11 years ago Gabriel Da Silva Diego was piloting his aircraft of the Brazilian Air Force as usual. It was a training flight, in which he was carrying paratroopers who would perform several practice exercises. "From time to time I had these missions, and I always saw them smiling, calmly before jumping, enjoying the moment, literally taunting the opponent," confesses to OnCuba, Diego, 35, a Brazilian who fell in love with the modality at that time. "I want to do that too," he thought, and since then he started jumping non-stop for over a decade. "I put all my money into this," said the Brazilian in perfect Spanish, who was crowned king of the XI Latin American Skydiving Championships in Varadero, north of Matanzas. At the resort´s Skydiving International Center, the South American showed his world class for about a week, when he wowed with his accuracy jump after jump, some with the highest level of precision sufficient to oust the Cuban squad. However, the female local representation succeeded in breaking the absolute reign of Brazilians, thanks to the leadership of Marisol Maldonado Castellanos, leading expert who has been jumping for 33 years but still suffers nerves before getting on...

Cuban Yoennis Cespedes won his second trophy in the Home Run Derby of the All-Star Game, historical fact since for more than a decade no hitter had repeated the crown. The commentators were impressed by the display of power by the Granma slugger, who boasted a compact and brutal swing, capable of sending the ball out of bounds over every fence, something the other contenders did not come close to emulating in a rainy night hampering the work of the sluggers. To start, the eyes of everyone were on huge American Giancarlo Stanton, new model of power in the majors, or Jose Bautista, probably the most consistent slugger in the last five years when has been healthy. Many also focused their hopes on the other Cuban, the Cienfuegos Yasiel Puig, a lover of show and pressure. But gradually all fell wayside and fell like a house of cards, diminished by the huge connections by Céspedes, who bombed the stands from all angles and in all possible ways, same with elevated high-rise Tiger Woods style, or fierce lines ready to destroy walls and drill fans gloves. From the first to abandon the struggle was Puig, desperate and uncoordinated in his first...

Late in the night of Monday, the Cuban Baseball Federation confirmed the hiring of Granma slugger Alfredo Despaigne by the Japanese club Chiba Lotte Marines, that plays in the Pacific League of Japanese professional baseball. After going through an ordeal by the accusations of possessing a false passport for his trip to the Mexican League with the Piratas de Campeche, the Cuban now faces a new challenge in a much more demanding contest, where he must show all his quality for longer stay in the upcoming season. "It's a real honor for me to represent the colors of the Japanese team. I respect the Asian baseball in general and, in particular, of them, champions in the first and second World Classics "explained Despaigne to press officers of the Cuban Federation. "I will contribute primarily with my batting, for the Chiba to be among the best teams in that strong league. I hope that my participation will satisfy the Japanese fans, "said the Cuban, who will be the seventh player of the island to play in Japan in the current season. His mission in the Marines seems extremely important in the offensive paragraph, since the team is relegated to the fourth...

The explosion of Cubans in the major leagues continues and we no longer know when it will stop. The latest to launch his bid for star in the MLB was the Havana´s skillful Odrisamer Despaigne, who debuted in style with the San Diego Padres. After going through an ordeal in the Minor Leagues, completely away from his usual performance, the former leader of the Industriales pitching staff was called to the big leagues to replace the injured Andrew Cashner and had a jaw-dropping performance on front of more than 40 thousand fans who went to the AT & T Park in San Francisco. Odrisamer, who pitched to the also Cuban catcher Yasmani Grandal, walked seven innings and handcuffed the Giants with an impressive speed variability, from fastballs located in the lower ninety miles and breaking balls that slowed down until nearly sixty miles, with highlights including for change-up, perfected since his days in Cuba, where coaches José Elosegui and Julio Romero helped him polish that pitch. Such a contrast disarmed to the Californian offense, with heavyweights like the Hunter Pence, Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval. According to several reports, Odrisamer made the Giants look like rookies, based on a tremendous...

After a long winter and much of spring waiting for a call that made his day, finally the Cuban ballplayer Kendrys Morales picked up the phone and heard the phrase cherished by any player who is unemployed "you can now return to the field, the Twins want you fly to Minnesota. " Across the line spoke Scott Boras, perhaps the most prominent agent in the baseball universe that year after year gets lavish contracts for his players, but could not convince any of the 30 major league franchises to sign Kendrys, a husky first baseman and prominent designated hitter. The Cuban native of Fomento, Sancti Spiritus, in a hurry, packed up and arrived after a long trip north in Minnesota, almost in Canada, to be presented by his new team, his third in his journey through the majors. Beside him in the conference room of the Target Field, were Ron Gardenhire, manager of the Twins, bullpen coach Bobby Cuellar, who served as interpreter, and Terry Ryan, general manager of the team that is currently at the bottom of the Central Division of the American League, though not too separated from the leaders (Detroit Tigers). Ryan, one of the main makers...

