Bahía Blanca has inescapable references when talking about its history. One of them is Mario Minervino, an engineer, journalist and historian, with whom we spoke extensively about his life, the city, basketball, architecture and much more.
MINERVINO: «THE ATTITUDE WAS ALWAYS UNNEGOTIABLE FOR BAHÍA IN BASKETBALL»
Polo and Lito and a cry that speaks of the idiosyncrasy of Bahiense basketball.
Originally from a small town in the province of Buenos Aires near Junín, he arrived in Bahia as a teenager with his two brothers and parents. The first impression of the city was not the best, but 50 years later, that “hot desert” became part of it forever.
Civil engineer by profession, journalist and historian by love and vocation, few people can claim to know as many secrets of Bahía Blanca as the protagonist of this article. When he talks about journalism, his eyes light up, as much as when he talks about an event that marked an era. Mario Minervino tells us his story, the history of Bahia and much more.
“Bahiense by adoption”, never before said this…
“I arrived in Bahía Blanca in February 1972, I was born in a very small town called Germania, near Junín. The first impression I got from the city was not the best, it was very hot and it gave me the feeling that it was a desert”.
“Since we didn’t know anyone, my mother made me a member of the Student Club and my father of the Basque Union, with the clear intention that I begin to socialize”.
Did you get fully into basketball or did you start somewhere else?
“Since that year I have already begun to connect with the history of Bahiense basketball through Estudiantes. The club had a huge social life, there were many disciplines, I played paddle ball and did almost all sports, but informally, including basketball, where I began to learn it, but I never competed at the federative level.
Did you formally play any sport?
“The only formal activity that I did in an official way was playing football in Liniers, for a year. I was in the Commercial League, I was already 24 years old, and Carapella, who was the club’s coach, saw me play in a friendly and called me to go. A month later I had debuted in the First Division playing as a creative, but I could never adapt to the 11-a-side game and a year later I left, because I was behind in my university studies”.
“In 1983 I graduated from the UNS as a Civil Engineer and I practiced the profession for around 15 years working in a company from Bahia called Bernardi De Carolis. Also at that time, I worked in Caleta Olivia, Rio Gallegos, Comodoro Rivadavia, Luján and other places, always as a builder”.
Mario Minervino (Left) with the Liniers shirt
Like Roberto Seibane, a person linked to a hard career who ends up serving as a historian and journalist?
“Engineering was not my thing, I realized that it was difficult for me. Going to the work was quite an issue, I did it, but something told me it wasn’t that way. I became a specialist in quoting bids and in that sense I was more comfortable than in construction. At the same time I was writing things; I always liked to write”.
“The engineering career is hard, already in the course of it I realized that my passion was somewhere else. I liked to read Borges, García Márquez, novels, stories, less than things related to the race”.
Didn’t it occur to you to drop everything and start with journalism or history?
“At that time it did not occur to me to leave the degree and go elsewhere, therefore, the vice of writing stood out by sending writings to the newspaper “Letters to the reader”. I began to send writings to La Nueva Provincia, with varied themes and the first one that was published was in 1979, in a narration that made a comparison of idols, with the recent appointment of Mother Teresa of Calcutta to the Nobel Prize”.
What was that moment like when you opened the diary?
“For me it had a giant impact on my life to see my signature there. That emboldened me to keep writing. In addition, the newspaper had two places for longer narratives, which were called “Other Voices” and “Window on controversy” and I began to write more extensive developments on topics such as friendship, family, everyday issues and they were published. Clearly that was the way, even though I still didn’t see it that way”.
“My writings were always a huge satisfaction, even more than my constructions, that clearly marked that the profession was going on one side and the passion on the other. I was sure that he wanted to continue writing, although he still didn’t know what. Therefore, he was reflecting on some general questions, but he still hadn’t finished defining a place”.
Why journalism?
