Havana Skate City

Just 90 miles south, 11 million residents of the communist island nation of Cuba struggle to get by on the little food and money that the government has been rationing out for more than five decades. The freedom to use said money on simple luxuries that free countries such as...

By Victor Gonzalez

August 2, 2012

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Just 90 miles south, 11 million residents of the communist island nation of Cuba struggle to get by on the little food and money that the government has been rationing out for more than five decades. The freedom to use said money on simple luxuries that free countries such as the United States take for granted — skateboards and art supplies, for example — is virtually unfathomable. Despite the oppression, Havana’s skate scene is remarkably strong. But with the absence of proper skate shops and replacement parts, the city’s skaters were at a major disadvantage until a nonprofit organization from Miami — Amigo Skate Cuba — began to raise funds and collect equipment for Cuban skaters. “[In 2010] we went to Cuba three times,” Amigo Skate founder Rene Lecour told New Times last year. “What we do is take skateboarding equipment and art supplies to kids living in Havana.” To help raise the money for the group’s upcoming trip in January, Lecour is hosting the third annual Skateboard Rodeo at Westwind Lakes Park (6805 SW 152nd Ave., Miami) this Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. “It’s a bigger event than it’s ever been,” he says. “We’re doing six skate contests in one day.”
Sat., Aug. 4, 9 a.m., 2012

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