Las Aguilas son las estrellas

El sabelot?

*** Sin Bin ***
Jan 7, 2008
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Growing up in la tierra santa de Higuey, all you heard was "El Licey this" or "El Licey that." (I now think Licey's popularity out east was probably a safe anti-Trujillista stance, sort of like that forced nervous laughter some folks let out when someone they don't like is the butt of jokes.) By the time of my glorious childhood, El Licey was just like a certain religion: every kid I knew was a liceista, just like their parents, during the last years of Los 30 a?os. No imagination, like today's New York Yankees fans, as my hero funnyman Cleef would say.

Then there was my uncle Carlos, a fan?tico de los equipos del campo: Aguilas y Estrellas. A mountain of a man, and easily the tallest man in all the east, Carlos's humility allowed him to root fearlessly for Aguilas y Estrellas. I think he should've been a liceista, for that's what I thought of them: dignified, humble, religiously traditional, uncomplicated.

We "was" poor, us barrio kids (too poor to know we were poor): no TV, just radio and El Caribe (El Nacional came out at night and was considered leftist). "Did you hear Felipe la bot? de foul anoche?" We could only imagine what a home-run looked like, even de foul. Carty was bigger than life and Marichal was a living legend, but only played in Las Grandes Ligas. La gente grande would criticize him: "He's too good for us now." I don't know, but maybe the San Franciso Giants didn't want him to take risks during winter ball. Besides, you have to admit that battling Sandy Koufax was more important, and all's forgotten. Gibson was probably better, but Marichal era de nosotros: nuestro astro.

Still, rooting for Marichal in the Bigs and for Licey at home was too safe of a bet. Carlos rooted for Marichal as well. And for los equipos del campo. Out. East. On the other side of San Pedro de Macoris. An anomaly. And I liked it. I also liked that Juli?n Javier didn't look like any other pelotero. We had seen him in photos: light-skinned and glasses. Nothing racist. Just different. And the contrarian in me was being formed.

Yeah, I became an aguilucho, and in Higuey to boot! Those were the days before the AIs and before cibae?os came out to work, and when B?varo was full of cocos and unknown to out-of-towners and Punta Cana was too far and El Macao was it. So, I was probably the farthest-to-the-east aguilucho kid during those days. I was Juli?n Javier.

Kite-flying, marbles, cam?n ah? (cowboys and Indians), a lo encondio (escondido: hide-and-seek) were routines, but baseball ruled the day: a jug? pelota, muchachose! Although afraid de un pelotazo, I insisted on playing second base: I was Juli?n Javier. I even wanted to wear glasses, always asking los tres reyes magos for lentes.

Our Santa never delivered. The lots shrunk, which necessitated a bate? a lo zurdo. My cousin-brother Negro was the only left-handed kid we knew, but we didn't insist on him switch-hitting: he was weak and would quit most of the time. Que maldita rabia when would-be losers quit rather than take their just beating! By then, I was the only baseball-cap-wearing fool around. Y roja. And with a big 'C' on it. See, the stinkin' St. Louis Cardinals traded Juli?n Javier to the Cinci Reds. I showed them: I switched allegiance and became a Reds fan. That would "learn" them!

I would eventually roam the outfield and become C?sar Cede?o, C?sar Ger?nimo, Lou Brock, Yaz, Fred Lynn, Paul Blair, Miguel Dilon?, and later on, Wally Joyner, Ricky Henderson, Tim Raines, Willie McGee, and Eric The Red: Eric Davis.

Carlos se fu?. My goatee is turning gray. I'm trying original Proust, Prose, and Roth and Lord Tennyson these days. But while all you hear now is "Las Aguilas son Las Aguilas," I put down all that high-fallutin' stuff, and shout: Las Aguilas SON LAS ESTRELLAS!
 

suarezn

Gold
Feb 3, 2002
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Hey man great story. I can completely identify with it. I went through something similar growing up in the boonies in a campo in Cotui. Here's the funny thing, when I was little my dad was "Aguilucho hasta la tambora" and my mother was Liceista (I think because she had lived in Santo Domingo for a while). Anyhow I liked Las Estrellas (basically I just liked the colors). I was of course probably the only Estrellista in the whole province.

I kept clinging to the hope that one day they would win a championship and show all those Aguiluchos and Liceistas. Of course that never happened...It hasn't happened yet.

Eventually ( I think by the time I turned 11) I "saw the light" and became Aguilucho like pretty much everyone around that part of the country. I became huge fan of Miguel Dilone, Franklin Taveras, etc...Deep inside me though there's still this little child still rooting for Las Estrellas...
 

El sabelot?

*** Sin Bin ***
Jan 7, 2008
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I'd like to add that the Trujillo reference was not an attempt to jump on the J?not D?az bandwagon.

Ramfis Trujillo, el jefe's son, practically formed Los Leones del Escogido, with 'escogido' meaning 'chosen.' And the rest is history: Licey y Escogido, los eternos rivales.

So, rooting for Licey was a way of rooting against Trujillo and getting away with it. Sorta like golf attire and white folks.