2 Hours by Boat, 20 minutes by Air from the USA – Cuba is Close!
Any tourist who’s been to Key West knows that Florida is only 90 miles from the island of Cuba. Since the Cuban Revolution in 1959, this distance has seemed far greater. Cuba before the revolution seemed like an extension of the United States.
Strong man Fidel Castro won the Cuban revolution against Fulgencio Batista who was a U.S. ally. The wealthy and middle classes of Cuban society, eager to escape the new communist regime, sought shelter in the shores of Miami as well as Key West. The migrants didn’t come to stay in Miami; they were waiting for the United States to lead them to Cuba and to democratic freedom. But the “Bay of Pigs” a CIA lead invasion under the Kennedy Administration was tragically unsuccessful, mainly because of underestimating the Soviet forces who had joined with the Cubans. Then the Cuban American immigrants settled into their permanent homes in Miami and the southern tip of Florida.
Soon, more migrants would arrive as Castro opened the gates several times to release dissenting citizens and those he didn’t want. The U.S. enacted the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 allowing Cuban refugees to pursue residency. Many arrived by airplanes, boats, and the unlucky few by rickety rafts.
Upon reaching Miami, the refugees had their documents processed in what is now called the Freedom Tower (the former headquarters of The Miami News) and became known as the “Ellis Island of the South”, due to its role in the Cuban refugee crisis. Most of the Cuban community settled in the area along 8th street (Calle Ocho) in what is now called Little Havana, just west of Downtown. Numerous restaurants, such as Versailles, began to pop up, as well as other eateries with ventanitas (small windows where you walk up to order coffee). The Maximo Gomez Park, which is also known as Domino Park, is where older Cuban immigrants come to play dominoes.
At the same time as this large Cuban migration settled into Miami, the city saw an economic boom and a rise in development. Also, businesses found a market in “the Spanish-speaking city”. The world began to take notice of Miami; though plagued by crime and drugs during the ’80s, it spurred interest from the film industry which used “Vice City” as their setting for films such as “Scarface” and other crime-inspired TV shows. But aside from film, the city also attracted investors, architects, sports stars, and even Latin American musicians who wanted to achieve international influence… Miami helped secure their popularity.
The Cuban migration shaped what Miami has become, a “Capital of Latin America.” The cruise industry is also booming, Port of Miami is one of the busiest ports with 5+ million visitors a year. All of the city’s neighborhoods and suburbs are mixed with Hispanics and now many Brazilians, Russians and other cultures have been lured to live in this paradise of a city. The Cuban community has influenced the city’s politics and art, bringing forth politicians such as Marco Rubio and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and even Jose M. Pérez, a Cuban American billionaire who sponsored the Art Museum in Miami, now named “The Pérez” after him.
All in all, the Magic City, Miami’s adopted nickname, is one of the United States’ most popular tourist destinations, and it may have never held such importance had it not been for the Cuban influence.
(Source: Information gleened from an article on Miami at TheCultureTrip.com)
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