FANTASTIC: Industrialist who died in an accident was the protagonist of something almost unprecedented

By Yasel Porto

Wherever Leo Menéndez is, his soul together with his loved ones will have the satisfaction of the shared pain of his death not only by thousands of people but by the team of his life.

This Tuesday the Latin American stadium the figure of “Cangri” was felt like never before and in a very different way. At least as far as I remember, only Armandito “El Tintorero” had received a postmortem tribute at the Industriales house, if we are speaking of fans of course. Perhaps at the national level there are few examples of followers of a sports team to whom something so special has been dedicated.

A minute of silence in the middle of the initial presentation for the confrontation between Industriales and Holguín was the first important thing that took place in memory of Leo. An extremely emotional moment resulted when the starter for the Lions, Pedro Álvarez from Sancti Spiritus, took off his team’s official shirt and, pointing to the sky, showed the public the pullover he was wearing underneath with the image of the 37-year-old accompanied by The phrase: “positive mindset keeps you strong”.

“Pedrito stole the hearts of all the blue fans yesterday in the night game. Not only because of his energy, because of his excellent work on the pitch, and because of his dedication and passion on top of the box; he gave us goosebumps when after keeping the Holguín Cubs calm in their caves for two-thirds of the game, he opened his jersey to show us his tribute to Leo Menéndez, the fan who died in a car accident. Yesterday while the notes of the National Anthem were playing I looked at the sky and told Leo: this is for you brother, help me ”- he confessed to me just a few minutes ago. The “Blue Gallo” has received many calls and messages from this demanding and faithful fans that have always supported him from the beginning, and who fought on social networks so that he could pitch with the Industriales”, journalist Boris Luis Cabrera wrote in his facebook wall.

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The same pullover was used by other members of the Havana team, as well as fans who attended the meeting and who had a close bond with him.

Santiago designer Dietmar Alexander had prepared an image to put on the screen of the installation in the capital, but unfortunately only the traditional blackboard in the central garden was being used.

The death of Leo Menendez It happened last Sunday in the afternoon when he was returning to his municipality of residence: Colón, from where he had traveled to Havana the day before to witness the debut of the giraldillos in his grounds at the Estadio Latinomericano. In fact, his last post on social networks were the photos he shared with fans, journalists and baseball players, with the already famous phrase that will accompany the squad in this 61st National Series.

Since Sunday night there have been many members of Industriales and fans of the team and of baseball in general who have echoed this fatal outcome, which without a doubt no one has suffered more than his mother, his wife and his two girls.

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The news shocked many and sparked a social media backlash that may never have been seen before with another national sports fan. But the circumstance in which everything took place and the environment of the situation meant that this misfortune had the reaction of industrialists and non-industrialists.

In several fan groups on Facebook and Telegram, photos with special designs have been erected that serve for publications and even the cover, as in the case of the Los Azules Industrial Rock of the Capital.

Thanks to the Industrialists for the gesture of paying tribute to one of those who defended them so much from the stands and in whatever public space there was, and to all those who contributed to what happened on Tuesday night at the “Coloso del Cerro”.

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