We walked through narrow streets on our way to take photos of the Rafael Trejo Boxing Gym. Boxing murals on the walls guided us until we stepped foot inside the open-air gym. It was a hot November day in the 90s and sweat was already dripping off the fighters as we entered the gym.
The gym was named after Rafael Trejo Gonzalez, who was a law student who was killed during the protests against Gerardo Machado’s government in 1930. He began his education in 1927 and quickly became involved in spearheading the fight for the rights of Cubans. He once said that he didn’t want to be rich by saying, “My toga will always be at the service of justice… I am ready to sacrifice everything to see Cuba as Marti wanted it.”
On campus, he quickly became a leader and was vice-president of the Association of Law Students and was a member of Directorio Estudiantil Universitario (DEU). He was also athletic and was on the university rowing team. In 1930, along with other law students, removed a plaque that praised the dictators in power.
Gerardo Machado presided over Cuba with an authoritarian rule, and his office was widely known to be corrupt and repressed the common man. Social inequality ran rampant in Cuba, and Machado was the main reason.
The student movement became a major opposition force to Machado’s government. Trejo and his fellow students frequently took to the streets to denounce the government’s actions. The students demanded reforms and rallied the masses against the abuses that were caused by Machado.
On September 30, 1930, Trejo gathered together with a large number of students. The students made their way to Parque Eloy Alfaro. The group intended to deliver a manifesto that opposed the Machado regime. The police and security forces encountered the students, and violence ensued. Trejo attempted to disarm a police officer. Trejo was shot twice at close range, and other students carried him to the hospital, where he underwent surgery and died the next day.
Trejo’s death shocked students throughout Cuba, and his funeral turned into a large demonstration. His coffin was draped with a Cuban flag as a symbol of the resistance. His killing helped launch the Revolution of 1930, and grouped together other students, workers, and intellectuals.
The Rafael Trejo Gym opened in 1961 and is Cuba’s oldest and best-known boxing club. The open-air gym is not for the faint of heart and is a grueling place to learn the art of boxing. Despite its bare-bones gym, amateur boxers flock to the boxing club to learn from the best.
Boxing is the second-biggest sport in Cuba, behind baseball. It is hard not to feel inspired by the athletes pounding gloves, pads, and flesh inside the gym. As I dripped with sweat in the open-air gym, it was nothing compared to the fighters who left puddles of sweat on the floor. It is easy to understand why a boxing gym wanted to be named after a great Cuban who squared off against the government’s top bullies.
Read these other stories from Cuba:
Baseball in Havana
Visiting Churches in Havana
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