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We frequently hear about how Cuban Miami is. I guess it's not surprising considering that majority of people residing in Miami were born in Cuba as opposed to being born in the US like other hispanic cities in the US. So I guess it brings me to the question of how American is Miami?
Is it difficult to live in Miami knowing english only? Do people celebrate Thanksgiving? Do children say the pledge of allegiance in schools? Is football (not soccer) the most popular sport? Do people sing the star spangled banner before games? Do people celebrate the 4th of July? Do people generally consider themselves American or just Cubans living in America?
It is difficult in some neighborhoods in the sense that you may feel isolated because a lot of people are from a different culture. In the sense that literally no one in a group of people speaks english - this is only ever really possible deep in the heart of Little Havana and Hialeah.
Of course thanksgiving is celebrated here. Yes, schools make us do the pledge in elementary. Soccer isn't even popular here. Right now because of the Heat, it is basketball. Football is probably the next one. As for the star spangled banner - Only in big events, I think.
Of course 4th of July is celebrated. Unfortunately a lot of the fun fireworks aren't allowed
As for the last question - It depends. If a fresh off the boat Cuban has been here for just 6 months, he obviously considers himself a Cuban in America. Most immigrants that have been here for a long time, about a decade at least consider themselves both. And the children that are born here consider themselves American but often refer to themselves by ethnicity. So me for example, when I get asked where am I from, I'll say I'm Nicaraguan and Cuban even though I've never been to either country - When a Hispanic is asked that question in Miami it's not about nationality but ethnic background. Your last question is the most complicated but for the ones who were born here or spent a long time here, the answer is almost always yes.
Also, I think people should go easy on the threads starter - So much trash is talked about Miami from people outside of Miami that there is a lot of misinformation going around. You can see it even on here. But just ask somebody who is not from here or been here about it and they'll say all sorts of horrible crap. I've posted on here about some of my friends who moved to here or moved from here peoples reactions when they tell them they're from or moving to Miami. "you're moving to Miami? Are you nuts?!" As if this place was Juarez or something- An extremely violent place where no one knows English.
You would have to understand that the first wave of Cubans like myself that came in the late sixties have been in this country for over 45 to fifty years and we are very Americanized and consider this our country and embrace all it's traditions, but at the same time we have our heritage that we have carried with us. Most of us have married other folks that might have been from another ethnic groups or other non Hispanic white Floridians and now we have grandchildren that are very mixed or with parents that don't speak Spanish very well since they have been here all their lives.
The second wave of Cubans that came over in Mariel have been here for about thirty years and have done the same as the first wave.
The Cubans that do come over via lottery immigration system or wet foot dry foot will eventually do the same but they have such a great support system it may take them longer. The first wave of the sixties usually spread out to the northeast and other places in the country to work in factory jobs so they had to fit in as quickly as possible and learn english quickly to get better jobs.
Second wave had the support system of family here so it was easier and lots of those folks stayed here.
In regards to your other questions, Miami is American as any other major city in the united states but since we are the gateway to Latin america we just happen to have a lot of Hispanics, but also a lot of other folks from Russians, Caribbean folks, Europeans and plenty of folks that come here from the northern states.
I would say the one holiday tradition that we do still celebrate from the old country would be Noche Buena which it Christmas Eve that most of my American friends enjoy celebrating as well. Other wise forth of July is a big thing here and seeing the fireworks on a boat in the bay is spectacular, thanksgiving is celebrated with all the trimmings with maybe some other Latin sides.
By far Miami is a Basketball, then Football like the dolphins, baseball then if we ever get the soccer stadium maybe soccer.
I don't think it's offensive for someone who knows nothing about Miami to ask locals questions about what it's like here. How does anyone overcome ignorance if not to ask? All we have to do is answer the question, not judge the fact that many people around the country have heard certain common themes about what it's like here. After all, would we all know just what it's like to live in Idaho? I'm sure others would only have a few stereotypes to grasp at too. I think it's good that someone who doesn't know, wants to learn. We should encourage that.
I think answers here are over-simplifying a bit. Miami is a fairly big city with a lot of variation in neighborhoods. And to be fair, it's really not like living in most of the rest of the US, in towns that are predominantly English-speaking and full of people who have lived in the same town for over a hundred years.
