Luis Calle still remembers the excitement of his first pigeon.
He was seven years old, living in Matanzas, Cuba, a city where thousands of racing pigeons fly through the sky. “So beautiful,” Calle remembers. He had to save up until he had the three pesos he needed to buy a bird.
It was a transformational moment.
“This is my life,” he recalls thinking. “This is my passion — my bird.”
Now 56, Calle is one of the youngest members of Ottawa’s pigeon racing community. His birds compete internationally, winning him thousands. He holds up a diagram of his finest avian athlete, Victory Andy.
“This is my champion,” he said.
Luis Calle
This story was originally published on CBC News. To read the rest of this news worthy story, please visit https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/pigeon-racers-hope-immigrants-can-be-salvation-for-200-year-old-sport-1.6855971?cmp=rss.