LETO, Fla. — There is an intense competition going on—one you may not even know about—in Tampa Bay neighborhoods.
The stakes are high for Cubans who flock to a beloved sport, a native tradition.
Almost every weekend, the skies over Leto and Town ’N Country can be packed with pigeons.
“For a lot of people, pigeons are the rats of the sky,” Jose Pupo said. “But not for Cubans. Pigeons are everything to us.”
Birds in the sky bring spectators to the streets.
“It’s something very exciting when you get your friends together,” Armando Martinez said. “We gather together for breakfast, for lunch, do a party, cookout, barbecue.”
These men are the Palomeros de Tampa, the Pigeon Men. Their birds are the name of the game.
“It’s Palomeros Ladrona,” Pupo said. “If you’re a ladrona, you’re a thief. Thieving Pigeon.”
What exactly are the pigeons stealing?
It’s more like seducing—capturing the heart of another bird.
“When they go flying, their natural instinct is going to be to try to mate,” Pupo explained. “When they talk to each other in the air, whoever has the most power can lure the other bird to its own house to then start the process of catching the other bird.”
For a capture to count, the competing pigeon must lead someone else’s bird in a specifically-designed cage. A capture scores the most points in the game.
Pupo’s prized pigeon is named Mr. Drunk Guy. In two years, he has had 48 captures.
The birds are judged on 17 different aspects where they can score points. Once the bird is released for competition, Pupo, who is the club's director, referees the event from the roof.
He looks at how fast the bird flies, how far, and the different actions the pigeon takes while in flight. Each action is designated a specific point total.
“Believe it or not, it’s something very knowledgable to do to actually have a good performance bird out there,” Martinez said. “It’s not easy.”
This game was brought to Cuba by the Spanish conquistadors.
“The [Spaniards] focus a lot doing this game with the pure breed of the bird,” Pupo said, “The Cubans started mixing the races together to create this bird that we have now. It’s a smaller bird, more agile bird, flies longer.”
Pupo’s pigeons are considered professional athletes. He breeds them, trains them and cares for them in a coop in the backyard.
“They have eight different types of grains to choose from, their water is daily changed, they have LED lights, they have electricity, running water up here,” Pupo said. “They’re better-taken care of than I am."
The lengths they’ll go to to have the top pigeon on the block.
“I don’t want to say I’m the Tom Brady of the neighborhood, but I do have a lot of my stuff with the pigeons figured out,” Pupo said.
