Estadio Guillermón Moncada

It is ironic that Cuba's national sport has its origins in their great "enemy" of the United States. In the nineteenth century, dockers in Matanzas Bay, about 100 kilometers east of Havana, and the crews of several Americans vessels established the first contacts. The growing relationship led to a significant maritime influx of U.S. citizens, ve together with the British and French ve also arrived at the time, contributed to the rapid formation of a heterogeneous foreign colony. During the Cuban independence war, baseball became a symbol of the aspirations for the future of modern Cuba. Great names in local baseball include Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara and Pinar del Rio.