We could call the 2014 Major League Baseball as the "Year of Puig" because the Cuban baseball player is really ripping the ball in the best baseball in the world. But that term has no such pretensions, because if we speak of the "Year of Puig" we refer to the first anniversary of his debut in the majors, which he met just today, June 3. That Monday, and 365 days ago, the millionaire roster of the Los Angeles Dodgers received in their land of Chavez Ravine the San Diego Padres, a duel for attempting to leave the terrible hole that they were in, with only 24 wins and 32 losses!, well distant from the top in the National League´s West Division. The talent of Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier was not enough to fill the gaps by injury of Matt Kemp, Carl Crawford and Juan Uribe, so they needed someone capable of revolutionizing the whole atmosphere generated in doubtful Dodgers fans . Then Yasiel Puig came, a chunky black man with a perennial broad smile, the same dreamer boy, back in his native Palmira, running shirtless and with broken shoes in the nineties, challenging the survival of a...

The first stop of the VI World Series Red Bull Cliff Diving in Havana, left an unexpected champion, confirming the good moment of a rising star in the sport and the steady pace of the previous three monarchs, who, although not reaching the top warmed up and their best can be seen in the upcoming stops. Out of the competitive environment, the Morro Castle, Havana and its people the daring protagonists of the art lived countless experiences in more than one occasion, from long rides in old cars around town to the walk through historic sites. Perhaps the most sensational and striking of these episodes was the trip in classic cars, in which each chose their preferred ones to ride around Havana and get to Morro for the final competition. The caravan could be made of jewels like Chevrolet 1951 and 1952, a Ford of the 20s or Plymouth 56, all virtually extinct in the rest of the universe, at most placed in museums, but never exploited half a century later of creation. It was exactly that charm what captivated divers; some more than others, like Orlando Duque, who even dared to take the wheel to experience in mobile relics....

More than 60 000 hits later, Erick Hernandez took the ball in his hands, kissed it and kicked it in the direction of his brother Douglas. It had been 12 hours and seven minutes after he began, at eight in the morning, to control the ball with his feet only to break a longstanding record of the world, his as well. With visible discomfort in the legs, back and neck, Erick collapsed on the floor and his trainers took over, and with massage and ice freed him of his pain, caused by an exhausting day in which he dealt with the gradual physical exhaustion and pressure not to drop the ball, at the Copacabana Hotel in the capital, the venue of his umpteenth attempt to break an absolute record. "In this variant of ball control you have virtually no defense, because in case of failure the ball goes straight to the floor, there is not a middle ground as the thighs when working with the head or the feet themselves when the attempt is with thighs,” Douglas Hernandez, pioneer of this discipline in the Island, explains to OnCuba Erick, knowing these little details and supported in his sovereign experience controlling...

A rumor was spread throughout internet on Monday, largely from the Japanese media, who claimed the imminent signing of the star Cuban baseball player Yulieski Gourriel by the Yokohama Dena BayStars, something that actually took place yesterday afternoon According to a spokesman for the Cuban Baseball Federation, Gourriel, currently playing for Industriales in the Cuban National Series, signed for the team belonging to the Japanese Central League, which this season is mired in big slump, placed one-to-last and 9 games away from the leaders. The signing took place in the Latinoamericano stadium in Havana city, where Yulieski played last season. The meeting was attended by Tony Castillo, Cuban official that signed the agreement, and the chief of operations of the Japanese team Shun Kakazu , besides Lourdes Gourriel , former star and father of the baseball player. The Japanese executive praised Yulieski, whom they have seen in recent years at the World Classic. “Besides being a contact hitter and with power, he is quick on the bases. He perfectly fits the requirements of the team, "he said. For its part, Gourriel said he will fulfill a dream, to live a desired experience, and said he will overcome obstacles like being...

Blake Aldridge is in the clouds. It's been just over an hour since he was, standing on his head, watching the dozens of vessels surrounding the Havana’s Morro Castle. At that time, terrifying for most of humanity, the British left his mind in blank and gained momentum just before dropping for three seconds into the water. It may sound simple, but when in the fall you have to make two and a half turns, four turns and worry about entering the cleanest and vertical way as possible in a water wall, the challenge is complicated in the extreme, because the sea, very refreshing and gentle enough, becomes a concrete wall when these divers come down from the heights. That impact, Aldridge, 31, didn’t feel it to the full extent during his last dive in Havana, which gave him the title at the first stop of the Red Bull World Series of Cliff Diving, to the point that after the competition, he could not almost walk and had his ankle bandaged with somewhat worn brown strips. "too long standing, too many interviews , very long ," he says smiling although somewhat tired after multiple talks with most of the press corps...

