Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Little Havana's main thoroughfare, Calle Ocho (SW 8th St), doesn't just cut through the
heart of the neighborhood; it
is
the heart of the neighborhood. In a lot of ways, this is
every immigrant enclave in the USA - full of restaurants, mom-and-pop convenience
shops and phonecard kiosks. Admittedly, the Cubaness of Little Havana is slightly exag-
gerated for visitors, and many of the Latin immigrants here are actually from Central
America. With that said, this is an atmospheric place with a soul that's rooted outside the
USA. Be on the lookout for the
Cuban Walk of Fame
, a series of sidewalk-implanted
stars emblazoned with the names of Cuban celebrities that runs up and down much of 8th
St.
The biggest event in the neighborhood's yearly calendar is the Carnaval Miami (
Calle
Ocho Festival
), a street party that showcases Miami's Latin culture over 10 frenetic days.
o
Máximo Gómez Park
PARK
Little Havana's most evocative reminder of Old Cuba is Máximo Gómez Park, or 'Domino
Park,' where the sound of elderly men trash-talking over games of chess is harmonized by
the quick clack-clack of slapping dominoes. The jarring backtrack, plus the heavy smell of
cigars and a sunrise-bright mural of the 1993 Summit of the Americas, combine to make
Máximo Gómez one of the most sensory sites in Miami (although it is admittedly one of
the most tourist-heavy ones as well).
Cuban Memorials
MONUMENT
The two blocks of SW 13th Ave south of Calle Ocho contain a series of monuments to
Cuban and Cuban American heroes, including those that died in the Cuban War of
Independence and anti-Castro conflicts. The memorials include the
Eternal Torch in
Honor of the 2506th Brigade
, for the exiles who died during the Bay of Pigs Invasion; a
huge
Cuba brass relief
depicting a map of Cuba, dedicated to the 'ideals of people who
will never forget the pledge of making their Fatherland free'; a
José Martí memorial
; and
a
Madonna statue
, which is supposedly illuminated by a shaft of holy light every after-
noon. Bursting out of the island in the center of the boulevard is a massive ceiba tree,
revered by followers of Santeria. The tree is an unofficial reminder of the poorer
Marieli-
tos
(those who fled Cuba in the 1980 Mariel Boatlift) and successive waves of desperate-
