2023-11-23 19:20:29
Photo: RRSS
Text: Raul del Pino
A new controversy linked to baseball in Cuba has recently boiled over social networks, that ideal scenario – or swamp – for some to bring out their worst qualities, often behind an unknown identity.
But this time the protagonist is not inside the field, but outside, from the broadcast booths. This is the sports commentator Melissa Blanco, who these days is one of the main voices of Tele Rebelde in the II Elite Cuban Baseball League.
The journalist originally from Matanzas took on the always complicated challenge of narrating the “ball” in a country with a very demanding fan base, and even more so when it comes to national sports. And becoming the first woman to do so for a national audience places her at the very epicenter of that storm that is public opinion.
As if that were not enough, sports narration in Cuba is a profession and responsibility in which decades ago, the legendary Bobby Salamanca, Héctor Rodríguez and Eddy Martín, raised the bar to heights where very few can reach.
However, Blanco, who was also a pioneer in narrating boxing for national television, has managed to overcome the task, not without making some mistakes or having several technical aspects to perfect. And precisely, these inaccuracies have unleashed an avalanche against her, not only of criticism, but of hatred.
Luckily, Melissa has not been left alone and has received the support of several colleagues from the Cuban press who have known how to put the appropriate patch on the undeserved attacks that have flooded social networks these days.
“It should give us pain as human beings to hide behind the anonymity of these platforms to vomit offenses and degrade another of our fellow human beings, just for the fact of being different, not being in tune with our particular tastes or, in extreme cases, for retrograde attitudes.” sexist,” denounced journalist Boris Luis Cabrera.
The columnist for Tribuna de La Habana described her as “a brave woman, like others throughout history who prevailed through perseverance and talent in a world dominated by men, and that deserves respect.”
Aliet Arzola, a columnist of excellence on baseball topics, spoke along the same lines. “There is not the slightest justification, and there is not the slightest doubt that we must close ranks with her, support her, reach out to her and let her know that she is not alone in this fight against the mentalities of the 15th century,” she wrote on her account. From Facebook.
However, the OnCuba News columnist made a correct caveat: “We cannot confuse attacks with criticism, they are two totally different things, especially if the critical exercise has bases and is committed to building and advising.” He also clarified that “we should not criminalize everyone who talks about Melissa. There are people who are simply giving critical opinions about things that could be improved in their work, out of good will.”
And finally, Arzola reflected on the new breed of sports announcers that has burst onto national television: “there are several very young boys who are making their space. Without ceasing to demand maximum preparation and constant improvement, we must be patient with them, understanding that they are still in a process of training and growth,” he stated.
Many other voices, not only from the sports press, but in general, as well as many other women journalists, have expressed solidarity with Melissa’s cause. And although it will never be easy to be the target of a controversy of this type, what is happening with it is a “Pandora’s box” that sooner or later was going to open.
Cuba does not escape the current times where the internet and social platforms have given a voice to millions of people who choose to criticize and launch unjustified hatred before thinking. It is the society and the world in which we currently live, and knowing how to overcome those moments constitutes another test as difficult as standing behind a microphone to narrate can be.
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