There IS some conflict around the issue of Miami's culture and language, it's not all a done deal. For instance, the very first week I moved to Miami I was at the DMV getting my FL driver's license. This was in Kendall. Of course, there was the big crowd waiting. A woman dressed all in beautiful designer clothes with stilettos (of course, it's a woman in Miami doing errands, so what else? ) walked in with her daughter, who was maybe around 11. The woman began speaking to the intake guy at the front, who was West Indian, in Spanish. The man said, "Ma'am, I'm sorry, I don't speak Spanish. Do you speak English? What are you here for?" and began trying to point her to the various counters. The woman kept speaking in Spanish, and demanded an attendant who also spoke Spanish, but there happened to (oddly) be none working up front that day. The woman went completely insane, and started screaming "Soy Cubana!," and in Spanish went on a tirade about how this is Miami and it is Cuban and how dare they not have anyone who speaks Spanish, it is a Spanish-speaking city, this is outrageous, blah blah blah... The man said "This is a govt office, we are not under obligation to have employees who speak other languages besides English" [because of course the US has no official declared language, English or otherwise]. The woman kept getting angrier. The little girl was very embarrassed, and started trying to speak to the man in English, which of course she was fluent in because she grew up here. The mother screamed at her to stop and hit her over the head, and then continued screaming and dragged her out, declaring that she would go to another DMV that respectably had Spanish speakers. The people in the waiting area shifted kind of uncomfortably in their seats the whole time, a few English speakers kind of clucked their tongues, and a few others yelled out agreement in Spanish (but didn't leave their place in line). As she left, one yelled out a recommendation of a different DMV that would have Spanish speakers - I think the Hialeah one.
So it is a bit of a political issue, and there is some resentment among English-only speakers at the way the city is run (a lot of favoritism for Cubans among the higher ranks), as well as resentment among some Spanish-speakers for the govt not being more in alignment with their culture. I hear complaints from both sides all the time, it's not like there are no issues. There is some resentment among Central Americans at the power of white Cubans and South Americans, too, it's not like all Spanish-speakers are on the same side. But then there are the majority of people in the middle who are fine with how it is, they are bilingual and in the US for a reason if they're not originally from here, and they don't really care.
It does depend on what neighborhood you live in and what job you have. You can generally go in and out of stores and speak either English or Spanish with no problem. The city has sort of 3 official languages, English, Spanish, and Haitian Kreyol, so frequently one will see signs in all 3 - like at a hospital, for instance. If you need work done on your car, you can go to a dealership and people will speak fluent English. But if you go to a general garage, it would really help to know Spanish to explain better what the problem is. That's true of a lot of other cities though, not just Miami. For some jobs, you will be limited in your ability to climb the ladder if you don't speak Spanish. For others, it will not be a problem. Some jobs require you to be bilingual, especially service jobs. There is rampant nepotism and corruption in Miami though, so if you are in a place of high power things like ethnicity (and skin color) are going to matter. It's silly for us to pretend that it doesn't, because it is a major part of how politics work here.
As for the general feel of living in Miami, though, the city is full of people who want to have fun. Generally speaking, they don't care who you are or where you're from if there's a party to be had. Miamians therefore celebrate ALL occasions with gusto - the Heat, the World Cup, Thanksgiving, Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick's Day, 4th of July, etc. etc. etc. And it's warm, so people are dancing with music outside and setting off fireworks pretty much year round, not just in summer. It's a very festive place, a great place if you like to party - either at a club on the Beach, or at a friend's house party. People just want to have a good time when they're not at work, and extended family and friends all will party together usually - it's a place of big events with everybody and their cousin invited, and lots of food and drinks and music.
I have found that making friends in Miami is not hard no matter what you speak if you're friendly. But of course, in some neighborhoods if you only speak English the best you'll be able to do is wave and smile to all your neighbors, because they won't understand you. They'll just wave and smile back.
We frequently hear about how Cuban Miami is. I guess it's not surprising considering that majority of people residing in Miami were born in Cuba as opposed to being born in the US like other hispanic cities in the US. So I guess it brings me to the question of how American is Miami?
Is it difficult to live in Miami knowing english only? Do people celebrate Thanksgiving? Do children say the pledge of allegiance in schools? Is football (not soccer) the most popular sport? Do people sing the star spangled banner before games? Do people celebrate the 4th of July? Do people generally consider themselves American or just Cubans living in America?
Miami is just as "American" as Youngstown or Des Moines. These people are your fellow Americans. Get used to it and to them.
I'm only going to answer the Sports related question because I find it (and its responses) to be the most amusing:
Miami is a TERRIBLE sports town. There is very little common knowledge here about the national sports landscape. Loyalties are very frail and very 'front-running' in nature. Of course, it's a HEAT town now because we have LeBron but as some have hinted here, prior to that -- nobody cared. The main problem is that most South Florida residents are not originally from South Florida. There are many die-hards and most do adopt the local teams but when you realize that half of the attendance at Dolphin games root for the opponent -- you get the picture.
