Friday, 6 February 2015

Calle Ocho Festival, Miami, Florida, USA

Little Havana or the Calle Ocho is characterized by the robust street life, excellent restaurants, music and other cultural activities, mom and pop enterprises, political passion, and great warmth amongst its residents.

At the time of this festival, the street in the Miami is overtaken by the Latinos of all the different shapes, sizes and the backgrounds to celebrate the legendary Calle Ocho festival.
Little Havana host its annual Calle Ocho street festival (the part of the overall Carnaval Miami celebration), it is one of the largest in the world with over one million visitors attending the Calle Ocho alone. It is the free street festival with the Caribbean carnival feel sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of the Little Havana.


Calle Ocho is where different ethnic communities wear colours or the flags representing pride in their heritage. Flags from the Colombia to the Nicaragua to the Puerto Rico to the Costa Rica and even the Ireland flood the streets. Foods from different countries are usually sold, and popular music like reggaeton, salsa, bachata and merengue can be heard through the festival.

From the last 35 years, Carnival Miamo has made it possible for the members of the Kiwanis Club of the Little Havana to accomplish the service programs in the community. The club started in the 1975 by the small group of the high school, to grow and became the major service non-profit organization.
Little Havana is the neighbourhood of Miami, Florida, United States. Home to many Cuban immigrant residents, as well as many residents from Central and South America, Little Havana is named after Havana, the capital and largest city in Cuba.



Little Havana is noted as the centre of the social, cultural and the political activity in the Miami. Its festivals including the Calle Ocho Festival, Cultural Fridays/ Viernes Culturales, the three kings Parade and the others, have been televised to millions of the people every year on the different continents. It is also known for its landmarks including the Calle Ocho (SW 8th Street/ Tamiami Trail) and its walk of Fame (for famous artists and the Latin personalities including the Celia Cruz, Willy Chirino and Gloria Estefan), the Cuban Memorial Boulevard, Plaza de la Cubanidad, Domino Park, the Tower Theater, Jose Marti Park, the Firestone/Walgreens Building, St. John Bosco Catholic Church, Municipio de Santiago de Cuba and others. It is undoubtedly the best known neighbourhood for the Cuban exiles in the world.

The Little Havana Merchants Association (LHMA) is an organization of the local businesses that promotes responsible growth in neighbourhood. Other key organizations in the neighbourhood include the Calle Ocho Chamber of Commerce, Little Havana Change makers, and Viernes Culturales/Cultural Fridays, Inc. The co-founder of LHMA publishes Little Havana Guide, the guide (with maps) to the neighbourhood and online magazine (in English). Local activists have also published a site called Little Havana Inc to monitor development in the area.

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