Radio Martí Transmits World Series Games Live to Cuba
Radio Martí will provide listeners in Cuba with live coverage of the 2003 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Florida Marlins starting this weekend.
Beginning with tomorrow evening’s game from Yankee Stadium, Radio Martí will broadcast a live, play-by-play, Spanish-language feed of each World Series game between the Marlins and the Yankees. The station’s two veteran sportscasters, Edemio Navas and Orlando “El Guajiro” Peña, who is a former major league pitcher, will take over between innings and provide insightful commentary, anecdotes and player statistics, as well as memorable moments from Series games of the past.
“We are delighted to bring this year’s exciting World Series to Cuba,” said Pedro V. Roig, Director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), which oversees Radio and TV Martí. “We hope the opportunity to tune into the games will bring the Cuban people entertainment as well as much needed relief from the harsh day-to-day realities of life in Cuba today.”
Cubans have been passionate fans of American baseball since the sport’s inception in the 19th century. Athletes of Cuban origin continue to excel in this sport. Current players include Yankees pitcher José Contreras, and Marlins players Michael Tejera and Vladimir Nuñez as well as former World Series champs Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez and brother Livan (both now members of the Montreal Expos) and Texas Ranger Rafael Palmeiro.
A young baseball fan in Cuba told Radio Martí that thanks to the earlier broadcasts of the Major League games, fans in Cuba are geared up for this year’s series. He went on to say that although some have been won over by the Florida Fish, New York’s Yankees still reign as the island’s most popular team.
Radio Martí also provided live coverage of this year’s Major League division championships that determined which teams would vie in the World Series. Sister station TV Martí will also provide ample coverage of baseball’s grand finale, as it did the national playoffs. Game details will be available on OCB’s Web site, Martinoticias.com.
OCB encompasses Radio Martí, which has broadcast uncensored news and information to the people of Cuba since 1985, and TV Martí, which first went on the air in 1990. Both are under the supervision of the presidentially-appointed Broadcasting Board of Governors, which is responsible for all U.S. government-supported, non-military overseas broadcasting.
For more information, contact the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 401-7000, or E-Mail pubaff@ibb.gov.