The Morro Castle, Havana and Cuba debuted in style at the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. Some might speak of the wind, strong and unbearable at times, others will speak of the sun, from beginning to end abusive, but the simple fact is that the capital of the Caribbean executed its great jump with golden ribbons at the first historic opportunity. To keep pace, the winner of the great event also lifted the trophy for the first time in his career, breaking all the pre-competition predictions, thanks to an upward movement performance that brought the favorites out of competition one by one. Blake Aldridge, also known as Blakey Boy , generally did not receive much media attention, at least until now, because the crown will attract the spotlight on this British 31, who starred in a legendary comeback after jumping from the platform with a score below the average (74.1 points) in the qualifying round . He was ranked 11th among 14 divers, and nobody, absolutely nobody, not even the most faithful of his fans , foresaw the chance to see him with the trophy , ahead of such luminaries as his compatriot Gary Hunt , third, or laureates...

At nine in the evening of Thursday, hours after the initial practice extreme jumpers felt a rumble. For a moment they got scared as they looked at each other puzzled for the event, but then someone explained them that it was the everyday cannon shot, old tradition orchestrated a little less than a kilometer from the headquarters of the first stop of the Red Bull VI World Series of Cliff Diving. Then continued on with it, the draw for the qualifying round of jumps, in which the face to face of the great duels on Saturday will be defined. There was a lot at stake, the fact of jumping first or not from the platform, with a slight advantage for the latter, because he will jump knowing what his opponents did. Thus, the Mexican Jorge Ferzuli will be the first, while his compatriot Jonathan Paredes would be in charge of closing the stage. Between the two of them will be the other divers , who began the show about four in the afternoon on Friday. Intense and annoying sun in their faces, plus random and always strong wind, tinged the evening, in which none of the divers showed their best...

Havana’s Morro Castle has its usual calm. Out of the sudden it has become an anthill, full of men with cameras, cell phones, headsets, which communicate in a multitude of languages , where Spanish is simply absent. It's kind of invasion of a uniformed body with different designs, but marked by the unmistakable red bulls of the Red Bull brand. They move from side to side, barely breathing, taking photographs, filming every detail, even in the most hazardous conditions, which must be present in one of the three most dangerous global sporting events: the Cliff Diving World Series. This is an exquisite adventure, in which divers perform acrobatic jumps into the water from a height of 27 meters, a good reason not to miss a single minute. As such, this Thursday nearly fifty accredited media appeared at the Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro to observe, firsthand, the test flights of the 14 specialists who will begin their competition on Saturday. In the session we appreciatd jumps without much fanfare, some unorthodox, some of excellent workmanship, such as the ones by Orlando Duque of Colombia, who impatient as everyone present delayed his appearance on the scene until the closing...

The divers that will star the first stop of the Sixth VI Cliff Diving World Series, which begins Friday with qualifying stage and will culminate on Saturday with the final, in the Castle of the Tres Reyes del Morro, are already in Cuba. The list has ten candidates for the podium at this year's event, plus four guests also experienced in the art of acrobatic stunts, one of the most dangerous and spectacular specialties in sport disciplines. There is no other way to catalog those jumps from 27 meters high, where divers become true human missiles, as they reach speeds close to 90 miles per hour in matters of seconds. To face such danger several years of training are required, with previous work in lower altitudes, especially in the traditional ten-meter platform, then they climb to the top set in the cliff diving. Here, we present a brief look at competitors who will captivate Cuban fans during Friday and Saturday, to get into their careers and know some details of their journey through the sui generis modality. Here they are under scrutiny. Artem Silchenko . Born in southwestern Russia on February 3, 1984, so now he is 30. For eight...

Havana will provide a stunning mosaic for the 14 divers who will jump on May 10 in the first phase of the sixth Cliff Diving World Series, a seductive, magical, almost out of a cartoon event, because of the strange mixture of spectacle and danger that they live in every show. One after another the divers will be suspended in the air with unbelievable stunts and always, be it from the back, front, head or during turns, they will see askance the erect figure of the centenary Havana Morro and far, they could view at least a touch of Cuba’s capital, a breath of perfect facade the high and ancient constructions form with the eternal Malecon. However, the urban landscape is the least of the complications of the "flying” daredevils, who have already shown their talents in the most incredible sceneries around the globe. Concentration, poise, technical deployment and certain amount of luck are the keys to winning the first stop of an event with a resounding rivalry, in which they face the risk of a free fall from a height of 27 meters. In Cuba, there are not many references to this X-sport, in fact, no one of the...

