CubaPLUS Magazine

   Alain Roca, a former Cuban volleyball player who exchanged the ball for gastronomy, activities that are his two great passions, has always put a lot of love into all his endeavors.

   About this, CubaPLUSMagazine interviewed this well-known Cuban, one of the sports glories of the greatest of the Antilles, who has traveled much of the world with the ball in hand.

    “I love everything I do…fighting, hoping, sacrificing for my goals. Learn to fight for what you want in life. Human sacrifice is what matters to achieve things,  ”he said when answering a question about what he considers his great passions.

   When recounting his first great love, volleyball, he pointed out that “sport comes into my life through my parents. Both were basketball players. Sport has always been in my family and that's how it seduced me”. "Since I was little I started practicing volleyball and I headed towards ESPA (Superior School of Athletic Improvement), where future high-performance athletes are trained, and I made it to the national team when I was barely 18 years old," he recalled.

   “My sports career and the opportunity that made it possible for me to visit several countries, has enriched my personality, my maturity and, of course, being Cuban, I fervently defend Cuban culture, to which the culture of rum and cigars are closely linked. two things with which I identify naturally,” he said. “The culture that I acquired for a long time in all those places is the root, the cause, and the genesis of why I am closely linked to Havana Club today.

   I am generally passionate about light rum and Havana Club has an extremely broad portfolio”, he said. Currently a brand ambassador, Alain Roca already has a cocktail, "Don Roca", which was born spontaneously, the result of teamwork between two bartender brothers: Elio E. Avedaño Reyes and Roberto Alejandro Avedaño Reyes, with the advice from also a bartender, Reynier Ernesto Rodríguez and the Maestro of Cuban Rum, Asbel Morales.

   “Don Roca” is a digestive cocktail with a smoky flavor prepared with Havana Club Cuban Smoky rum, cinnamon syrup, classic Angostura, and a dash of ginger concentrate and coconut liqueur.

    About his projects, Roca said he is finishing the recording of the first season of 20 episodes of the "Rematazo" program for YouTube where, as a host, he interviews sports figures, among others, whose common thread is volleyball, but also incorporated rum culture and gourmet cuisine. To end this “one-man orchestra”, as we could call him for his multiple activities, he wanted to express his gratitude to all those who in one way or another have contributed to his altruistic work, including Havana Club and the Museum of Rum for their unconditional support at all times. “I feel very honored to be able to help promote the brand. It is a source of pride and a reason for happiness because it is also something spontaneous ”, he concluded.