ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A comedian described as Cuba’s George Lopez said there’s nothing bigger than Jose Abreu when it comes to the island nation.
Comedian Luis Silva, star of ‘Vivir Del Cuento,’ visited the White Sox slugger before Saturday’s game at Tropicana Field.
Silva -- who met with President Obama last month when he visited Cuba for an exhibition between the Tampa Bay Rays and Team Cuba -- and Abreu have been friends for two years. While Abreu described Silva as one of Cuba’s most recognizable faces, the comic insists the first baseman is just as popular.
“Cuba has a population of 11 million and 11 million people are Abreu fans in Cuba,” Silva said through an interpreter. “When he started playing he was a huge success and everybody knows he has the pedigree to be a good baseball player because all of his career in Cuba and what he did with the National team and then when he played with the national team in the World Baseball Classic. He was a big deal.”
Silva has a work visa granted as part of a cultural exchange between Cuba and the United States that permits him to travel back and forth for work. The pair met after Abreu started to play for the White Sox. Abreu is a big fan of Silva’s and watches his television show on YouTube on flights.
“It’s very good,” Abreu said.
Both men said the same of Saturday’s meeting. They posed for a few photos together with both in their work attire -- one of Silva’s more popular characters appears to be a grumpy old man.
MLB
Silva remembers how surprised he was when he first heard that Abreu wanted to meet him. The moment wasn’t lost on Silva as he hung out with his friend before the game.
“This is like the biggest thing,” Silva said. “I’ve been a baseball fan from the time I was a kid in Cuba. To be able to be here in the highest level of baseball, it’s like a dream come true. But it’s more important that I’m here because one of the biggest Cuban baseball players in history, like Jose Abreu, invited me to be here. And I’m glad to be here. I feel very honored to be a part of Abreu’s friends.”