Serene Festival

To ballyhoo Cuba's political serenity, boom Havana tourist trade, Cuba's idealistic President Miguel Mariano Gomez y Arias last autumn hit on the idea of a Christmas Sports Festival. Main events on a week-long schedule were to be a New Year's Day football game between two crack U. S. college teams; an amateur boxing tournament; jai-alai matches; an international basketball tournament; the baseball championship of Cuba. As a special opening attraction, Cuban Sports Commissioner Carlos L. Henriquez, one-time Columbia footballer, dug up the ancient stunt of a race between a human and a horse, with famed Jesse Owens making his first track appearance as a professional.

Last week, the Cuban Senate rudely impeached President Gomez (see p. 18). Two days later his Sports Festival started off serenely enough under the new Government. With 3,000 spectators squealing joyously. Sprinter Owens ran 100 yards on the cinder track beside the Tropical Stadium football field in 9.9 sec. His opponent, a mediocre racehorse named Julio McCaw started 40 yards behind Owens, gained ground by cutting across a curve onto the football field, finished second by 20 yd.

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