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    <title><![CDATA[Ara in English - Francesc Betancourt]]></title>
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    <description><![CDATA[Ara in English - Francesc Betancourt]]></description>
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    <ttl>10</ttl>
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      <title><![CDATA[The unknown story of Barça's first black player]]></title>
      <link><![CDATA[https://en.ara.cat/sports/the-unknown-story-of-barca-s-first-black-player_1_5694123.html]]></link>
      <description><![CDATA[<p><img src="https://static1.ara.cat/clip/3a871cb7-1b6a-4480-a535-55c19045a093_16-9-aspect-ratio_default_0.jpg" /></p><p>"I used to work in a publishing house called Linkgua at 45 Muntaner street. I was an editor and proofreader. And one day at the door I meet a lady about 80 years old, Carme Humet Cocinero. And she asks me if I can hug her because she hasn't hugged a black person in 40 years," explains Arsenio Rodríguez Quintana (Havana, 1964). Rodríguez hugged her and asked why she had asked. "She told me that her aunt, Maria Cocinero, had married a black Cuban named Longinos Betancourt who was a doorman in a building in Urquinaona. And she added that the son of this couple had played for Barça. It blew my mind. I knew nothing, and I'm Cuban, black, and a Barça fan," he adds. "Thus began Rodríguez's investigation to publicize the figure of Francesc SiscuBetancourt y Cocinero (1913-1998), the first black player in Barça's history. "Betancourt came to find me. It was a sign. Unfortunately, his family wasn't very interested in remembering Siscu's figureand they threw away many documents. I'm very sorry. So I had to investigate," explains Rodríguez, who has just published <a href="https://www.amazon.es/Ciscu-Betancourt-Primer-Futbolista-espanyola/dp/B0GMW3BKNP" rel="nofollow"><em>Ciscu Betancourt, first black footballer of Barça and the Spanish league</em></a><a href="https://www.amazon.es/Ciscu-Betancourt-Primer-Futbolista-espanyola/dp/B0GMW3BKNP" rel="nofollow">,</a> a book to vindicate this player who defended the jersey of a lot of Catalan teams. He debuted at Fort Pienc in the 20s and in 1961 he was still linked to football at Sant Cugat, where he coached. In between, good spells at Barça, Sabadell or Badalona, even scoring a goal against Real Madrid with the blaugrana jersey.</p>]]></description>
      <dc:creator><![CDATA[Toni Padilla]]></dc:creator>
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      <pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:00:59 +0000]]></pubDate>
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      <media:title><![CDATA[Arsenio Rodriguez.]]></media:title>
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      <subtitle><![CDATA[Arsenio Rodríguez recovers the memory of Siscu Betancourt, son of a Cuban and a Catalan, who even scored against Madrid]]></subtitle>
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