14ymedio, Havana, December 6, 2023 — “Patria y Vida” [Homeland and Life], the freedom motto that became the anthem of the 11 July 2021 ’11J’ protests inside and outside the Island, has been taken up by the Cuban Professional Baseball Federation (Fepcube) to identify the team of exiled baseball players that will participate in the Latin American Series in Barranquilla, which will be played between January 25 and February 1, 2004.
“It was necessary for everyone to know that we represent a free Cuba and that we carry in our name the spirit of Patria y Vida,” the president of the Federation, Armando Llanes, announced this Tuesday.
The slogan “Patria y Vida,” the title of the song performed by several emigrated and island singers, was also one of the most repeated cries during the mass demonstrations on July 11, 2021. The current president of Fepcube, Armando Llanes stressed that the motto “unifies” the feeling of freedom of Cubans, a reason for baseball players to wear it on their uniforms.
The launch event of the initiative, held in Miami, was attended by Yotuel Romero, who together with Beatriz Luengo, Descemer Bueno, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, Maykel Castillo Osorbo, Alexander Delgado, Randy Malcom Martínez and DJ El Funky gave shape to the anthem that condensed the desires of Cubans for change.
“Homeland and life: what you have done by uniting the community under that call. People of all ages, not only those who follow your music, but the older people were also moved,” Llanes told Romero. “It has moved the world and made them (the