That youthful work of his father \u2014 building temples for baseball \u2014 left a lasting impression on Gustavo\u2019s brief childhood in his country. It also marked his father\u2019s professional life. The stadium was not just a sports venue; it was a symbol of progress and belonging to a beloved place of games, passions and a boisterous group of people that united the fans. Baseball, as historian F\u00e9lix Julio Alfonso<\/a> would say, was \u201cthe gallant game\u201d that accompanied the formation of the Cuban nation as of the second half of the 19th century.<\/p>\n Gustavo barely had time to get to know the island before leaving for exile. In 1968, at the age of six, his family emigrated to the United States. The destination was Hialeah, Florida, then a city of barely 15,000 inhabitants that was transforming at a dizzying pace (\u201cThe city that progresses,\u201d the slogan read), leaving behind its peripheral and semi-agricultural condition. \u201cAt first it was about 50\/50 between white Americans of English descent and Cubans. Over the years it changed to basically 100% Cuban,\u201d he recounts jokingly.<\/p>\n The massive migration of the sixties turned Hialeah into a Cuban enclave, a laboratory of identity in exile. There, Gustavo grew up between two worlds: the memory of a Havana that was fading in his memory and the famous stadiums his father had built, and the reality of a community that was rebuilding and expanding Cuba in the diaspora, fueled by domino games, strong coffee and pork sandwiches, but also with class prejudices, frustration and resentment from those who, in a way, had been cast out of paradise after losing their place in it.<\/p>\n After decades in exile, Gustavo returned to Havana in 2015, coinciding with the diplomatic thaw between Barack Obama and Ra\u00fal Castro. \u201cIt was the first time I returned since I left in 1968. I\u2019ve always had the dream of being able to help Cuba in some way,\u201d he explains. That return was the seed of the Cuba Foundation, a non-profit organization he created with his financial expertise to work on the economic and social development of the island.<\/p>\n The Foundation focuses on five areas: culture, sports, the private sector, education and art. \u201cAt the end of the day, what we want to do is help Cuba by supporting the private sector, always within the legal framework of Cuba and the United States,\u201d he emphasizes.<\/p>\n For years, Gustavo Arnavat worked as the United States representative to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), \u201cthe most important multilateral development bank in the region.\u201d Cuba, he clarifies, was never a member of that institution, but it was there that he was inspired to think \u201cabout how to contribute to his native country.\u201d<\/p>\n The Foundation\u2019s website<\/a> showcases an impressive resume: U.S. Executive Director at the IDB during the Obama administration, overseeing more than $50 billion in financing for 26 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n With more than 30 years of experience in investment banking, economic development and national security, he has distinguished himself through his commitment to sustainability and impact investing. He is a cum laude graduate of Cornell University, holds a Master\u2019s degree in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.<\/p>\n The rapprochement between Havana and Washington in 2014 led him to rethink his career. \u201cAt that moment, I changed what I had in mind and decided to become part of that process,\u201d recalls this financial analyst who worked at a very young age in the belligerent Reagan administration in the 1980s, during the last years of the Cold War.<\/p>\n Although he acknowledges that the Obama period was \u201ca bit frustrating for many people,\u201d for him it meant the opportunity to return to Cuba for the first time since 1968. \u201cI returned in 2015 and have continued traveling many times to better understand my native country. I have always had the dream of being able to help Cuba in some way.\u201d<\/p>\n From that experience, the Cuba Foundation was born, conceived to institutionalize his commitment.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything we do has to have some kind of private sector angle,\u201d he emphasizes. Culture and sports are two of those areas, and the events that the Foundation has organized in Cuba are precisely at the intersection of both.<\/p>\n Arnavat explains that this was the Foundation\u2019s third intervention in the field of baseball. The first, in 2024, was a scientific conference on the origins of baseball in Cuba<\/a>, commemorating the 160th anniversary of its arrival. The second, held last March in the city of Santa Clara, paid tribute to the 130th birthday of Alejandro Oms, \u201cone of the most important players not only in Cuba, but also in the Negro Leagues.\u201d<\/p>\n The third conference<\/a>, held recently, focused on the links between Cuba and the Caribbean Basin, and in particular on the relationship with the Negro Leagues in the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of discrimination, the players couldn\u2019t play in the U.S. leagues and ended their season in Cuba,\u201d he explains. \u201cIncredibly, of the 123 players of the Santa Clara Leopardos, 53 were from the Negro Leagues. Among them, the best,\u201d Arnavat points out.<\/p>\n One of those names was Johnny Taylor. The Foundation had the opportunity to host his daughter, Maureen Taylor Hicks, in Santa Clara.<\/p>\n \u201cShe came with her family, and that turned a scientific event into something more personal,\u201d Arnavat recounts. \u201cShe talked about her father, what he meant to her, even though he didn\u2019t like to talk much about baseball. He was a humble man.