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Where It's At
The Calle Ocho Festival is the finale of the annual
Carnival Miami held at the beginning of March. Nine
days of beauty pageants, concerts, drag shows, and cooking
contests have preceded and this is a great time to pay a visit
to Little Havana, the Cuban quarter of Miami. Calle
Ocho means 8th Street in Spanish and this is the pulsing
heart of the Cuban neighborhood where all things Cuban can
be purchased like Hispanic remedies, cigars, coffee, clothes,
and even bridal wear.
What Happens at the Calle Ocho?
After the Cuban revolution of 1959, 200,000 immigrants arrived
in Miami and settled in a district that became known as
Little Havana. Calle Ocho is their annual festival that
celebrates both their cultural and religious roots. The area
is vibrant with sounds, sights and smells; speakers blast
latino music into every direction, brightly painted street
signs show you where to go, and the smell of freshly ground
coffee and cigars fills the air. Amongst the hubbub, elderly
men continue to play their age old games of dominoes in the
parks.
A highlight of the festival is to watch the salseros,
dancers from the major salsa schools, dance down the street
from where they congregate at Ayestarán Restaurant
at the end of 8th Street, on the corner with 27th Avenue,
from 9.30 am on Sunday. Dancers wrap themselves in the flag
of their country of origin and unify in dance.
Festival Foods
Specialty foods that can be sampled at the festival include
ropa vieja (shredded skirt steak with plantain),
cabrito (baby goat), other barbecued meats, arepas,
and seafood such as paella and ceviche. It should of course
all be washed down with a real Cuba Libre cocktail,
comprising of rum and coke served with a wedge of lime.
Other Things to See and Do
Either before or after the Calle Ocho, visit the botanicas
- spiritual shops. They aren't open during the festival, but
any other time of the year they are Aladdin's dens of religious
artifacts and potions for every malady under the sun including
loneliness and sexual frustration.
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