From Palmar de Junco to Sotomayor’s Sky

Matanzas, at 333 years old, celebrates with its athletes. The city writes with strides, jumps, and batting each feat that carried the city’s name around the world.

Limonar gave the planet the best jumper of all time. Javier Sotomayor cleared 2.45 meters in Salamanca in 1993, and no one has surpassed that mark. A year earlier he had won Olympic gold in Barcelona. A small-town boy turned the sky into the measure of his talent.

The same Limonar saw the birth of Lázaro Junco. The batter who connected 405 home runs in 18 National Series and won ten home run titles. The fans baptized him «Papá Jonrón.» His death this June 1, at 67, left us a deep void. Sports glories and fans bid farewell to their slugger with respect and tears.

Jovellanos contributed a dynasty. Wilfredo, Fernando, Arturo, and Armando Sánchez, who grew up in the countryside and filled the country’s stadiums with applause. Today the surname lives on in Ariel, son of Arturo and nephew of Wilfredo and Fernando.

Other disciplines also have their history. In 1925 the boys of Jovellanos were already playing basketball at the lyceum. Their team had a scorpion as its insignia. Those pioneers opened a discreet but firm tradition.

The facilities keep the memory. The Palmar de Junco hosted on December 27, 1874, the first official baseball game in Cuba. Since 2021 it has been Cultural Heritage of the Nation. Its Hall of Fame honors the legends of national sport. A few blocks away, the Victoria de Girón stadium vibrates each season with the Crocodiles.

Each name in this chronicle tells a story of sacrifice and pride. Behind every medal there was a coach, a family, and a neighborhood.

This chronicle is born from a debt of gratitude. Matanzas owes a good part of its prestige to its athletes. In the city they are remembered, applauded, and kept present.