As far as attendance, I'm of the sentiment that the locations of our sports facilities and the lack of convenient transportation options makes it a real nuisance to attend games. I live five minutes away from the BB&T Center where the Florida Panthers play. Yes - we have a hockey team. Let's just say that there is much more traffic and people across the street at the Mall then there is at the actual arena. And as far as Baseball, the new Marlins stadium is nice but its location couldn't be more of a logistic nightmare.
Once in a while can be a fun experience, but there is so much more to do here that most people prefer to watch from the comforts of their own homes anyways. (or maybe that's just me)
A lot of transplants from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Boston, and every other country in the world. As far as Soccer, yeah just wait until the World Cup starts and you'll quickly realize that Soccer IS very popular in South Florida. It will never be embraced as a major sport in our country (unless we win the whole thing) but there is no question that the most passionate fans in the world follow that sport (and many of them live here)
I don't think it's offensive for someone who knows nothing about Miami to ask locals questions about what it's like here. How does anyone overcome ignorance if not to ask? All we have to do is answer the question, not judge the fact that many people around the country have heard certain common themes about what it's like here. After all, would we all know just what it's like to live in Idaho? I'm sure others would only have a few stereotypes to grasp at too. I think it's good that someone who doesn't know, wants to learn. We should encourage that.
I think answers here are over-simplifying a bit. Miami is a fairly big city with a lot of variation in neighborhoods. And to be fair, it's really not like living in most of the rest of the US, in towns that are predominantly English-speaking and full of people who have lived in the same town for over a hundred years.
There IS some conflict around the issue of Miami's culture and language, it's not all a done deal. For instance, the very first week I moved to Miami I was at the DMV getting my FL driver's license. This was in Kendall. Of course, there was the big crowd waiting. A woman dressed all in beautiful designer clothes with stilettos (of course, it's a woman in Miami doing errands, so what else? ) walked in with her daughter, who was maybe around 11. The woman began speaking to the intake guy at the front, who was West Indian, in Spanish. The man said, "Ma'am, I'm sorry, I don't speak Spanish. Do you speak English? What are you here for?" and began trying to point her to the various counters. The woman kept speaking in Spanish, and demanded an attendant who also spoke Spanish, but there happened to (oddly) be none working up front that day. The woman went completely insane, and started screaming "Soy Cubana!," and in Spanish went on a tirade about how this is Miami and it is Cuban and how dare they not have anyone who speaks Spanish, it is a Spanish-speaking city, this is outrageous, blah blah blah... The man said "This is a govt office, we are not under obligation to have employees who speak other languages besides English" [because of course the US has no official declared language, English or otherwise]. The woman kept getting angrier. The little girl was very embarrassed, and started trying to speak to the man in English, which of course she was fluent in because she grew up here. The mother screamed at her to stop and hit her over the head, and then continued screaming and dragged her out, declaring that she would go to another DMV that respectably had Spanish speakers. The people in the waiting area shifted kind of uncomfortably in their seats the whole time, a few English speakers kind of clucked their tongues, and a few others yelled out agreement in Spanish (but didn't leave their place in line). As she left, one yelled out a recommendation of a different DMV that would have Spanish speakers - I think the Hialeah one.
So it is a bit of a political issue, and there is some resentment among English-only speakers at the way the city is run (a lot of favoritism for Cubans among the higher ranks), as well as resentment among some Spanish-speakers for the govt not being more in alignment with their culture. I hear complaints from both sides all the time, it's not like there are no issues. There is some resentment among Central Americans at the power of white Cubans and South Americans, too, it's not like all Spanish-speakers are on the same side. But then there are the majority of people in the middle who are fine with how it is, they are bilingual and in the US for a reason if they're not originally from here, and they don't really care.
It does depend on what neighborhood you live in and what job you have. You can generally go in and out of stores and speak either English or Spanish with no problem. The city has sort of 3 official languages, English, Spanish, and Haitian Kreyol, so frequently one will see signs in all 3 - like at a hospital, for instance. If you need work done on your car, you can go to a dealership and people will speak fluent English. But if you go to a general garage, it would really help to know Spanish to explain better what the problem is. That's true of a lot of other cities though, not just Miami. For some jobs, you will be limited in your ability to climb the ladder if you don't speak Spanish. For others, it will not be a problem. Some jobs require you to be bilingual, especially service jobs. There is rampant nepotism and corruption in Miami though, so if you are in a place of high power things like ethnicity (and skin color) are going to matter. It's silly for us to pretend that it doesn't, because it is a major part of how politics work here.
