It is thanks to the forgotten accomplishments of white Cuban players such as Gonzalez and Luque, and the hidden sacrifices of Cubans of color like Estalella and de la Cruz, and to the final smashing of the color barrier, accomplishments and sacrifices by Robinson, that many of today's stars of color from Latin America, Asia and the United States owe their success. 
Great black Latin American players of all nationalities, such as "El Duque" Hernandez, Tony Oliva, the great Roberto Clemente and the record-breaking king of the long ball, Sammy Sosa are still breaking new barriers and records even in the 21st century, but they stand of the shoulders of those brave men who played in a brutal field where race was used as a weapon to diminish and destroy.
And perhaps there is no link more brilliant to this past than Roberto Estalella's grandson, Bobby, who carries the great baseball tradition of this unheralded hero of the past.
This is a work in progress which ultimately will produce a book on this subject as well as a traveling photography exhibition. Please email me if you have any questions, corrections, additions, updates, images, etc.
Article comments
1 - danielle
hi ny name is danielle aka dani