Las Diablas de México: inspiring women and girls in Latin America

They are the Diablos Rojos Femenil of Mexico City, but popularly they are beginning to be known as The Devils. It is one of the six teams of the new Mexican Softball League (LMS)a historic achievement for women and athletes in this discipline known as the first cousin of baseball In fact, this is the first league of its kind in all of Latin America.

They had to spend almost 100 years for Mexican women to be able to play in the “diamond” at a professional level. The idea of ​​creating a league arose after the successful participation of the Mexican Women's Softball Team in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where the team was one step away from the bronze medal, in a “very worthy” fourth place, they highlight. the players, managing to thrill thousands of people in Mexico.

In this way, softball follows in the footsteps of MX Women's Soccer Leaguestarted in 2017, at break glass ceilings in sport and open new horizons for women and girls.

In Mexico, only 35.6% of women over 18 years of age practice some sport or they do physical exercise in their free time, compared to 49.5% of men of the same age, according to the National Survey on the Dynamics of Relationships in Homes (ENDIREH, 2021).

He sport as an instrument to promote peaceful and inclusive societies is this year's theme for International Day of Sports for Development and Peace, which is celebrated every April 6. Empowering women through sports is a key avenue for gender equality and the eradication of gender-based violence.

Breaking myths and discrimination

From the age of 4, Stefania Aradillas ventured into sports by playing baseball. She dedicated so much passion and discipline to it that, at the age of 9, she was invited to a World Cup. The team accepted her, but she ended up closing doors for being a woman. She was told that baseball was a sport for men. While discrimination was what made her move to softball, this situation It didn't steal her dream of becoming a professional.ly until competing in the Olympics.

“I was fortunate to represent my country (in Tokyo 2020). It was an unforgettable experience. I think that for any athlete the biggest dream is to be in the Olympic Games,” says the current outfielder for the Women's Red Devils. “It's part of what sport has taught me: resilience, to keep fighting,” adds the also winner of the 2020 National Sports Award.

This sport has no gender, highlights the manager of The DevilsVenezuelan Denisse Fuenmayor, former professional player in the United States and Italy. “Women are capable of carrying out any activity. You see a women's softball tournament and you see a men's softball tournament and there is nothing to envy because they have the same reaction capacity. They hit, they hit hon rons. Men are not the only ones who have that strength to give hon rons. Women do it too,” adds the “power hitter,” who believes that the LMS will be key to the empowerment of women and girls beyond Mexican borders.

“It is a great step and a mirror for many women and girls in Latin America, especially girls who are starting out and want to be professionals in this sport. Don't stop dreaming about it. With a lot of discipline and effort they will achieve it,” said the coach.

And just as the former Mexican Olympic athlete Ana Gabriela Guevara inspired her in her childhood, at 29 years old Aradillas is already becoming a sporting reference for girls who attend matches and training sessions. The Devils. “For me, the most important thing is that Little girls come up to me wanting to be part of something like this one day in their lives.. That is something that I take with me away from competitions, hits, races, games won,” she highlights.

Sport is inclusion, health and more…

From empowering women and girls, youth, people with disabilities and other marginalized groups to promoting health, sustainability and education goals, Sport offers enormous potential to boost the Sustainable Development Goalsand promote peace and human rights.

In that sense, The Devils They highlight the values ​​learned in softball and how these have helped them face difficult moments not only in the sport but in their lives, especially in key moments such as the COVID-19 pandemic, so they invite all people, but mainly for childhood and youth, to practice the sport that they like the most to strengthen their physical, psychological and emotional capacities.

“(The values ​​learned) are useful for everything: in school, in respect for your teammates, in teamwork and in trusting each other,” highlights Yamilet Sandoval, player of the Women's Red Devils. Yamilet was on the verge of abandoning her career as softballer during the pandemic, but resume discipline prioritizing the pleasure and fun of the game It was what helped her reconnect with the sport she has practiced since she was 6 years old.

“I no longer knew what I was doing, I no longer knew if I liked it or didn't like it until it got to a point where I said: 'I'm going to set some goals for myself.' And I set goals little by little and I took them and it helped me a lot because psychologically the pandemic affected us all. Many things began to happen in my mind to the point where I started playing again, training and putting softball into my routine, and it helped me a lot with my mental health,” says Yamilet, 22 years old and originally from Tijuana. For her, her resilience is “adapt to adversity and take that to move forward and use it in your daily life”.

For Carmen Alanís, mother of Aradillas and sports manager of The DevilsThe greatest value of softball is also that it can be enjoyed with family, blood and family that you form with the team and the league, he comments. Likewise, he highlights that Sport is key to better developing emotional management, to face situations such as frustration, anger and rage.and to stay away from excesses or vices such as alcohol and drugs.

In this first season of the LMS that concluded in March, the Red Devils Women's team came in third place. The Charros de Jalisco women's team were the champions. The second season will be in 2025 and an expansion is expected in terms of the number of teams. Meanwhile, for the remainder of 2024, some exhibition matches and the participation of Mexican players in international leagues are planned. To learn more about the League, you can visit their social networks HERE.

Text: Eloísa Farrera / UNIC Mexico UN Mexico

Video and photos: Luis Arroyo and Alejandro Olivera / UNIC Mexico UN Mexico