As for the general feel of living in Miami, though, the city is full of people who want to have fun. Generally speaking, they don't care who you are or where you're from if there's a party to be had. Miamians therefore celebrate ALL occasions with gusto - the Heat, the World Cup, Thanksgiving, Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick's Day, 4th of July, etc. etc. etc. And it's warm, so people are dancing with music outside and setting off fireworks pretty much year round, not just in summer. It's a very festive place, a great place if you like to party - either at a club on the Beach, or at a friend's house party. People just want to have a good time when they're not at work, and extended family and friends all will party together usually - it's a place of big events with everybody and their cousin invited, and lots of food and drinks and music.
I have found that making friends in Miami is not hard no matter what you speak if you're friendly. But of course, in some neighborhoods if you only speak English the best you'll be able to do is wave and smile to all your neighbors, because they won't understand you. They'll just wave and smile back.
I think you've done a superb job in summing up a lot of what Miami is like in your post here. It's right on the money, all of it. Although I have to say in my 38 years of living in Miami, I never encountered anyone who made such a spectacle of herself demanding services by Spanish speakers- I know she isn't alone in that sentiment, but most folks I ever saw wanting the same thing were more subtle about it, LOL
LOL, you'll likely be doing any driver's license renewals online from now on, now that you have your FL license, but in the event you have to visit a DMV office, you'll know that you'll find far fewer crowds in the offices in Key Largo, or other locations in the Keys- or even in Homestead.
I think you've done a superb job in summing up a lot of what Miami is like in your post here. It's right on the money, all of it. Although I have to say in my 38 years of living in Miami, I never encountered anyone who made such a spectacle of herself demanding services by Spanish speakers- I know she isn't alone in that sentiment, but most folks I ever saw wanting the same thing were more subtle about it, LOL
LOL, you'll likely be doing any driver's license renewals online from now on, now that you have your FL license, but in the event you have to visit a DMV office, you'll know that you'll find far fewer crowds in the offices in Key Largo, or other locations in the Keys- or even in Homestead.
I bet there were folks that could speak a little bit of Spanish there but simply were not going to put with the arrogant stupidity on that woman's behalf. If I would have been there I would have told her a thing or two myself!
You can now renew Driver Licenses online and for a lot longer period of time so I try that option.
We frequently hear about how Cuban Miami is. I guess it's not surprising considering that majority of people residing in Miami were born in Cuba as opposed to being born in the US like other hispanic cities in the US. So I guess it brings me to the question of how American is Miami?
Is it difficult to live in Miami knowing english only? No, I know many people who only know how to say gracias and they have no problems living here.
Do people celebrate Thanksgiving? Definitely, I've been in Miami for 3 years and each time I had Thanksgiving dinner with different Cuban families and they all did the turkey, sweet potatoes, gravy and all that American Thanksgiving type of food and I know pretty much everyone else does it, regardless of ethnic origins.
Do children say the pledge of allegiance in schools? No idea.
Is football (not soccer) the most popular sport? Basketball and American football are definitely the most popular. There are several people that like Football (soccer) but it's not even close. I do feel it's rising in popularity though, but as an Euro I think that's a good thing. And before you think it's only the Hispanics/Latinos/Spanish speakers/whatever you want to call them that like soccer I've seen more and more "white Americans" that like it.
Do people sing the star spangled banner before games? No idea.
Do people celebrate the 4th of July? Just like Thanksgiving, yes. Actually it's a huge Holiday here.
Do people generally consider themselves American or just Cubans living in America? Others already answered this better than I could.
I do get the feeling though many non-Miamian Americans wish Miami was just like any other American city except with some palm trees and beaches. I personally like that Miami is different though.
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) walked in with her daughter, who was maybe around 11. The woman began speaking to the intake guy at the front, who was West Indian, in Spanish. The man said, "Ma'am, I'm sorry, I don't speak Spanish. Do you speak English? What are you here for?" and began trying to point her to the various counters. The woman kept speaking in Spanish, and demanded an attendant who also spoke Spanish, but there happened to (oddly) be none working up front that day. The woman went completely insane, and started screaming "Soy Cubana!," and in Spanish went on a tirade about how this is Miami and it is Cuban and how dare they not have anyone who speaks Spanish, it is a Spanish-speaking city, this is outrageous, blah blah blah... The man said "This is a govt office, we are not under obligation to have employees who speak other languages besides English" [because of course the US has no official declared language, English or otherwise]. The woman kept getting angrier. The little girl was very embarrassed, and started trying to speak to the man in English, which of course she was fluent in because she grew up here. The mother screamed at her to stop and hit her over the head, and then continued screaming and dragged her out, declaring that she would go to another DMV that respectably had Spanish speakers. The people in the waiting area shifted kind of uncomfortably in their seats the whole time, a few English speakers kind of clucked their tongues, and a few others yelled out agreement in Spanish (but didn't leave their place in line). As she left, one yelled out a recommendation of a different DMV that would have Spanish speakers - I think the Hialeah one.
