This Sunday marks 74 years since Francisco Morales Dardón climbed up to the old cauldron of the Revolución Stadium and lit the flame on the occasion of the VI Central American and Caribbean Games. Guatemala celebrated its fairs and opened luxury venues in the Sports City.
The construction of those venues lasted two years, but everything was ready to be enabled by the then president Juan José Arévalo Bermejo, on February 25, 1950. “In the presence of illustrious visitors and friends and the delegates of the VI Games Central Americans and the Caribbean, I declare these solemnly inaugurated, for the good of sport, fraternity of the peoples and greatness of America,” the president said in his speech.
With the intention of presenting a decent and worthy organization of the regional sports event, the National Stadium of the Revolution was built, which in 1952 was baptized as Mateo Flores, and since 2016 it became Doroteo Guamuch Flores; the gym, named after Teodoro Palacios Flores; the multi-disciplinary Olympic swimming pool, the Open Air Theatre, which is now the Badminton and Weightlifting Federation Coliseum, and the tennis courts; in addition to the Sports Palace, where the Autonomous Sports Confederation of Guatemala is located.
The Diario de Centro América reported on its pages the opening of the Games. Photo: Norvin Mendoza
According to the rapporteur of the Faculty of History of the USAC Mauricio Chaulón, this sports complex “is one of the legacies of the Revolution of October 20, since with the new government of Arévalo the headquarters of the sports competitions were managed and the design and construction”.
“For this production, the land of the La Palma farm was used, which was confiscated from former president Manuel Estrada Cabrera, who was in power from 1888 to 1920. This farm extended to the place that is currently popularly known as La Limonada, where a baseball diamond was going to be built, but it was decided to improve the one in zone 2, which now bears the name of Enrique Torrebiarte,” said Chaulón.
The aerial view allows you to observe the construction of the Stadium. Photo: Norvin Mendoza
“The particularity of the VI Central American and Caribbean Games is that countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, among other islands, participate, and Guatemala achieved a successful fifth place,” reflected the historian.
“For their time, all the buildings were made with the best materials and that has meant that they have withstood the passage of time, as well as the 1976 earthquake and other climate issues without being damaged. However, with demographic growth and new technologies they are beginning to lag behind, but structurally they are made to last many more years,” Chaulón considered.
“It would be advisable for current governments to invest in modern facilities and question those who preceded the Arévalo Government, what they have invested in sports,” the reference concluded. On that occasion, 1,319 athletes from 14 nations competed in 19 different sports. For the country, 59 metals were conquered, of which 9 were gold, 25 silver and 25 bronze.
Athletics had excellent results with 2 gold medals for Luis H. Velásquez, 2 silver medals for Doroteo Guamuch Flores and triple bronze for Graviola Ewing. While Dolores Castillo distinguished herself as a medalist in diving. Soccer also won the silver, with a team led by Mario Camposeco and Carlos Pepino Toledo.
Guatemala achieved fifth place in those sports competitions. Photo: Norvin Mendoza
2024-02-23 07:03:28
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