CubaPLUS Magazine

Extreme sports as pastimes and as a way of life are less well-known in Cuba than elsewhere but still draw plenty of participants and spectators.

Skateboarding has its origins in the USA and today attracts a global following, although many tend to equate the word extreme with danger, a view perhaps coloured by fashion or the sporting world.

Skateboarding is a sport that is carried out on a four-wheeled deck that allows the skater to perform tricks, often lifting the deck itself or a part of it off the ground.

These young people combine agility and coordination to move their skateboards over and around complex obstacles.

In Cuba’s parks young people are out putting in the practice hours on their skateboards, bicycles and skates. These are often old, repaired, modified but that doesn’t stop young Cubans flying through the air and assaulting the pavements like Don Quixote attacking his windmills, as they show off the fruits of their dedication.