Going to a Baseball Game in Havana
A National Pastime
When arriving in Cuba you will quickly realize how important the national pastime, baseball, is to the Cuban people. Not only on the professional level but adults, university kids, and children can all be found picking up their bats and taking to the field. While football (soccer) has been rising in popularity in recent years, baseball still stands supreme as Cubans most favorite sport.
Cuba is so much more than just a country that plays baseball, the people literally live and breathe the sport. Lively debates can turn into arguments from anywhere from the stands to street corners between heated fans. The day of a baseball game people can be found making the pilgrimage to the stadium, decked out in the colors of their home team.
Baseball in the United States can sometimes be described as uneventful and has the tendency to drag on and on. Expect anything but the monotonous when attending a baseball game in Havana. The high adrenaline matches are fueled by the enthusiasm of hardcore fans!
You can read more about baseball in Cuba here!
Estadio Latino Americano
From the humble working-class neighborhood of Cerro, the Estadio Latino Americano rears its large head above the surrounding modest rainbow-colored buildings. On any normal day, the district will be so quiet that all you could hear is the occasional humming of a classic car rattling by. Come game day, the horns and sirens blaring from the stadium will echo off of every street corner.
Finding out when a game will be played is actually much more tedious than one would think. Most locals rely on the television to be notified on the upcoming games. Hostel owners and people on the street are generally unaware as to when the next game will be played at Estadio Latino Americano. By far, the easiest way to check the schedule is online. For Havana, you will be wanting to look for the home team: Industriales. The baseball season runs from August to February and tickets only cost 1 CUC at the gate.
You can get a full look at the baseball schedule here!
Hitting the Concessions
After buying your ticket and having your bags checked at the entrance of the stadium you will find many stalls busily selling anything from souvenirs to full chicken and rice meals. Among these dimly lit corridors, you will find hardly any foreign tourists and all of the prices are in pesos (rather than CUC). If you are not looking to get swindled out of your money, it would be a good idea to have some pesos on hand.
While you will find plenty of refreshments, sweets, and small box meals to snack on while watching the game, one thing you will not find is alcohol. Due to the passionate nature of the fans, many arguments are sure to ensue. With the presence of alcohol, these lively debates are sure to turn violent, hence the prohibition of alcoholic beverages. Even without a cold beer, fans have more than enough to sip and chow down on while enjoying the heated match!
Taking to the Stands
Stepping out of the dark, chicken leg in hand, one can feel the energy of the stadium immediately wash over you. It may be easy to find a close seat behind the visiting team’s dugout, but the Industriales side is filled to the brim with passionate fans. At the home team’s end expect hours filled with horns blaring, chants, and dancing. The mascot can even be seen on top of the dugout running back and forth, riling up the fans.
Today, the stadium’s age is quite clear to see. Some empty patches in the crowd where you think you could find a place to sit are nothing more than a broken wooden seat. Despite its lack of modern amenities and comfort, the excitement of the crowd is more than enough to take your attention away from the cramped wooden seats or concrete slab you are sitting on.
The Pitch
Games typically start at either 2 o’clock in the afternoon or 7 at night and can last at least 3 and a half hours. While the fans are pumped full enthusiasm, the players themselves more a bit nonchalantly on the field. From a casual sports spectators perspective, athletes from both teams seemed to walk right into the opponent’s arms resulting in an out. There were hardly even any dramatic dives to home plate or heart pumping, fast-paced plays where one could feel the competitiveness of the game.
Both teams maintained an extremely friendly attitude throughout the game, making the whole match almost seem like a group of friends getting together after work to blow off some steam.
For people just looking to get a taste of what it is like to see a baseball game in Cuba, five innings may be more than enough. The sport is well known for dragging on at times and becoming quite monotonous. A lot of what determines how much you will enjoy the match is where you are seated. If you are around fans who are nothing more than you quiet spectator, the match will get old fast. If you are lucky enough to find the section of opposing fans who will scream at each other after every play, you may just want to sit back, relax, and watch the show both on the field and off.
For those casual baseball fans, you can find a whole list of rules here!
Rowdy Fans
The true action of a baseball game in Cuba is not found on the field at all but amongst those heated fans who run across the aisle to get up close and personal with rival supporters. The yelling, screaming and animated gestures are what truly makes the who experience of attending a baseball game worthwhile.
As you sit lounge back in your chair, sipping on your national cola, fans will play out some elaborate drama right before your eyes. The nose to nose arguing will turn into violent gestures, gradually the cursing will arise when then followed by eventually laughing and smiles. While watching the groups of men argue it is important to be careful on how much eye contact you give the spirited fans. When looking at one person for too long they will then give you a look as if wanting you to chime in and join the battle.
In the end, this is why we come to see baseball in Cuba, the ambiance created by passionate fans. As exciting as it may be, one can’t help but to thank whoever’s idea it was to ban alcohol at these games.
Cuban Culture Up Close
The appeal of going to a baseball game in Havana is getting up close and intimate with the Cuban people. On the street, especially in Havana Vieja, tourists are maliciously bombarded by touts and people who use the mask of friendship in order to solicit money.
In the confines of Estadio Latino Americano, Cubans let their guard down and show their true colors. These colors are that of a people which thoroughly enjoy life and are passionate about all things in it. Here, the fans will treat you no different than any other local and make you feel truly at home in Havana.