“I always had a fascination for journalists. When someone told me that it was, I looked at it with different eyes, there was a capital respect on my part for the profession. The world of journalism, from the point of view of someone telling you a story, narrating it, finding a new one. I already had this inside me while I was dedicated to engineering”.
When did you become directly linked to journalism?
“It was only in 1993 that I approached La Nueva Provincia, to propose that they make a section in the newspaper dedicated to architecture and engineering. There I was able to combine my profession with my passion and I was very lucky, because it was just going from black and white to color and they wanted something that had a visual impact and this came in handy”.
“I remember that the first time I sat down in the newsroom of the Nueva I said, “they don’t take me out of here anymore” and here I am. I even said, “wherever you are distracted, I am writing the editorials” and 10 years later I was doing it”.
How were those beginnings with the written press?
“I began to see how I could do to expand my content and I realized that there was space for notes on the history of the city. I loved the theme and on top of that it was published full page on Sunday. After that, Martín Allica had a small section in the editorial section that he published daily and said that he did not want to do it anymore, so the void was left and I began to write ephemeris in a section called “The Forms of Yesterday, stories of Bahia Blanca.
Bahia defeats Yugoslavia in the Tomás
What was work like back then, without access to today’s technology?
“I was working all the time on the newspaper archive. You have to think that the collection of the New Province is bound from number 1 to the present (1898 – 2022) there I went in search of the days in which I was interested in the ephemeris and I tracked down the newspapers from 30-40-50 years ago to see if there were interesting stories to float or investigate. This work led me to become a connoisseur of the history of the city, almost unintentionally, just by going in search of those anecdotes and stories”.
“This is how I recently came to the story of Popovich playing in Bahia in 1972, I was checking other information, when I came across the arrival of the USA in the city with the Pre-Olympic team and there was a certain “J. Popovich”, I began to investigate more and I realized that there were many coincidences: he played in the Air Force, he was summoned for the previous tour of the Olympic Games, I checked photographs… Then it was to go to the direct source. I asked Montecchia to ask Manu if he could ask Popovich about it and when the answer came, it was a great joy. Those are the things that have always fascinated me about journalism to this day.”
The history of the city is twinned with its mother sport. I imagine that diving into the archives the orange ball appears permanently
“Tracking the stories of the past, I began to link basketball with the very idiosyncrasy of the city. “Bahía is Basketball”, not only in the golden age of Fruet, Cabrera and De Lizaso, but also since the very beginning of the 20th century”.
“I had an immediate crush on what those 20/25 years were between the 60s and 70s. It was not a joke, Bahia was the center of basketball at the country level, the triumphs of the Bahian national teams and teams against the elite of the sport was wonderful”.
“Beating the world champion with players of six feet, who were amateurs, bank employees, merchants, who trained after a whole day’s work, that generated a mystique that particularly caught me.”
Was it the golden age of sport in the city in your opinion?
“At that time, basketball was a recurring theme, in iconic places in the city such as “La Rotonda” in Galeria Plaza, in the “Café number one”, in the “Shao Shao” people gathered to discuss the local tournament , the selections of the city and province”.
“It was played against Yugoslavia, against the USA, with players who were 2.17 meters tall, 2.05 against ours, who had four players who were 1.86 meters tall and with that notorious physical and preparation disadvantage, they were beaten. That forges an identity, a mystique that is indelible.”
“The attitude was always non-negotiable for the Bahiense who goes to watch basketball and I think it lasts until today. The historical triad was a perfect example of this, when they put on the Bahia shirt they were transformed. I remember talking to Lito when he started with the Sports Museum and I asked him how he managed to grab so many rebounds being a guy of 1.87, that speaks of the attitude, the desire, the competitiveness and the hunger they had”.
Author note*
The first part is over, but this does not end here, Mario Minervino will delve deeply into the history of Bahia Basketball, the icons of Bahian sports, the moments of splendor, the architecture and its relationship with the city’s sports and much more. more in the second part.
