Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Little Havana
As SW 8th St heads away from downtown, it becomes
Calle Ocho
(pronounced
kah
-yeh
oh
-cho, Spanish for 'Eighth Street'). That's when you know you've arrived in Little
Havana, the most prominent community of Cuban Americans in the US. Despite the cul-
tural monuments, this is no Cuban theme park. The district remains a living, breathing
immigrant enclave, though one whose residents have become, admittedly, more broadly
Central American. One of the best times to come is the last Friday of the month during
ing Latino artists and musicians.
Máximo Gómez Park
PARK
(SW 8th St at SW 15th Ave; 9am-6pm)
Get a sensory-filled taste of old Cuba. It's also
known as 'Domino Park,' and you'll understand why when you see the old-timers throw-
ing bones.
El Crédito Cigars
CIGARS
( 305-858-4162; 1106 SW 8th St)
One of Miami's most popular cigar stores; watch
tabaqueros
hand-roll them.
Design District, Wynwood & Little Haiti
Proving that SoBe doesn't hold the lease on hip, these two trendy areas north of down-
town - all but deserted 25 years ago - have ensconced themselves as bastions of art and
design. The Design District is a mecca for interior designers, home to dozens of galleries
and contemporary furniture, fixture and design showrooms. Just south of the Design Dis-
trict,
Wynwood
is a notable arts district, with myriad galleries and art studios housed in
abandoned factories and warehouses.
The home of Miami's Haitian refugees,
Little Haiti
is defined by brightly painted
homes, markets and
botanicas
(voodoo shops).
Wynwood Walls
PUBLIC ART
(
www.thewynwoodwalls.com
; NW 2nd Ave btwn 25th & 26th St; noon-8pm Wed-Sat)
Not a gal-
lery per se, Wynwood Walls is a collection of murals and paintings laid out over an open
courtyard in the heart of Wynwood. What's on offer tends to change with the coming and
going of major arts events like Art Basel (one of the US's major annual art shows); when
we visited the centerpiece was an enormous and fantastic piece by artist Shepard Fairey.
