Modesto Aguero, one of the most important voices in sports narration in Cuba and already retired, denounced that Cuban television suppressed his narration of the Softball World Cup for the simple fact that he lives in Spain.
Modesto He has lived in the European country for seven years, where he continues his professional work. in the women's softball league.
As he said in his profile Facebook, last year the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) hired him to narrate the Spanish broadcast of the Valencia Group games qualifying for the 2024 Women's Softball World Championship.
This represented a double joy for him, not only because a prestigious organization that governs baseball and softball worldwide chose him, but because Cuba was in that group from Valencia and so they could hear him narrating again in their country.
"What would be my surprise and also my displeasure to know that in Cuba they removed my narration and narrated it in Havana. They did not respect the 40 years as a sports narrator-commentator on Cuban TV, with eight Olympics (only Rene Navarro and I have that number of Olympic Games), in addition to Pan American and Central American Games, World Championships and Cups of Baseball, Boxing and Volleyball, etc.," he explained.
"Why did they remove my narration, because I live in Spain? I tell you that the most important step I have taken in my life, I took it seven years ago and was to come to live in this great country, where I am considered the main narrator by the "Royal Spanish Baseball and Softball Federation". he concluded.
Born in 1951, Modesto Agüero left Cuba after retiring with his wife to reunite with his daughters in Spain. Despite being over 65 years old, he started a new life and was lucky enough to be able to resume his profession, something that not everyone achieves, especially at that age.
A different fate has befallen his former teammate René Navarro, a legendary Cuban television sports commentator who also holds the record of having narrated eight Olympics.
The veteran broadcaster, 79 years old and retired since 2005, admitted in January that after retiring he found it so difficult financially that He had to sell his car to avoid dying of hunger.. He also warned that his economic situation has not improved.
"I earned 430 pesos as a retiree, and when the famous new laws came I went up to 1,700 and something more. I think 1,733. What do you do with 1,733 pesos after so many years of work? That retirement is unfair and affects many people, including a good part of the glories of the sport," he questioned in an interview.
"As for gasoline, I gave it up and sold the car so as not to die of hunger. I had no way of supporting a family with so little money. So the situation persists," he added.
The popular commentator is suffering from the crisis just like any ordinary Cuban.
In 2020, overwhelmed by daily difficulties and shortages, he stated that He would like to live the remaining years of his life in a more peaceful way.
The announcer said that situations like these frequently happened in banks, housing offices, notaries, social security agencies, as well as in other state entities that provide services to the population.
"We old people of 70, 75, 80 and more would like to live the few almanacs that remain to us a little calmer and NOT subjected to long hours of waiting for any management," he lamented.
On other occasions, Navarro has complained about the treatment that has been given to a professional like him on the Island.
In an interview with Julita Osendi for CyberCuba In 2019, he noted that His retirement is ridiculous after 43 years working, 38 of them in the ICRT.
"You can't imagine how bad I felt when I retired. I stayed in my house like a lone wolf... ah! Because it took them two months to pay me my miserable retirement," he denounced.
"I had to go out and sell plastic bottles and knobs to help feed the house because my wife also had to retire due to serious illness problems. You can't imagine, not even for a moment, what we went through," he added.
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