Skateboarding team in Cuba? Toda Fuerza aims to open doors

CubaOne Foundation plants a skateboarding seed

HAVANA – From the California's surf culture of the '50s to the central plazas of town's in Cuba, skateboarding has grown into a worldwide cultural identity.

Steven Garcia is passionate about the sport and about Cuba. His dad was born on the island and his mom is Cuban-American.

Last year, he traveled to Havana for the first time with the help of the CubaOne Foundation, a non-profit organization that sponsors trips to U.S.-born millennial of Cuban descent. He said the trip changed him. 

When Garcia returned to South Florida, he founded Toda Fuerza, Spanish for "All Strength." The organization aims to help creative Cubans like Idania Del Rio, an entrepreneur, and Jorge Rodriguez Diez, a designer known as R10, with an online store

Toda Fuerza also recruited seven Cubans who love skateboarding to join a team and participate in amateur competitions. The hope is that one day Cubans will be able to benefit from the skateboarding industry. 


About the Author:

In January 2017, Hatzel Vela became the first local television journalist in the country to move to Cuba and cover the island from the inside. During his time living and working in Cuba, he covered some of the most significant stories in a post-Fidel Castro Cuba.