Downtown buildings in Little Havana - Miami

Little Havana () is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Home to many

Cuban exile A Cuban exile is a person who has been exiled from Cuba. Many Cuban exiles have various differing experiences as emigrants depending on when they emigrated from Cuba, and why they emigrated. The exile of Cubans has been a dominating factor in C ...

s, as well as many immigrants from Central and South America, Little Havana is named after

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

and largest city in Cuba. Little Havana is noted as a center of social, cultural, and political activity in Miami. Its festivals, including the

Calle Ocho Festival The Calle Ocho Music Festival (''Festival de la Calle Ocho'') is a one-day street festival closing out Carnaval Miami. It takes place in March in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, Florida, between SW 12th Avenue and 27th Avenue on SW 8th S ...

, Viernes Culturales/Cultural Fridays, the Three Kings Parade and others, have been televised to millions of people every year on different continents. It is also known for its landmarks, including Calle Ocho (SW 8th Street/

Tamiami Trail The Tamiami Trail () is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) from State Road 60 (SR 60) in Tampa to US 1 in Miami. A portion of the road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90 (SR 90). The north� ...

), and its Walk of Fame (for famous artists and Latin personalities, including

Celia Cruz Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of , earning the nickna ...

Willy Chirino Willy Chirino (born April 5, 1947, in Consolación del Sur, Pinar del Río, Cuba) is a Cuban-American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Early life Following the communist revolution in Cuba, Chirino came to the United States ...

Gloria Estefan Gloria María Milagrosa Estefan (; ; born September 1, 1957) is an American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is an eight-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been named one of t ...

Thalía Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda (; born 26 August 1971), known mononymously as Thalía, is a Mexican singer, songwriter and actress. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Pop", she is considered one of the most ...

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top List of best-selling music artists, reco ...

, and

Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986), known as Desi Arnaz, was a Cuban-American actor, musician, producer, and bandleader. He played Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom ''I Love Lucy'', in whi ...

), the Cuban Memorial Boulevard, Plaza de la Cubanidad, Domino Park, the Tower Theater,

José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; 28 January 1853 – 19 May 1895) was a Cuban nationalism, nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in ...

Park, the Firestone/Walgreens Building, St. John Bosco Catholic Church, Municipio de Santiago de Cuba and others. Máximo Gómez Park, also known as Domino Park is an integral part of Little Havana. Located on the historic Calle Ocho (8th Street) it is a place for Cuban immigrants to gather, drink coffee, smoke cigars, and play dominos. The park has also become a tourist destination, where non-Cubans can engage with immigrants. Little Havana is the best known Cuban exile neighborhood in the world. It is characterized by its street life, restaurants, music and other cultural activities, small business enterprises, political passion, and great warmth among its residents. In 2015, Little Havana was included in the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 ...

's annual list of 11 Most Endangered Places. In 2017, the Trust declared it a national treasure.

History

Origins

Originally a lower-middle-class Southern and thriving Jewish neighborhood in the 1930s, "Little Havana" emerged in the 1960s as the concentration of Cubans in the area grew sharply. Today, "Little Havana" refers to the neighborhood lying immediately west of

Downtown Miami Downtown Miami is the urban city center of Miami, Florida, United States. The city's greater downtown region consists of the Central Business District, Brickell, the Historic District, Government Center, the Arts & Entertainment District, and ...

, stretching west from the Miami River for roughly two and a half miles. This

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ) is a descriptive nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym in that it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name without the need for explanation; it may beco ...

was applied to the Shenandoah and Riverside neighborhoods in the 1960s, following the beginnings of a vast influx of Cuban

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s there. Little Havana is famous as the cultural and political capital of

Cuban American Cuban Americans ( or ) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the fourth largest Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States after Mexican Americans, Stateside ...

s, and the neighborhood is a center of the

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

Cuban solidification

In the 1960s, the number of Cubans fleeing the Castro regime led the area to become a hotbed of

counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution has occurred, in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "c ...

activity. Arriving residents expected their stay in Miami would be temporary, hoping Castro would be deposed. By 1970, the neighborhood was more than 85% Cuban; rather than return to Havana, where Castro remained in power,

s began permanently settling in neighborhoods across Miami. Little Havana, however, remained the main landing point for new immigrants and a stronghold for Cuban-owned businesses.

Contemporary population

As of 2011, Little Havana boasts the highest concentration of Hispanics (98%) in Miami. Within the Hispanic population, the

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n population has experienced a substantial decrease from 84% in 1979 to 58% in 1989; groups of Hispanics from other places, especially

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

, and other

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

n countries, have substantially increased since the late 1990s. Despite the increasing diversity, most neighborhood businesses are still Cuban-owned.

Borders

* Western Border: Southwest 37th Avenue * Eastern Border: Southwest 3rd Avenue * Northern Border: Northwest 7th Street * Southern Border: Southwest 22nd Street (Coral Way)

Demographics

As of 2000, Little Havana had a population of 49,206 residents, with 19,341 households, and 11,266 families residing in the neighborhood. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $15,213.16. The ethnic makeup of the neighborhood was 85.08% Hispanic or Latino of any race (mainly

Cubans Cubans () are the citizens and nationals of Cuba. The Cuban people have varied origins with the most spoken language being Spanish. The larger Cuban diaspora includes individuals that trace ancestry to Cuba and self-identify as Cuban but are n ...

