Latino Night Helped Bring Attention To Latino Contributions To Tigers’ Baseball

Author: José A. Rodríguez
Images: Rome Randolph

Not even blustery rain on last Friday night could keep away a public hungry for their fix of Tigers baseball.  The Tigers, currently 70-58 and in first place in the American League.

However, it wasn’t just Tigers baseball that drew the fans into Comerica Park, but, also,  ¡Fiesta Tigres!.  In its sixth year, the celebration honors the contributions of Latino players to the game of baseball.  This was an excellent combination of Latino culture and the sport that has traditionally been regarded as “America’s favorite pastime.”

Prior to the game, I had the chance to check out the The Xochiquetzal Folkloric Ballet from Saginaw.  It was refreshing to be wrapped up in the songs and dances that I have experienced so many times before.  Hearing “El Jarabe Tapatío”and “El Son de la Negra” in the background accompanying the dancers was something very familiar to me.  I thought that it was great to have the public get exposed to that music, as well as the stylings of Marichi Cora and Tumbao Bravo.

As our photographer and I checked out the rest of the festivities, we made our way to the press box, where we had a really great view of what was going on in the field.  We were able to see the various countries’ (including Venezuela, Dominican Republic and, Puerto Rico) flags presented on the field.  Afterward, 1984 American League MVP and Cy Young winner Guillermo “Willie” Hernandez was honored on the field, as he was surrounded by the current crop of Latino Tigers.  I thought that it was a very special moment to see the current generation paying homage to one of the people that helped make their careers possible.

As I had the opportunity to look out onto the field from the press box, I thought to myself of how our beautiful Latino cultures came together with the game of baseball.  When I was watching the ground crew preparing the field, it made me think about the preparation and ritual that goes into the game that has inspired countless movies and brought together generations of parents with their children.  While I don’t really watch much baseball anymore, I couldn’t help but think back to the countless summer games of baseball that I played and it all made me smile.

I think that for me, I came away with something unique.  I was able to even further appreciate Latino cultures (besides my own) plus I was able to reconnect with something that seemed so distant (the magic of baseball).

If you missed out on this year’s ¡Fiesta Tigres!, then keep your eyes and ears open for news on next year’s event.  To be able to observe the marriage of Latino culture with one of the most American of symbols is a beautiful thing.  Observing this marriage of cultures is something to behold and something that you have to experience for yourself.