I have to admit that I struggle to truly define Cubadugout. It has grown over the past decade. Starting as a collection of photos to now video profiles and unique insight on all things Cuban baseball. This mirrors the grander Cuban baseball sphere in many ways. The amount of content on the subject has exploded in the past few years.
One of the original blogs breaking news and providing fantastic editorial is Pelota Cubana. To this day co-founders Yusseff Diaz and Yordano Carmona are influential in the space. The pair from Miami are leaders in the ex-patriate Cuban community focusing on baseball. They recently focused on my story and my place in the ecosystem.
Phil Selig via Pelota Cubana
Being that you are Canadian, what led you to cover Cuban Baseball?
My introduction was in Cienfuegos and as a photographer with camera in tow I had captured some photos of Jose Abreu. We know what he has done since day 1 in MLB but those photos from Cuba started to gain some traction online. I returned to the island and when I could tried to test myself as an artist shooting the thing I love to shoot which is baseball. Each subsequent trip found me capturing some unique images that weren’t otherwise prevalent online.
The internet has exploded on the island and I am fascinated by how many people like to view my images but connecting with the expat community and outlets such as Pelota Cubana played a huge role as well. Much of it has happened organically but also via people connecting digitally but then in real life knowing that we share a passion. At points I ask myself the same question and think more than anything my passion shines through and people appreciate that.
