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Miami's "Little Havana"
Border crossing — Thousands of Cubans fled their country when Fidel Castro took power. Many settled in the area 20 minutes west of downtown that became known as Little Havana and recently has become home to many other South American immigrants. Spanish is the predominant language here.
The main thoroughfare, S.W. 8th Street (Calle Ocho), is lined with cafés selling Cuban coffee and shredded pork sandwiches, stores selling religious articles for santeria and shops like La Gloria Cubana Cigar (#1106), where Cuban immigrants (tabaqueros) still hand-roll cigars.
Window shop as you stroll down to S.W. 13th Avenue to see the monument to the heroes of the Bay of Pigs — the failed 1961 invasion of Cuba by U.S.-directed Cuban exiles opposed to Castro — then mosey up to S.W. 15th Avenue at Maximo Gomez Park — named for a hero of Cuban independence in the 1890s — to watch elderly Cuban men play dominoes. Be sure to stop off at El Crucero (#7050) for traditional Cuban hospitality and cuisine. It's not as polished as San Francisco's Chinatown, but Little Havana is a good insight into another culture.
Ahorre September 19, 2005 01:55 PM | Huatulco Travel