Baseball arrived in Cuba in the 1860s, brought by students and workers who had been to the United States. It spread quickly because it was fast, exciting and could be played in almost any open space. By the early 1900s it had overtaken bullfighting (which the Spanish colonisers had introduced) to become the island's favourite sport. Today almost every child in Cuba grows up knowing how to throw a pitch and swing a bat.
Cuba has produced some extraordinary baseball players who have gone on to play professionally around the world. The Cuban national team has won many international titles and is famous for its technical skill and tactical creativity. Young players often play all day in informal games - called 'pelota' - that can spring up on any flat piece of ground with enough space.
The atmosphere at a Cuban baseball stadium is unlike any other. Fans bring drums, trumpets and plastic horns. They make up songs about the players and chant rhythms that turn the whole stadium into a kind of percussion performance. There are no big screens or electronic scoreboards at many Cuban grounds - just the game, the crowd, the heat and the sound of the bat on the ball.