Tenth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

In the decades following the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro and members of his administration frequently credited Cuba’s emergent sports industry for the nation’s success as a growing medical power. Proposing that citizens needed a “soul of gold in a body of iron,” the Cuban government praised the ability of sports to develop physical strength, mental aptitude, and moral character. The state emphasized fitness as one of its citizens’ many revolutionary duties. Health was simultaneously the responsibility of each individual and the goal of all. This paper examines how health, discipline, and fitness became embedded in revolutionary dialogues of Cuban citizenship. While many scholars have emphasized the ideological exertions required of the “Socialist New Man,” I argue that the revolution also required corporal strength and wellness. Broadly, my research seeks to bridge the gap between currently disparate historiographies of Latin American sports and health by showing that the creation of Cuba’s cultura física was the result of careful planning and strategic cooperation between the National Health System and the National Institute for Sports, Recreation, and Physical Education. This paper models how historians may use the promotion of mass athletics in government discourse and national culture to explicate the process of building and maintaining state power. Looking at health through the lens of sports not only clarifies the collaborations between the two fields, but also reveals the Cuban government’s ability to effectively unify the population towards common goals with significant benefits for the state and its citizens alike.