, but also many

Nicaraguans Nicaraguans (; also called ''Nicas'') are people inhabiting in, originating or having significant heritage from Nicaragua. Most Nicaraguans live in Nicaragua, although there is also a significant Nicaraguan diaspora, particularly in Costa Rica a ...

and

Honduran Americans Honduran Americans (, or ) are Americans of full or partial Honduran descent. Hondurans are the eighth largest Hispanic group in the United States and the third largest Central American population, after Salvadorans and Guatemalans. Honduran ...

, as well as other

Latinos Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spanish or Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race. According to th ...

), 3.79% Black or African American (not including

Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans () or Black Cubans are Cubans of full or partial sub-Saharan African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba associated with this community, and the combining of native African a ...

Afro-Nicaraguan Afro-Nicaraguans are Nicaraguans of Sub-Saharan African descent. Five main distinct ethnic groups exist: The Creoles who descend from Anglo-Caribbean countries and many of whom still speak Moskitian Creole, the Miskito Sambus descendants of Sp ...

Afro-Honduran Afro-Hondurans (), also known as Black Hondurans (), are Hondurans who have predominantly or total Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Research by Henry Louis Gates regards their population to be around 1-2%.However more accurate research sources fro ...

s, and other

Afro-Latino Black Hispanic and Latino Americans, also called Afro-Hispanics, Afro-Latinos, Black Hispanics, or Black Latinos, are classified by the United States Census Bureau, Office of Management and Budget, and other U.S. government agencies as Black ...

s), 10.14%

Non-Hispanic White Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

, and 0.96% of other races.

South River Drive Historic District

The South River Drive Historic District is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

within the City of Miami's Little Havana neighborhood. In 1987, the Miami City Commission created the locally designated district. Later that year, the National Park Service added the district to the National Register of Historic Places. Located on the eastern end of the neighborhood along the Miami River, the district is just west of

. The district includes 428, 438 Southwest 1st Street, 437 Southwest 2nd Street, 104, 109, 118 Southwest South River Drive. It contains 9 historic buildings. The South River Drive Historic District derives its significance from both its architectural and cultural history. Developed principally in the first two decades of the twentieth century, the historic district contains the city's oldest extant group of

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

frame buildings near the Miami River.

Riverview Historic District

Designated on April 7, 2015 by the Historic and Environmental Preservation Board, the Riverview Historic District is a city of Miami

located west of

within the Little Havana neighborhood. The locally designated historic district comprises single and multi-family residences and commercial structures in the Bungalow, Mission, Mediterranean Revival, and Miami Modern styles of architecture.

Viernes Culturales

Viernes Culturales (English: ''Cultural Fridays'') is an artistic, cultural, and social arts and culture fair that takes place on the last Friday of each month in the historic Little Havana neighborhood of

in the heart of Calle Ocho (8th St. SW between 14th and 17th Avenues). The event consists of outdoor musical performances on a stage and along the sidewalks of Calle Ocho, art exhibits along the sidewalk and in plazas and open spaces, visits to art galleries and cultural centers, cuisine tasting at participating restaurants, and films, art exhibits, and educational programs at the historic Tower Theatre. Free walking tours, led by Miami historian Dr. Paul George leave from the Tower Theater at 7pm during each festival day.

Churches

*St. John Bosco Catholic Church *St. Barbara Old Catholic Church (schismatic) *Holy Comforter Episcopal Church *CHRIST'S NATION *Ermita De Regla, Miami *Soldiers of the Cross Evangelical Church *Central Miami Spanish SDA Church *Iglesia Metodista Tamiami *MMM Pequeña Havana *St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church *Conexion Divina Church *Iglecia Cosecha de Cristo *Shrine-St Philomena Catholic Church *Ministerios Pentecostal Poder *Ministeria Pentecostai Roca De *St. Raymond of Peñafort Catholic Church *Centro Cristiano Casablanca, 2000–2009, an Assemblies of God church that purchased the old Casablanca Banquet Hall and converted the building into a Christian church. Pastored by Dr. Eddie Rivero until the property was sold to El Rey Jesus Little Havana church which ultimately went into foreclosure.

