We’re in the final stage of our Florida road trip now and have set ourselves up in a gorgeous little apartment in the Little Havana neighbourhood of Miami!
Everything is bigger, brasher and more colourful here, whether it’s the resident reptiles or the incredibly large bottles of wine!
I’m not wasting any time as I have been itching to get snapping in Little Havana with its chaotic blend of heat, colour, music and food.
Finally get another iconic automobile to take a pic of too!
Everywhere you look there’s vibrant colour, testament to this little slice of Cuba imported to the USA.
Little Havana emerged in the 1960s as the concentration of Cubans in the area grew sharply as people fled the Castro regime. By 1970, it was more than 85% Cuban; as Cubans settled permanently in Miami rather than return.
Colourful tiles show classic symbols of Cuban heritage – cigars, musical instruments and tropical fruit. Even McDonalds gets in on the Cuban vibe!
Just one of the famous Little Havana exports is Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine, proudly rendered large on a wall.
Below is another Cuban legend – beloved singer Celia Cruz.
Little Havana is centered around Calle Ocho (Southwest Eighth Street).
It’s a colourful and vibrant road lined with Latin-inspired restaurants, bakeries, fruit stands, cigar shops, rum bars, art galleries and music venues.
Below is Máximo Gómez Park (better known as Domino Park), where locals gather to talk politics over protracted games of dominoes.
Azucar Ice Cream Company, Calle Ocho’s resident Cuban artisanal ice cream parlor is impossible to miss with its enormous ice cream cone. The store is named for Celia Cruz’s signature “Azucar!” exclamation,
You can also see rather a lot of large birds! First created as part of the Rooster Walk in 2002 the Calle Ocho Roosters play homage to the large number of chickens that run around on the streets!
Get a solid taste of Little Havana’s nightlife at Ball & Chain, a restored jazz era nightclub where luminaries like Billie Holiday and Count Basie performed during the 1950s.
Below is the iconic Calle 8 street sign, which it is law to pose next to….
I am racing against the setting sun to get my picture in front of the most famous Little Havana landmark – which is right at the other end of the Calle Ocho.
Then there’s loads more colourful murals depicting more colourful Cuban culture.
Then night falls, the neon starts flickering into life and Little Havana really starts to wake up with the pulsating Latin beats spilling out of every bar and into the street.
It’s a curious mix of frontier town, gaudy fantasy and an exiled community still clinging to its culture and history.
This neon clad bar reminds me a little bit of the Titty Twister from Dusk till Dawn!
Little Havana is a tiny slice of Cuban vibrancy still holding onto its unique culture and history, by a thread. The original Cubans are moving on, leaving other groups to take their place.
Tourism has threaten to turn it into a colourful shadow of its former self but it still enchants when the lure of the music, and the scent of the many cafes and restaurants wafts out on the warm dusk air.
