Last week, Rebekah and I went to the opening game of the Little League World Series. This was more like the Caribbean world series, but had teams from Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Panama, Mexico, the United States, and the Dominican Republic. It was our first trip to the Cibao Stadium here in Santiago, and was quite a treat! Here is a view of the ballpark, where we'll be watching the Aguilas (Eagles) play this winter (they have a winter baseball season here).
As you can see, there was an opening ceremony before the game. Sitting through this gave us more of a taste of the culture here in the caribbean. Let me explain... The game was slated to start at 7 pm, and we got their a bit early so we could grab a bite to eat before it started. Well, they started to set up the chairs, microphone, and banners at 7 pm. About an hour later, all of the important people began to file into the chairs out on the infield. This was followed by about an hour of speeches, it seemed like everyone and their mother had to stand in front of the microphone and give a speech about the importance of this day! Well, needless to say, the kids were getting a little restless...
And I got hungry... This is bola de yuca and quipe, two street-food delicacies!
And even though there were kids beating on drums and playing trumpets in the stands...
And the teams started filing out...
They kept right on giving speeches! (note man in black suit giving speech - above) Also, spot the Aguila mascot, warming up for the winter baseball season.
Team Mexico was the honored guests, as they had recently gotten second place at the official little league world series held in Williamsport, PA. They played the Dominican Republic in the opening game.
Here's a bit of the action.
All in all, it was a great night, the food was good, and there was baseball in the air. We now know, however, never to show up early to an event that has an official opening ceremony!
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