Little Havana

In downtown (centro de la ciudad) Miami there is a very long road called Southwest 8^th Street. There is nothing particularly special about it until you reach (llegas) an area between 27^th and 4^th Avenues. The road becomes (se convierte) simply “Calle Ocho” but now it is different and exciting. Suddenly (de repente) you are surrounded (rodeado) by all things Cuban – restaurants, cigar factories, souvenir shops, Santeria candles (velas) and offerings (ofrendas) and, of course, Cubans. You are now in “Little Havana”, the home to thousands of Cuban exiles and ex-pats.(expatriados)

    

Some Background Information

The story goes that in 1763 when Spain sold Florida to Britain, which was a Protestant nation, hundreds of Spanish Catholics who were living in Florida fled (huyeron) to Cuba. Approximately 200 years later many Cubans had to move to Florida when Fidel Castro seized power (tomó el poder) in 1959. At one point (hubo un momento en el que) 15,000 exiles a day arrived in Miami. The refugees (refugiados) went to Florida because of its relative proximity to Cuba. Many of them made the voyage in precarious homemade boats.(pateras) Now there are approximately 90,000 Cubans living in this three and a half square mile (milla cuadrada) neighbourhood. This area, which was neglected (descuidada) due to many Cubans moving to other areas, is now coming back to life.(volviendo a la vida) Many YUCAs (Young Urban Cuban Americans) are now returning to the neighbourhood to rediscover their Cuban roots.(raíces)

Calle Ocho

The first thing you notice when you enter the street is the large number of Cuban restaurants. These serve typical dishes such as ropa vieja (beef in garlic sauce (salsa de ajo)); bistec empanizado (steak in breadcrumbs (pan rallado) and tasajo (salted beef). There are also Cuban bakeries with their delicious specialities such as besitos de coco (coconut macaroons) and pasteles de guayaba (guava cakes). Or if you are thirsty you can enjoy a refreshing drink such as guarapo de caña (sugar cane (caña de azucar) juice) or coco frío (cold coconut juice) or a tropical fruit ice cream. There are also Cuban grocery stores (colmados) as well as the cigar stores,(tienda de puros) souvenir shops, craft shops (tiendas de artesanía) and a large shop called Lilly’s Records that sells an extensive range (gama) of Latin American music.
 

Viernes Cultural

Calle Ocho is not just about food, drink and shopping. On the last Friday of every month, several blocks of the street close and there is a large street party. This is probably one of the best times to visit Little Havana because it gives you a real taste (sabor) of Cuban culture. There is live (en vivo) Latin music, usually featuring (presentando) local singers and groups and, occasionally, famous artists. Most of the musical events take place (tienen lugar) around Domino Park. Its real name is Máximo Gómez Park after the famous Cuban revolutionary hero. However, (sin embargo) it gets its local name from the fact that many old men go there to play dominoes every day. There are Cuban dance exhibitions and street theatre and it is also an opportunity for local artists to display (exhiben) their work. You may be able to find a really good painting or some ceramics for a reasonable price. Many of these artists also exhibit in the recently renovated Tower Art Center, a wonderful example of Art Deco architecture. As Cultural Friday has become so popular, local artists are now organizing a “Surreal Saturday”. This is held on the first Saturday of every month. Inside a modern theatre called Space 42 there are four performances (actuaciones) of music, dance, theatre and poetry readings, while outside there is a DJ playing Latin music.

Calle Ocho Festival

This has been an annual event for more than 25 years. It is held at the beginning of March and celebrates the end of the Miami Carnival. It is one of the largest Hispanic carnivals in the United States. In fact, they are trying to break (superar) Brazil’s record in the Guinness Books of Records for the largest street party in the world. They are already the proud (orgulloso) holders (poseedores) of one Guinness World Record – the longest conga line formed of 119,986 people in March 1988. More than 20 street blocks are closed down and over forty stages (escenarios) are erected on the street corners where some of the biggest names in Latin music perform for free.(gratis)