COURTESY OF MIAMI.COM
By Tere
Figueras Negrete | negretecommunications@gmail.com 3/12/2016
From the
strains of salsa music that spill from storefronts to the iconic ventanitas
that dispense potent doses of Cuban coffee – and even more potent political
discourse – you’d be hard-pressed to find a Miami neighborhood more, well,
Miami than Little Havana.
Changing
demographics and the ever-shifting geopolitics of our hemisphere has meant that
the neighborhood is also now proudly home to not only Cubans, but Nicaraguans,
Hondurans, and other immigrants from the Caribbean and Latin America. But it
will forever remain the spiritual center of Miami’s Cuban exile community, both
burdened and blessed by history and circumstance.
Where else
can you find street art that celebrates both dissident Cuban blogger Yoani
Sanchez and Pitbull?
Here’s just
a few reasons why we will always have big love for Little Havana:
#3. Ball
& Chain
Like most everything in Miami, the swinging bar
and live-music venue on Calle Ocho has a dubious past. First opened in the
1930’s, its history includes a clientele that represented the finest of Miami’s
criminal underbelly and a shady repertoire of former owners -- one of whom was
sued for said shadiness by the legendary Count Basie. New owners Bill Fuller and
brothers Zack and Ben Bush have kept the place legit, resurrecting the bar’s
architectural charms (and great mojitos) and keeping the now-trademark neon
sign aglow since 2014. Can’t make it out to Little Havana? This year the club
began broadcasting a live jazz radio program on WDNA, which features live
performances from the Ball & Chain stageCLICK HERE FOR THE ENTIRE STORY
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