Parks

* Máximo Gómez Park (better known as Domino Park), Calle Ocho *Plaza de la Cubanidad *Cuban Memorial Boulevard Park (SW 13th Avenue) *Sewell Park *Fern Isle Park *Henderson Park *Riverside Park *Jose Marti Park *Shenandoah Park *Coral gate park *Bryan Park *Triangle park

Education

Miami-Dade County Public Schools Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is the public school district serving Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida. Founded in 1885, it is the largest school district in Florida, the largest in the South ...

runs area public schools. Schools within Little Havana include:

Public schools

Elementary schools

*Citrus Grove Elementary School *Riverside Elementary School *Auburndale Elementary School *Shenandoah Elementary School *Kensington Park Elementary School *Ada Merritt K-8 Center *Mater Academy East Charter Elementary School *Lincoln-Martí Charter School *St. Michael the Archangel Catholic School (Private School)

Middle schools

*Citrus Grove Middle School *Shenandoah Middle School *Ada Merritt K-8 Center *SLAM Sports Leadership and Management Charter School *International Studies Charter School *Lincoln-Martí Charter School *St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church (Private School)

High schools

Miami Senior High School Miami Senior High School, also known as Miami High School, is a public high school located at 2450 SW 1st Street in Miami, Florida, and operated by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Founded in 1903, it is one of the oldest high schools in Miam ...

, founded in 1903 (the oldest high school in Miami) * Young Women's Preparatory Academy (all-girls) *SLAM Sports Leadership and Management Charter School *International Studies Charter School *Lincoln-Martí Charter School

Colleges

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (MDC) is a public university, public college located in Miami, Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1959, MDC operates eight campuses and numerous outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade Count ...

- Eduardo Padrón Campus

Libraries

Miami-Dade Public Library operates all area public libraries: *Hispanic Library *Shenandoah Library

Cultural institutions

Manuel Artime Theater - Miami - Little Havana Neighborhood 02

*L'Alliance Française de Miami, French language and cultural society *La Società Dante Alighieri, Italian language and cultural society

Museums and memorials

* Bay of Pigs Museum and Library * Bay of Pigs Monument *Cuban Memorial Boulevard Park (SW 13th Avenue) * Freedom Tower

Theaters and performance arts

* Tower Theatre, 1508 SW 8th St *Manuel Artime Theatre, 900 SW 1st St *Miami-Dade County Auditorium, 2901 W Flagler St * Teatro 8, 2101 SW 8th St *ArtSpoken Performing Arts Center, 529 SW 12th Ave *Havanafama, 752 SW 10th Ave * Teatro Avante, 744 SW 8th Street 2 Floor

Calle Ocho Festival

Little Havana hosts its annual Calle Ocho street festival (part of the overall Carnaval Miami celebration), one of the largest in the world, with over one million visitors attending Calle Ocho alone. It is a free street festival with a Caribbean carnival feel sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana. Calle Ocho is where different ethnic communities wear colors or flags representing pride in their heritage. Flags from

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

to Nicaragua to Puerto Rico to

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

and even Ireland flood the streets. Foods from different countries are usually present for purchase, and popular Latin music like reggaeton, salsa, bachata and merengue can be heard throughout the festival. In 1977 tensions among Miami's different ethnic groups were running high. Eight Cuban-Americans, mostly from the Kiwanis of Little Havana, were trying to come up with ideas to address the situation. They considered a bicycle race on SW Eighth Street (Calle Ocho). It was turned down because the organizers feared that it would pit one ethnic group against another. Willy Bermello came up with the idea of doing something similar to the block parties and street festivals of Philadelphia. Calle Ocho was born. The festival takes place between 27th Ave and 4th Ave along Southwest 8th Street. Over 30 stages and hundreds of street vendors participate in the live music street festival now in its 4th decade. Calle Ocho earned an entry in the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

when 119,986 people formed the world's longest

conga line The conga line is a novelty line dance that was derived from the Cuban carnival dance of the same name and became popular in the US in the 1930s and 1950s. In order to perform the dance, dancers form a long, processing line, which would usually ...

on March 13, 1988. In 2010, the Florida legislature identified the Calle Ocho-Open House 8 festival as the official state festival.

Places of interest

* Calle Ocho (SW 8th Street) * Cuban Memorial Boulevard (SW 13th Avenue) * Little Havana Visitors Center (1600 SW 10 Street) * Centro Cultural Español de Cooperación Iberoamerican

*

Versailles Restaurant Versailles is a cafeteria, restaurant, and bakery located on Calle Ocho ( 8th St) in Little Havana, Miami. The large restaurant seats 370 people and has ornate etched glass and statuettes and features a bakery, a takeout area, a counter window a ...

SW 8 Street and 36 Avenue * Padilla Cigar Factor

*

LoanDepot Park LoanDepot Park (officially stylized as loanDepot park, and named Marlins Park until 2021) is a retractable roof stadium located in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins. It is located on on ...

(former site of the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...

) * Calle Ocho Walk of Fame (SW 8th Street between SW 12th Avenue and SW 17th Avenue) * Little Havana Food & Cultural Tour, * Ball & Chain (1513 SW 8 Street) World Famous Live Music Bar & Lounge; originally opened in 1935

References

External links

Domino ParkLittle Havana
at Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau {{Coord, 25, 46, 21.28, N, 80, 12, 52.52, W, display=title Neighborhoods in Miami Ethnic enclaves in the United States Cuban-American history Cuban-American culture in Miami Cuba–United States relations Tourist attractions in Miami Historic Jewish communities Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida National Register of Historic Places in Miami