Strategies for the Rescue of Baseball Sports Traditions in the Municipality of Jatibonico, Cuba

Abstract

Baseball in Cuba is tradition, identity and culture of the nation. Since its introduction to the country in the 1860s, it has been transmitted from one generation to another, forming part of the traditions that identify the Cuban people. In the municipality of Jatibonico, Cuba, baseball has been, since its foundation, part of its idiosyncrasy, and its massive practice a symbol of it. However, since the year 2000 there has been a process in which baseball has been giving space in the preference of the Jatiboniquenses. To revert this tendency and contribute to the rescue of the tradition is to contribute to maintain the cultural identity of the Cuban. The purpose of the research is to propose a strategy for the rescue of the baseball sports traditions in the municipality of Jatibonico, Cuba. A bibliography on the subject was consulted, a diagnosis was made on the object of research with the use of the survey, the interview, the observation and the methodological triangulation. A loss of baseball traditions was observed in the sample studied, motivated, among other variables, by the scarcity and costs of the means for its practice, the media coverage given to soccer in the mass media, as well as the lack of knowledge of the history of local baseball. The proposed strategy is designed to contribute to reverse the problem of the research, rescuing and stimulating the massive practice of traditional games derived from baseball and disseminating the history of local baseball.