Back to the Homeland with El Profe: Day Four
By Adrian Burgos
Day Four: A Caguas Homecoming
Visiting Caguas was extra special. Many baseball fans now know Caguas as the hometown of Álex Cora. For me, Caguas is my mami’s hometown – the place she was born and lived until moving to New York City in the late 1950s before she was even a teenager.
Today, I was in Caguas for her as much as I was there for La Vida.
“Álex Cora is hope” and “Please Álex don’t run for mayor.” Mayor Miranda Torres was thoughtful, humorous and proud of the town’s most famous citizen. He proclaimed that while Hurricane Maria’s 38 inches of rainfall and 150+ mile per hour winds damaged the city’s infrastructure, the hurricane could not break the spirit of the people of Caguas.
The La Vida team toured Caguas like VIPs with a police escort taking us to sites across the town that covers 59 square miles. We soon learned that one of the police officers was a local celebrity, known as the “dancing officer of Caguas.”
When we asked about damage that María did in Caguas, the director of the Department of Recreation and Sports brought us to the Ildemaris Gardens neighborhood. This used to be a basketball court. Maria ripped the steel apart and rotated the structure 180 degrees.
The Red Sox donation of $200,000 to Caguas paid for a new power generator for the community aqueduct in the Los Velazquez community high in one of Caguas many mountain communities. Residents insisted on sharing with us their gratitude by hosting our team to a traditional Puerto Rican meal of pasteles, roast pork, and rice and beans. It was delicioso.
At night we attended a winter league game at historic Hiram Bithorn Stadium, home to Clemente’s Cangrejeros de Santurce. Below is a photo of Chicago Cubs catcher Víctor Caratini, who is a native of of Coamo. He’s playing for the Criollos de Caguas, the defending Winter League champs.
The game was a totally different vibe than any MLB stadium. On a beautiful 70 degree night there were about 250 people in the stands, and we could sit wherever we wanted. Carantini was definitely a fan favorite, as several little kids asked him for his autograph or a photo, and a couple grown men were there with Cubs photos also seeking autographs. He ripped a single in his first at bat but his team came up on the losing end in the game.
That’s it from Puerto Rico after four days of incredible conversation, humbling hospitality and personal reflecting. Check back tomorrow for what comes next!
Featured Image: La Vida Baseball
Inset Images: La Vida Baseball