For five years, while the economy crashed, everyday necessities became scarce and its communist doctrine deepened its isolation, Cuba has worked toward this day.
It's been costly. Some estimates claim the Cubans have spent $140 million building 21 new venues and training centers and refurbishing 46 others. Government officials insist no money was diverted from other needs, a claim that is difficult to believe in view of the food lines, gas lines and dilapidated state of so much housing.But when the Pan American Games open tonight at the new, 35,000-seat Pan American Stadium, the hosts will have kept their word, fulfilled their obligation.
"The games are a sacred commitment," President Fidel Castro said. "We are a country of honor."
Castro will be on hand to open the games, then high jump world record holder Javier Sotomayor, the only man ever to jump eight feet, will light the torch.
"This is a big honor," Sotomayor said Thursday, "as big as the world record. No, bigger.
"To be able to celebrate these games is a victory for the Cuban people."
Just getting the games going will be a victory, but nobody is expecting a Disney extravaganza at opening ceremonies. The ceremonies will feature music from throughout Latin America, presentations by 12,000 school and day-care children and senior citizens, dancers, and the "pizarra humanas," a flashcard display depicting famous incidents in Cuban history that organizers say will be "a very prominent part of the festivities."
Also, a team of "sports parachuters" will perform for the crowds in a demonstration of athleticism, organizers said.
Those organizers also were breathing more easily when the United States apparently approved the games' drug-testing procedures.
Mario Vasquez Rana, president of PASO, the organizing committee for the games, said athletes' urine samples will be tested in labs in Havana, the main site of the games, Mexico City and Barcelona, site of the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Whether the athletes and visitors approve of the accomodations and competition sites will become clearer this weekend.
Despite the expenditure, many venues could be considered makeshift, with some not completed until this week. Few will lend themselves to world-class performances.
Officials of COPAN, the local organizing committee, have had difficulty with logistics. For instance, bus schedules have been a joke even before the games begin.
A reception at the Revolution Palace that required invitations was advertised by COPAN on Thursday. No invitations had been printed, however, and none of the promised buses arrived at the announced pickup point. The reception may have been held, but the guests never got there.