but also values that are not the most desirable when it comes to rivalry.

According to Breilh (2006), in the past, knights in the Middle Ages made use of brute force to solve their problems and this was reflected in their tournaments or recreational-sporting encounters. In the work of Febles (1998), an interpretation of Marti's ideology appears, who accuses the professionalism of sports in his time, especially the one he could perceive during his stay in the United States; boxing, marathon walking, soccer, rugby, these sports were characterized by the self-destruction of the athlete after the stimulus of money and the philosophy of consumerism, without seriously meditating on the consequences for health.

This aggression in sports has remained intact since the different economic and social formations up to the present day, however, this is not the type of aggression that most concerns us in the development of the socialist society that we are building today in Cuba. Much more worrying is the arrogant attitude of organizations that have dedicated themselves to not collaborating and, in many cases, to hindering the development of the Cuban sports movement.

There have been not few publications that attest to the scarce collaboration of institutions and organizations that do not support the Cuban sports advancement, among these publications are Rizo, Miranda & Posada, (2013); López & Pérez (2014); Marín (2018). In these sources, one can see the mediation of laws created in the light of the economic and financial blockade imposed by the U.S. government on Cuba for more than 60 years.

These laws, such as Torrecelli and Helms Burton, have caused those companies from developed and underdeveloped countries to be unable to trade with Cuba for uniforms, sports equipment, equipment, medicines, etc. In many cases, these resources are purchased at high prices and with the risk of sanctions for the company that provides these means (Romero, 2005).

It is well known by the pass of history, the violations of international rights, the vetoes to the participation of Cuban athletes in sports games, such as the X Central American and Caribbean Games in San Juan (Puerto Rico) held from June 11 to 25, 1966. Facts like these have proven how difficult it has been for Cuban athletes to prepare for an international event and have to face discrimination and the centrist ego plans of anti-Cuban organizations.

Sad was the news of the sabotage of the Cubana de Aviación plane on October 6, 1976, in which 73 people died on board (48 passengers and 25 crew members), among them the 24 members of the Cuban national youth fencing team, who were returning to Cuba after having won all the gold medals in the Central American and Caribbean Championship; several of them were not even 20 years old. This aggression against Cuban sports has been identified as a type of unconventional warfare against the development of civil rights in society and the achievements of the Cuban people.

The aggression against sports has adopted a subliminal method in contemporary times, in the attempt to steal talents, in the subversive media campaign that seeks to destabilize the Revolutionary Government in any of its spheres. These intentions are remarkable, especially when it comes to Cuban trainers and athletes who, even in adverse conditions, show skill and virtue, and their performance makes them stand out and achieve important awards.

It is not mere coincidence or coincidence when they sometimes disqualify or omit the points of Cuban athletes in sporting events sponsored by ultra-right-wing businesspersons. In order to discredit the Cuban sports movement, there are people capable of scheming, creating false opinions and testimonies to overshadow the quality of national sports through either social networks or foreign news channels.

However, history does not stop here; it has been a priority of the Cuban State to coordinate actions in the education-sports relationship so that the individual is able to recognize and treasure moral values such as love for his team, his flag and his motherland. For every perceived aggression, sport is modernized based on science and technology, even with the material limitations that arise day by day.

In the course of this new century, the world is more and more on the side of Cuban sports, just as it is on the side of the people who nurture it. International solidarity has helped to break this siege, to better understand our reality and to support the talent, dedication, modesty and humility of Cuban athletes.

 

REFERENCES

Breilh, J. (2006). Las ciencias del deporte en la humanización de la vida: un movimiento emancipador. Revista Brasileira de Ciências do Esporte, 27(3). https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=401338526002

Febles, J. (1998). Martí frente al deporte: El juego con el juego en las escenas norteamericanas. Anuario de Letras. Lingüística y Filología, 36, 307-339.https://redib.org/Record/oai_articulo2875846-mart%C3%AD-frente-al-deporte-el-juego-con-el-juego-en-las-escenas-norteamericanas

López-Romero, E., & Pérez-Leyva, R. (2014). Influencia del bloqueo en el deporte cubano. Revista científica especializada en Cultura Física y Deportes, 2(3). https://deporvida.uho.edu.cu/index.php/deporvida/article/view/25/45

Marín, M. R. (2018). Las razones del deporte en la Biblioteca Nacional de Cuba José Martí. Revista de la Biblioteca Nacional José Martí, (1), 167-170. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/230387897.pdf

Romero, E. L.-, & Leyva, R. P. (2005). INFLUENCIA DEL BLOQUEO EN EL DEPORTE CUBANO. Revista científica especializada en Ciencias de la Cultura Física y del Deporte, 2(3). https://deporvida.uho.edu.cu/index.php/deporvida/article/view/25

Rizo-Valdés, S., Miranda-Acosta, H., & Posada-Pérez, R. (2013). Alternativa para la motivación y el desarrollo de valores en los futuros profesionales de la Educación Física y El Deporte, mediante el empleo de imágenes en el proceso enseñanza aprendizaje, referidas al Diferendo EE-UU-Cuba. PODIUM-Revista de Ciencia y Tecnología en la Cultura Física, 8(1), 106-115. http://podium.upr.edu.cu/index.php/podium/article/view/453

 

Conflict of interests:
The authors declare not to have any interest conflicts. 

 

Authors' contribution:
Fernando Emilio Valladares Fuente: Conception of the idea, literature search and review, database preparation, general advice on the topic addressed, drafting of the original (first version), review and final version of the article, article correction, authorship coordinator, translation of terms or information obtained, review of the application of the applied bibliographic standard.

 


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license
Copyright (c) 2020 Fernando Emilio Valladares Fuente