Miami

Introduction

Located nearly at the southeastern-most point of the continental United States, the city of Miami, which celebrated its one-hundredth birthday in 1996, conjures images of sunny beaches, tourists, and immigrants, and it is also a major center for international trade. Since Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba at the end of the 1950s, successive waves of Cuban immigrants have dramatically changed the ethnic composition of the city, which is now over 50 percent Hispanic, and informally known as "the capital of Latin America." Miami today is a colorful, cosmopolitan city, reveling in its ethnic diversity. Its sunny climate and natural beauty continue to make it a prime tourist destination, even as it struggles to contain crime and other urban problems resulting from large-scale flight to suburban areas.