When was the last time you saw a Cuban debutante, and possessed by the bad habits of the National Series, leading the American Major Leagues in homers and RBIs? Surely you don’t, because that man does not exist or did not exist until the arrival of José Dariel Abreu in the lavish setting of the majors with the Chicago White Sox. Many will say that Rafael Palmeiro and Jose Canseco , both with Cuban roots in their youth , those distant 80 and 90 , bombarded any pitcher that dared to challenge them , with several individual awards , but none of them played in the Cuban classics, far from leading foreign competitions qualitatively . Others will mention Kendrys Morales or Yoennis Cespedes , who came from the National Series and connected at ease as rookies, but none of them with glitter in their statistics similar to the Cienfuegos first baseman . Abreu, who just a few months ago entered professional baseball, now is in the front page of major sports media, thanks to his brilliant start, where he has broken several records for rookies with homers of enormous size and great opportunity. What's more, the portentous slugger has made...

Two days before his 103 birthday, the legendary Conrado Eugenio Marrero Ramos died and left vacant the position as the oldest Major League player in the world. “He was breathing, but his eyes were blank ," confessed his grandson Rogelio Marrero to international media outlets minutes after the death of El Guajiro de Laberinto , which set guidelines in the first half of the twentieth century with an exquisite style of pitching, based on the control and the variety of pitches. These details made the "Premier" a real conundrum for opponents, dying before the steep curves that will make dizzy the thousands of fans in the stands stationed just to see an artist of the mound. Unfortunately, I never had my hands on even a fragment of those memorable works, no one saved a gray and rainy video anthology of these duels, when he pitched for the Almendares , the Washington Senators or the Cuban national team. I learnt of Marrero, his exploits, his arm of iron, his longevity in diamonds, from the endless references of my grandfather, who in my first baseball talks used to tell me how he got just three steps away from shaking his hand when...

The baseball season is over and already you feel the silence; because baseball is the reason and the excuse of Cubans to make a fuss, throw a party in any corner, take a TV set to the middle of the street and discuss the good, bad or regular plays. Nothing is more enjoyable in this archipelago than baseball, a colorful show that captures the attention of the fans good part of the year, despite the qualitative deficit of domestic competition, the growing exodus of players and the increasingly strong influence of the Major Leagues, where we are vastly represented. All this I could find in my 22 day tour of Matanzas, Villa Clara, Pinar del Rio and the capital, on the trail of the Cuban postseason, in which Alfonso Urquiola and Pinar del Rio emerged unscathed, rightful champions for the tenth time in history. Urquiola has always referred to the value of the public as a player, and the simple fact is that the interests of the territories involved in contention for the top prize supported endlessly in their respective scenarios, all with dissimilar mosaics in the stands and the surrounding area, where fans enjoyed a high quality show If...

There is no doubt: Aroldis Chapman is as hard as the fastballs he throws, those who terrorize all major league hitters. The Cuban pitcher, who received a ball in the face last week, has been given medical clearance and already walks with his usual air of grandeur, as if nothing had happened, as if he had not undergone surgery last Thursday to repair a fracture of the left eyebrow. The southpaw of the Cincinnati Reds is made of steel, you could say, because even when he was hit by the liner on Wednesday night and had a moderate concussion, he did not lose consciousness at any moment, even though the drive that came out of the bat Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals catcher, traveled at over a hundred miles per hour, in the opinion of several scouts present in the pre-season game in Surprise, Arizona. He felt pain, of course, fortunately relieved by an avalanche of painkillers supplied by doctors at a hospital in Phoenix, which allowed him to joke with friends who visited him before and after surgery. Sports Illustrated reporter, John Fay said in his Twitter account that Brayan Pena, Reds catcher and one of the first to...

