Half Way Home: Why Ricardo Lamas is a fighter in exile

Monterrey was home to Ricardo Lamas’ mother. There, in a gritty industrial town that cares more about function than flash, Lamas was able to outwork Diego Sanchez on route to a memorable win at UFC Fight Night 78.

But Ricardo Lamas earned much more than a signature win in Monterrey. In northeastern Mexico, ‘The Bully’ was also able to access a new understanding of not only what it meant to be Mexican, but what it meant to be from Monterrey. He had teased at these feelings on previous trips to Mexico, including his Mexico City match-up with Dennis Bermudez (which he won via submission) and the press junkets that accompanied the UFC’s push into Latin America. But Monterrey was different.

In the shadows of the Cerro de la Sila (Saddle Mountain), along cobbled streets that fill with the smell of Cabritos (whole roasted goats), Lamas was able to share his time with cousins and other relatives, who he had connected with during his earlier excursions south. Being in Monterrey delighted Lamas and a part of his spirit swelled with a newfound feeling of belonging. Despite the happiness and profundity he felt being in his mother’s hometown, for the first time in his life, Lamas still felt a ‘void’ within himself.

Nathaniel C. Sheetz Cerro de la Silla dominates the skyline of Monterrey, Mexico.

Like many people, the two halves that make Lamas whole are from vastly different places. In his case, the two places are separated by the sea. However, the miles of water are nothing compared to what truly keeps Lamas from ever setting foot in the home of his father.

In 1963, Cuba was suffering the aftershocks of the bloody revolution that had began a decade prior, and ended in 1959. By ’63, Castro had fully committed himself to the role of a Marxist-Leninist leader. Castro’s ideology was somewhat unclear during the actual insurrection he led against then-dictator Fulgencio Batista. By this time Castro had also nationalized the educational system, hospitals, industrial facilities, and private land. Cubans in the early sixties who were affiliated with the old regime, as well as those who weren’t keen on the new one, were hunted. Amnesty International is on record stating that 200 political executions were carried out in the first decades of post-revolution Cuba. Some historians have the total number of executions reaching into the tens of thousands. The revolution itself cost approximately 5,000 combat deaths. Those who did not want to live or die under Castro went to the boats, or anything else that floated. In total 1.2 million people left the island. In 1963, Jose Lamas – Ricardo’s father – was one of them.

Jose Lamas left his home at age twenty-three, leaving his parents behind. He had fought alongside Castro’s forces in the revolution, but had soured on the dictator once his communist agenda was fully revealed. Jose Lamas went so far as to actively participate in countermeasures against the Castro regime until it was simply too dangerous to stay.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images File photo – The leader’s of Cuba’s revolution watch over the streets of Havana.

“That was the last time he saw his father,” said Lamas of the time his dad left Cuba. “His mother came to the US for a little bit, but passed away shortly after, his father passed away in Cuba and my dad couldn’t even return for his own father’s funeral.”

“There’s a void deep inside me for not knowing that side,” continued Lamas – solemnly. …

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