\u201d<\/p>\n For the family, the trip was deeply impactful. Along with the legendary retired Cuban catcher Ariel Pestano, of the Cuban national team and Villa Clara, Hicks unveiled the historical plaque that the Foundation placed in Santa Clara, created by sculptor Mario Fabelo and declared a cultural heritage monument. \u201cThat\u2019s the kind of impact we\u2019re looking for,\u201d says Arnavat. The plaque lists the most outstanding Black American baseball players who played for the Leopardos.<\/p>\n For him, the Foundation\u2019s work is also an exercise in historical preservation. \u201cIf baseball had come from Germany, that would have been the focus. But it came from the United States,\u201d he reflects. \u201cIt\u2019s a way of emphasizing that these connections existed, exist and will continue to exist. That will never change.\u201d The intention is to identify and preserve a \u201cvery noble, very beautiful\u201d history, especially for the new generations.<\/p>\n Among the most significant actions, he recalls the donation of 40 gloves to children in Villa Clara. \u201cJust seeing the faces of those children, who were between five and seven years old, when they received those gloves…it was incredible,\u201d he says emotionally. One of them, minutes after receiving it, asked: \u201cAre they really for us?\u201d For Arnavat, that scene summarizes the purpose of the Foundation: to sow the seeds of the future in Cuban baseball.<\/p>\n Another initiative was to finance the printing of F\u00e9lix Julio Alfonso L\u00f3pez\u2019s book, El juego galante (The Gallant Game). \u201cIt\u2019s a way of ensuring that this history is documented and disseminated in Cuba. In the future, hopefully we can do an English translation to distribute it in the United States as well.\u201d<\/p>\n The Foundation has also ventured into other areas. \u201cWe are producing a documentary about Afro-Cuban entrepreneurs,\u201d he says. It consists of interviews that seek to highlight the challenges and needs of those involved in these small businesses, which have been allowed since 2021 and now number around 11,000 throughout the country.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important to support the private sector and emphasize that they exist, that they have unique needs and even more significant challenges. We want the public in the United States to be aware of this,\u201d insists a persistent Arnavat.<\/p>\n Although he acknowledges that they haven\u2019t done much in other areas of engagement with the United States, he reaffirms that the main focus is the private sector in Cuba. \u201cOur funds come from private individuals in the United States. This promotes connections between people from both countries, although that is not our main focus. Our objective, without question, is economic development in Cuba through the private sector.\u201d<\/p>\n The Foundation has also awarded scholarships to music students to study at Berklee. \u201cThere is a lot of talent in Cuba and we want to help develop it,\u201d he affirms. A young flutist, prevented from traveling to Boston by the immigration regulations of the current Republican administration, was able to begin her studies in Spain thanks to the Foundation\u2019s support.<\/p>\n The context is not easy. \u201cIt\u2019s undoubtedly a complicated environment,\u201d Gustavo admits. The U.S. blockade\/embargo makes transfers and donations difficult, while obstacles to the private sector persist in Cuba. \u201cWe have two options: do nothing, or see what we can do. I made the decision to do things, always within the legal framework,\u201d he warns.<\/p>\n The Foundation maintains transparency with the embassies of both countries and works with law firms to ensure the correctness of its operations. \u201cI always say: the Mamb\u00ed forces had it worse. In comparison, we are living lives of luxury,\u201d he says ironically.<\/p>\n On its website, the Foundation displays symbols that summarize its philosophy: Jos\u00e9 Mart\u00ed, Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama.<\/p>\n \u201cMart\u00ed is perhaps the most important Cuban in history. He is a person who unites all Cubans,\u201d he explains. The quote from \u201cCultivo una rosa blanca\u201d is central: cultivating for both friends and enemies.<\/p>\n From Mandela, there is the lesson of forgiveness: \u201cWhen he got out of prison, he said that if he didn\u2019t leave the hatred behind in his heart, he would never be free.\u201d And from Obama, the idea that every citizen is the solution to the problems. \u201cThat made me think a lot. He was right,\u201d Arnavat concedes.<\/p>\n The disappointment came with Democratic President Joe Biden<\/a>, who snatched the consecutive succession from Trump in 2020. \u201cI had a face-to-face conversation with Biden in 2019 and I asked him if we were going to return to Obama\u2019s policies. He told me that we were not only going to return, we were going to do much more.\u201d<\/p>\n The inevitable question: And what happened?<\/p>\nThe departure: Goodbye to Cuba<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Gustavo-Arnavat-izquierda-sostiene-un-ramo-de-flores-que-fue-deposito-al-pie-del-monumento-del-patriota-y-pelotero-cubano-Eduardo-Sabourin-en-La-Habana.-Foto.Duanys-Hernandez-Torres-1.jpg\")
<\/a>2015, the return<\/h3>\n
A member of the establishment seizes the historical moment<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nBaseball as shared memory<\/h3>\n
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<\/a>![\"The](\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/tarja-homenaje-jugadores-santa-clara-1.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/gustavo-arnavat-conferencia-cuba-1.jpg\")
<\/a>Beyond baseball<\/h3>\n
Crossfire<\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Mart\u00ed, Mandela and Obama on the same website<\/h3>\n
Biden: promises and lies<\/h3>\n
![\"Historian](\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/gustavo-arnavat-felix-julio-alfonso-estadio-latinoamericano-1140x858-1.jpg\")
<\/a>