Industriales: Havana’s Team and Cuba’s Most Successful Club

Industriales are Havana’s team and the most successful club in Cuban baseball: 12 Serie Nacional titles, more than any other, though the most recent came in 2010. They play at the Estadio Latinoamericano in El Cerro, they are known as the Leones or simply the Azules, and their rivalry with Santiago de Cuba is the biggest fixture in the Cuban game.

An Industriales player in the blue and white uniform holding a ball and glove, the Cuban flag and the club crest on his sleeve
The blue and white, with the Cuban flag on the sleeve. Photograph by Phil Selig.

The basics

Founded1961; first Serie Nacional game 10 February 1963
RepresentsLa Habana
NicknamesLeones, Azules, los Leones Azules
HomeEstadio Latinoamericano, El Cerro, Havana
Serie Nacional titles12 — the most of any club
Most recent title2010
65th series groupWestern zone, Group A

Twelve titles

EraChampionship seasons
The first dynasty1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66
The seventies and eighties1972–73, 1985–86
The nineties1991–92, 1995–96
The last run2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2009–10

Four titles in the first four completed series set the pattern early. The most recent, in 2010, was won under Germán Mesa — the former Industriales shortstop who is now manager of the Cuban national team. Sixteen years have passed since. See the full championship record, 1961 to 2026.

The floodlit field of the Estadio Latinoamericano at night seen over the heads of spectators in the stands
The Latinoamericano under lights.

The Superclásico

Industriales against Santiago de Cuba is the Superclásico, and it is the one fixture that stops the island. Havana against the east, the capital against the second city, the two most successful clubs in the competition — Industriales with 12 titles, Santiago with eight. It gets compared to Yankees–Red Sox, and for once the comparison is not a stretch.

An Industriales batter in blue and white driving a pitch at night, the catcher in gold crouched behind him
A night game at the Latinoamericano.

Who has worn the blue

Industriales have produced or passed through a long list of players who later left Cuba: Orlando “El Duque” Hernández, Kendrys Morales, Rey Ordóñez, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and Yuli Gurriel, who spent his last three Cuban seasons in Havana after twelve with Sancti Spíritus and hit .500 in his final 49 games for them.

The club is also where the current national manager made his name. Germán Mesa was a slick-fielding shortstop for Industriales and Cuba before he managed them to the 2010 championship.

Industriales players gathered on the field in front of the 345 foot marker on the outfield wall
On the field at the Latinoamericano, the 345 marker behind.

Industriales in the 65th Serie Nacional

The 65th series begins on 4 October 2026 in a new two-zone, four-group format brought in to cut travel during the energy crisis. Industriales are in the Western zone, Group A, with Pinar del Río, Isla de la Juventud and Artemisa. Each team plays 44 games rather than 75, and the top four in each zone reach the playoffs.

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