Let’s Celebrate the Elephants’ Victory!
You chew your snacks or sip your cola. You stop waving the green banner because tension grips you in the moment before the pitcher’s throw—your pounding anticipation, the ragged breath of the fans around you (a feeling you can almost touch), the crack of the bat, and the sudden surge of the crowd as the ball soars over the fence. Cheers of frenzied fanaticism, laughter and euphoria, the pleasant relaxation that follows... In short: flavor, eye-straining tension, sounds, touch, emotional explosion, release, and pleasure... This emotional sequence is strikingly similar to making love.
If the home run was hit by the elephant Ultus Álvarez against a Scorpions pitcher, then Cienfuegos’ pride reaches ecstasy.
"Local pride, sense of belonging, symbol of the city, and nationalism"—this is the profound essence captured by Darilys Reyes Sánchez in her book Los Elefantes Verdes: el club de béisbol de Cienfuegos, 1926–1961 (Reina del Mar Editores, 2023), featured at this International Book Fair.
After an essential overview of baseball’s background in Cuba, the book delves into its most thrilling part: the saga of the Cienfuegos Club during its performances in the Cuban Professional Baseball League championships.
Heartbreaking and triumphant anecdotes, controversies stoked by the colorful and passionate prose of sportswriters from La Correspondencia and El Comercio, recreate the highs and lows of fandom, the performances of players, managers, and club owners, alongside the team’s failures and glorious moments—including championship wins in the 1929–30, 1945–46, and 1955–56 seasons.
Why the name Green Elephants? What were the colors and mottos of the three rival teams: Havana’s Lions, Marianao’s Tigers, and Almendares’ Scorpions? How did agreements between Cuban and North American professional teams function? When and how was the Gran Stadium founded amid endless downpours? Where were La Diana café, the Palais, the Central Bar, and the Miami cafeteria—Cienfuegos hotspots where fans’ fiery debates raged? Who were the great stars (rising from local leagues) who reached the Hall of Fame?
Curious details alongside descriptions of sports and business phenomena offer solid information and enjoyable reading for those exploring these pages.
Darilys Reyes’ work is richly annotated thanks to exhaustive research into period press, enhanced by illuminating interviews with contemporary key figures: living professional players and sportswriters. It also includes a brief foreword by Dr. Félix Julio Alfonso, a specialist in this field; a select bibliography; and a collection of photographs featuring the club’s idols, its owners, political figures of the era, major headlines, Benny Moré in batting stance, and other captivating images.
Jubilation reigns in the closing pages with the account of their triumph in the National and Caribbean Champions series.
La Correspondencia proclaimed: "For this resounding victory, our people must pour into the streets en masse to welcome players, managers, coaches, and owners—Brooklyn-style. Lots of music, noise, firecrackers, cheers, and joy in the streets, carrying the ballplayers to their hotel. Businesses should close from 3 p.m., and the whole city should celebrate!"
And so it happened. Conga lines and street bands welcomed the stars arriving in convertibles, who received the keys to the city at Martí Park. Sponsored by Hatuey beer, jubilant headlines announced the victory. A parade of cars wound through the city amid horn honking and firecrackers. Fans displayed the Elephants’ green emblem along the Prado promenade. Children dressed as ballplayers. Ultus Álvarez—the home run leader—was carried aloft and received a silver plaque from the governor...
Because, dear readers, the Green Elephants, this baseball team, has always honored its motto:
"Slow, but crushing."