The cuban swimmer

¶ … Cuban Swimmer (1984) -- an Abusive Trainer-Athlete Relationship

You're papi's got everything under control, understand?"(Sanchez-Scott, 1984, p. 913) The proud young athlete who is mentored by a devoted coach is a common cliches in sports stories. "Hispanic-Americans use athletic skills to propel themselves into the mainstream of middle- class life in this country. It's a traditional theme. The basic plot was advanced long ago in such plays as Clifford Odets's 'Golden Boy,' and since then, in scores of films, books and movies, members of ethnic groups have moved out of the slums." (Mitgang, 1984) However, in the play "The Cuban Swimmer," such a conventions is turned on its head. The play highlights the potential abuses of the athlete and coach relationship by contrasting the young heroine's poetic and triumphant efforts with the crass desire of her trainer for media exposure. Her trainer is motivated by his own needs, not by his young charge's athletic glory.

The fact that the heroine's trainer is also her father further complicates the nature of the abuses Margarita suffers under his hard tutelage. Throughout the short play, her father brusquely tells her how to breath and stroke and reveals his profound ignorance of the true nature of the water and his daughter's increasingly weary body. Despite the contention of Eduardo, the father of the title character, that he has everything under control, the play "The Cuban Swimmer" highlights how little control Eduardo really has over his own emotions as he becomes caught up in the media frenzy that ensues as a result of his teenage daughter's determination and swimming prowess. The value of independence from a close-knit but corrupt family in the narrative of the young, ethnic athlete who 'makes good' is the thematic contention of the play. The father's training methods are condemned.

The play depicts a young woman, named Margarita who is attempting to win a prestigious swimming competition. She suffers under the pressures of her trainer, her other relatives, and the media. "Her trainer, her coach, her mentor, is her father," the media voices crow, lapping up the 'perfect' nature of this supposedly close-knit Hispanic family. (Sanchez-Scott, 1984, p. 914) But in actuality, the other members of her family also are more interested in proving themselves worthy of the American dream, rather than ensuring Margarita succeeds in safety.

This is shown in the play's depiction of the family dynamic (not just Margarita's father), the depiction of the news media, and the solitary nature of Margarita's final triumph.