The iconic Angel Falls, in Venezuela.

Photo: BBC.

In Venezuela, land of oil, rum and chicha, natural wonders, arepas, lively culture and great baseball players, the 65th edition of the Caribbean Series, Gran Caracas 2023 will be held

. The tournament, from February 2 to 10, will bring together eight teams for the first time

, which will mean four games a day and a total of 32 during the qualifying stage.

It will be the fifteenth time that Venezuelans host the fair.

The last one was in 2014, when the Mexican club Naranjeros de Hermosillo was crowned on the island of Margarita.

For the first time, this event will have two venues: the La Rinconada stadiums, in Caracas, and the Jorge Luis García Carneiro stadium, formerly the Forum de la Guaira (Macuto parish, Vargas municipality, La Guaira state), in the north-central region of Venezuela. , 30 km.

from the country's capital, off the Caribbean coast.

La Rinconada will be premiered during the event.

It is one of the most ambitious sports projects in Venezuela, with seven levels and a capacity of

38,000

people, the second largest in Latin America, only surpassed by the Latin American (55,000 fans).


La Rinconada will be inaugurated during the event.

Photo: Seventh Entry.

The Forum La Guaira was inaugurated in 2020 for the training of talents in this sport and the enjoyment of the people.

Built by the national government in the Pavero sector, also in the Macuto parish, it has a

capacity of 14,300 spectators.

According to the governor of the state of La Guaira, José Alejandro Terán, the facility received a remodeling that included the expansion of the bathrooms and the improvement of the conditions of the land and the

dogouts,

in addition to the construction of premises.

"You can already see the commercial premises, LED screens and other devices that will be part of the shopping center that is being built inside the stadium

," he said at the beginning of November 2022.

The stadium that has been the headquarters of the Tiburones de La Guaira and the Bravos de Margarita, teams of the Professional League of Venezuela, will also have a

restaurant, motel and casino

to offer greater and more varied enjoyment to visitors.

Terán recalled on that occasion that details of the construction of the Ferris wheel at the El Ojo de La Guaira mechanical park were simultaneously being finalized, a 66-meter-high structure with 36 cabins on the local Cinta Costera.

It is noteworthy that the authorities of the Caribbean Professional Baseball Commission have followed up on the adaptations of the terrain, in accordance with the regulations for international events.

The Jorge Luis García Carneiro receives renovation work. Photo: Revoluciona.

Which countries will participate in the 2023 Caribbean Series?

As usual, this Caribbean Series will feature the champion clubs of the winter leagues of the countries that make up the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation (CBPC):

Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Venezuela and Colombia.

In addition, the CBPC invited Cuba, which was already part of the Caribbean Series, and Curaçao, a country where the quality of baseball has increased in recent years and which has never participated.

Cuba dominated the tournament from 1949 to 1960, when it was called the World Series.

In that stage he obtained seven titles

.

The first edition of the Series was organized in Havana, with the Alacranes del Almendares club as champion.

After a long impasse, Cuban baseball players returned to the Caribbean Series in 2014, with the Villa Clara Sugar Bowls.

The following year, the Vegueros de Pinar del Río won the championship.

The last Cuban participation was in 2019, with the Leñadores de Las Tunas.

For its debut in the Series, Curaçao will gather its best players and will even call those who are active in the Major Leagues.

The people of Curaçao aspire to have the best debut possible.

How many titles does each country have?

Of the eight teams called up to the 2023 Caribbean Series, seven previously won titles.

The Dominican Republic is the most winner, with 21, while Colombia only accumulates one trophy, achieved in Santo Domingo 2022, when the Caimanes de Barranquilla defeated the Gigantes del Cibao.

list of titles

  • Dominican Republic (21)

  • Puerto Rico (16)

  • Mexico (9)

  • Cuba (8)

  • Venezuela (7)

  • Panama (2)

  • Colombian (1)

  • Curaçao (0)

The competition system is characterized by brevity.

The teams will play all against all for consecutive days

.

The first four will advance to the crossed semifinals of a match (1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3).

The winners will go for gold and the losers for third place.

Dominican Republic is the top winner. Photo: MLB.com

Which teams will play the 2023 Caribbean Series?

  • WildCats (Curaçao champion)

  • Tigres del Licey (Dominican Republic champion)

  • Federales de Chiriquí (Panama champion)

  • Tiburones de la Guaira or Leones del Caracas (Venezuelan champion)

  • Cañeros de Los Mochis (Mexico champion)

  • Indios de Mayagüez (Puerto Rican champion)

  • Vaqueros de Montería (Colombian champion)

  • Farmers (Cuban champion)

Each of these sets will attend 

the appointment

reinforced.

In another installment we will analyze the possibilities of the different teams, which already arouse the interest of millions of fans in Latin America, who will be watching the performances of their teams in Venezuela, land of oil, rum and chicha, of natural wonders. , arepas, live culture and good baseball.

La Rinconada will host most of the matches.

Photo: Alnavio.

La Rinconada has a capacity for 38,000,000 spectators.

Photo: Alnavio.