If the Cuban national judo team was competing in, say, Cleveland, few people outside judo circles would notice.
But this is Miami, a place no Cuban national team of any sport had set foot in for more than four decades. So, when news spread that world judo power Cuba was in the heart of downtown Thursday competing in the 2008 Pan American Championships, a dozen passionate Cuban exiles -- members of the hard-line Vigilia Mambisa group -- showed up to protest outside the Hyatt hotel.
They waved Cuban flags and castigated local politicians for allowing ''representatives of Fidel Castro'' to compete on Miami soil.
Meanwhile, inside the hotel lobby, ignoring the scene outside, were Cuban athletes relaxing on sofas and mingling with Cuban-American fans who were there to support them, Cuban flags in hand.
The athletes posed for photos with fans, and munched on fast food and pastries from the lobby bakery while one athlete videotaped the scene. Earlier in the day, a Cuban national coach reached out to a former Cuban judoka who had defected, presenting her with a surprise gift.
''This is what's great about the United States,'' said Jose Rodriguez, executive director of USA Judo and a native of Cuba, who came to this country at age 11 in 1961. ``Those people have the right to be out there expressing their opinion freely, but the Cuban team has the right to come here and participate in an international sporting event. That's what the Olympic spirit is all about -- harmony, goodwill, peace. The fact that the Cubans are in Miami is one step forward to opening doors that have been shut for far too long.''
Other Cuban national teams had been steered away from competing in South Florida over the years for fear of demonstrations, and Cuban judo officials voted against Miami as a venue for this event when the ballot came down to Miami and Rio de Janeiro. Once Miami won the bid, Rodriguez assured the Cuban delegation it would be welcome and secure here and urged the team to participate.
''At first there was concern from the Cubans about coming to Miami, but I told them they will be respected by most people here,'' Rodriguez said. `There are those 12 people out there who don't want them here, but there are many, many more who are happy they came.''
Cuban teams had been reluctant to travel to the United States partly because of the fear of how they would be received, but also because of a history of defections. Two months ago, seven members of the Cuban Under-23 national soccer team slipped away from a Tampa hotel and defected during an Olympic qualifying tournament. A year and a half ago, three Olympic champion boxers defected during a training trip in Venezuela.
Two of those boxers -- Yan Barthelemy and Yuriorkis Gamboa -- live in Miami now and were seen at the judo competition Thursday, greeting and supporting the Cuban judokas.
WARM RELATIONS
Rodriguez said the relationship between the U.S. and Cuban judo teams is very good. The U.S. team competed at a tournament in Cuba last month.
Perhaps most telling, Cuban women's national coach Ronaldo Veitia brought to Miami three medals that belonged to Danieska Carrion, a former Cuban champion judoka who defected in Mexico City four years ago and now works as a coach with the U.S. national team. Veitia presented her with two bronzes from the 2001 and 2003 world championships, and a gold medal from the 1999 world junior championships.
Those types of gestures are still rare. In most cases, Cubans who defect are viewed as traitors. Loanni Prieto, one of the seven Cuban soccer players who defected in Tampa, said team officials visited his mother's home in Havana a few weeks ago and demanded that she turn over her son's medals, trophies and the house phone, which was in his name.
Luis Ernesto Delis, a former Cuban national team boxer who defected eight years ago, is hopeful that things are slowly changing. He works as a security guard in North Miami, and took an afternoon break Thursday to support the Cuban judo team. He remembers traveling to Louisiana and Nevada with the Cuban boxing team in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and having to walk past protesters.
''I feel the pain of those people out there protesting because I love Cuba, too, and will always consider myself a Cuban, but the enemy is not these young athletes, and this should be about sports, not politics,'' Delis said. ``That rhetoric out there is old-school. We should all stick together and support the Cuban people.''
U.S. HOSPITALITY
Delis said he wants the Cuban athletes to see that people in the United States are friendly, not the ogres they are painted out to be in Cuba. He recalled being nervous during his first trip to the United States because he had been told ''horror stories about Americans.'' When he and his teammates ventured out of their Louisiana hotel and went shopping, Delis said he was shocked at the storekeepers' generosity.
''They were excited to meet us, took our pictures, gave us discounts,'' he said. ``They realized we were just young kids, athletes, and that's how I feel about these judo athletes. We should welcome them here.''
Outside, the protest continued all afternoon. One of the most emotional protesters was Martha Gonzalez, who left Cuba 41 years ago. Tears welled in her eyes as she explained her reason for shouting outside the hotel.
''I have spent 41 years crying for my country,'' she said. ``This protest is not about those young athletes. They are victims of Castro. They don't know what freedom is, and I feel for them and would welcome them with open arms if they want to stay. I am protesting because Cuba has a dictator who violates human rights, and our local politicians should not spend even a penny hosting representatives of that government when they could use the money for our taxpayers.''
In fact, Rodriguez said, no government funds are being used to subsidize the Cuban team. ``They paid for their plane tickets like everyone else. They are paying $136 a night for the hotel like everyone else. And their athletes should be treated like everyone else, too.''
Video | Visiting team stirs up emotions