The Miami-Cuban Connection
The skyscrapers, freeways, and futuristic nightclubs of Miami may seem as unlike the colonial-era city trapped in time Havana as possible, but the link between Miami and Cuba is unquestionable. No other culture, cuisine, or people have shaped the South Florida metropolis like that of the island just 90 miles from the Florida Keys.
Cuban families have been moving to Miami since 1896, but the waves of immigrants and refugees began in earnest when Castro took power. Today the city is home to the largest Cuban diaspora in the U.S., accounting for over half of Miami’s population. But what really makes Cuban Miami so special is that from the start, the Cubans who arrived in this area knew they would never go home. The only way to keep their culture alive was to recreate Cuba in this new place. Miami’s Cubans did not assimilate to South Florida; they transformed South Florida into a Cuban outpost.
Cuban Miami is a destination for foodies, yes, but more importantly, it’s a refuge, a community, and a beacon of hope for anyone who has feared leaving their homeland would mean leaving their culture.
Today, many parts of Miami feel like a different country. Spanish is more widely spoken than English. You’re more likely to hear salsa music than Top 40. And Cuban food is Miami cuisine. From the small counter-service coffee windows called ventanita to the sprawling Versailles Restaurant, which can seat up to 370 people and every Cubano, pastelito, and ropa vieja in between, Cuban food is as inseparable from Miami as South Beach or sunshine.
In many ways, Miami Cuban food is frozen in time, a reflection of the cuisine left behind pre-Castro. Traditional Cuban food emphasizes homey dishes like arroz con pollo, cerdo asado, and tostones. But you can also find Nuevo Cubano cuisine, a South Florida fusion of Cuban, Caribbean, and Central and South American flavors. And some young chefs are pushing the evolution of Cuban cuisine ever further, like Eileen Andrade of Finka Table and Tap, who infuses Korean and Peruvian influences into Cuban classics.
Cuban Miami is a destination for foodies, yes, but more importantly, it’s a refuge, a community, and a beacon of hope for anyone who has feared leaving their homeland would mean leaving their culture.
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