The sports authorities in Cuba recently confirmed that the pitcher Freddy Alvarez Asiel will not work more in the remainder of the 53 National Baseball Series, just as ruled in the penalty enacted last February, after the painful incidents of the game between Matanzas and Villa Clara in the Victoria de Girón stadium. Really, it is no surprise that the measure got ratified, since the commission to review the case did not offer at any time, clues to the possible lifting, without forgetting that the process had been marked by multiple follies and blunders, which, of course, caused the discontent of the athlete and the fans. At this point, it is appropriate to explain every detail, every episode of the story. On February 18, a day after the brawl at the Victoria de Giron stadium, it was publicly announced sanctions to Matanzas Demis Valdés (one year suspension), pitcher Freddy Asiel Alvarez and umpire Osvaldo de Paula, both separated for the rest of this season. On February 25, through a press release, without official status, the National Baseball informs its sanction to Freddy Asiel, who understands (the document allows him) that he has ten working days to appeal. On March 10...

Jon SooHoo has been the official photographer for the Los Angeles Dodgers for 29 years. This Korean was able to snap Kirk Gibson when he hit his memorable homerun during the first match of the 1988 World Series, the starting point for the last title of the team in the Big Leagues. In almost three decades, SooHoo has immortalized in images homeruns, strike outs, errors, catches, triumphs, disappointments and the like by the Dodgers, a centenary franchise in the US baseball. However, of all moments, this journalist and photographer has always had a weakness for spring training, when, after the winter, tens of baseball players start to check in at the headquarters of the organization in Glendale, Arizona, an ideal scenario to plan the first steps in the demanding season of the Big Leagues. Nothing escapes his lens. It is possible to find him in the stadium grandstands or back in the fields, or up in the roofs of the batting cages, always with a mobile device in hand to upload images right away. Nevertheless, last March 13SooHoo moved differently, he was not searching for too much action in the field. Erisbel Arruebarruena, a Cuban player that according to scouts...

Outside of spring training camp of the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter, Florida, a few meters from the grass of the Roger Dean Stadium, the Cuban shortstop Aledmys Diaz Serrano was introduced by his organization, which last October lost the World Series against Boston. Aledmys, with the number 95 on the back, surrounded by a dozen journalists, thanked the Cardinals, praised the tradition of the team and could not hide the desire to share training with two of his idols: the Puerto Rican catcher Yadier Molina and portentous outfielder Matt Holliday. In his initial practices wearing the Cardinals shirt, he spoke with Coach Jose Oquendo near second base, made some swings in the batting cage and took some grounders at shortstop, all with astonishing naturalness, which greatly pleased the San Luis leaders. "I think he did a lot of things right and knows the game well," manager Mike Matheny, who honored and praised the Cuban’s tools, said, whose claims go through consolidation in the majors as a shortstop like his compatriots Alexei Ramirez ( Chicago White Sox), Yunel Escobar (Tampa Bay), Jose Iglesias (Detroit Tigers) and Adeiny Hechevarría (Miami Marlins). However, this path looks anything but simple, since several talent...

His surname, too long, will tangle the tongue of mid Hollywood, but fans of the Californian city are already rubbing their hands to see at Chavez Ravine ballpark a potential Golden Glove shortstop. We are talking about Erisbel Arruebarruena Escalante, who was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba, and is cousin of Ciego de Avila’s pitcher Vladimir García, a man with hands of silk and a who also owns a missile in his right arm, enough weapons to reach a five-year contract of $ 25 million with the Los Angeles Dodgers, team that seems determined to consolidate a small Cuban colony, to the point that they have sent to Florida his scout Mike Tosar, whose special mission is only Cuba. The squad coached by the legendary Don Mattingly meets in its roster the also Cubans Yasiel Puig, icon of the side, second baseman and shortstop Alex Guerrero and LHP Paco Rodriguez, also of Cuban ancestry. But let’s talk about Erisbel, who closed the official signing of his contract after solving several international legal obstacles and overcoming the rigorous medical examination, but he will not join the Dodgers spring camps until receiving a working visa. For now, "El Grillo" (The cricket), as he...

These days, in American baseball people talk about only two things: the imminent start of spring training and the announcement of the retirement of Derek Sanderson Jeter, the star shortstop for the New York Yankees who will hang the gloves after this season. Especially the latter event has grabbed headlines in major newspapers and television on the planet since for nearly two decades Jeter has earned the honor of being considered the face of baseball, not only in the Big Apple, but in the entire universe of balls and strikes. To get an idea of the greatness of Jeter it is worth noting that he began his career in the majors in the distant 1996, when he was proclaimed Rookie of the Year and, last but not least, was elected MVP of the World Series crowning his eternal Yankees for first time since 1978. In general, he has won five World Series rings ( 1996, 1998 , 1999, 2000 , 2009) and is the historical leader of the Yankees in games played ( 2602 ) , at-bats (10 614) , hits ( 3316 ) and stolen bases ( 348). He has also won five Gold Gloves, equal amount of Silver...