Author: Robert M. Levine and Moises Asis
Subject: Urban Studies/Latin American Studies
Cloth ISBN 0-8135-2780-5
Pages: 176 pp., 180 b&w illus.
Description: A photographic essay on the Cuban presence in South Florida

For two centuries, Cuban exiles have found their way to the United States, especially to Florida. But since Castro's victory in 1959, Miami has seen almost one million Cubans arrive by sea and air. The impact on this area has been enormous. Miami---known as the "Exile Capital"---has a greater cultural affinity to Havana and the rest of Latin America than to Tallahassee, Florida's capital.

Cuban Miami is the first analytical, photographic record of Cuban migration to south Florida. Robert M. Levine and Moises Asis have interviewed members of every sector of the Cuban exile community, from the first pioneers to the mass waves in the early 1960s to those who arrived by raft during the late 1990s. In their wide-ranging investigation of Cuban-U.S. history, they touch upon all aspects of Cuban influence: politics, cuisine, music, assimilation, discrimination, and institution buildings. Miami has more Cuban food establishments than the nearby island does. The city has been fertile ground for germinating a unique synthesis of Cuban and Americans are the most prosperous immigrant group in the United States today, this success has come at a price---living in exile can exact a personal toll.

Cuban Miami is a feast for the eyes, including 180 photographs and original cartoons drawn for the book by Jose M. Varela, a well-known member of the Cuban-American community.

"Cuban Miami gives a face to the thousands of Cuban exiles who call Miami home."---Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, U.S. House of Representatives (FL)

"This book shows the fascinating story of those amazing Cuban exiles that in less than two decades transformed the image of Miami as a southern tourist resort into a vibrant international city and the capital of Latin America"---Luis J. Botifoll, Chairman Emertitus, Republic National Bank, Miami

ROBERT M. LEVINE is the Gabelli Senior Scholar of Arts and Sciences and a professor of history at the University of Miami. He has published two dozen books, including several titles on Cuba. MOISES ASIS is a Cuban-American scientist and lawyer who has published 14 books. He has served as an investigator for the Florida Department of Children and Families, and as executive director of the Dante B. Fascell Center for Conflict Resolution and Peace.