When you get to know a city, fall madly in love with it and feel at home, you ask yourself, ‘Why, if it’s nothing special?’ Well, the answer is quite simple: because it has everything, because it has soul… and that’s how I feel about Miami.
Miami has the best of the United States and the best of Latin America together in one geographical location. It’s a city that began to flourish after the great exodus of Cubans fleeing the revolution in the 1950s. My experience with Miami is peculiar. The first time I went, on a family trip, I didn’t find it particularly charming; it seemed like just another ‘Benidorm’ to me. But inside, I felt drawn to get to know the city better.
In Miami, I always like to start with Downtown. A huge cluster of tall buildings facing the bay, creating an incredible skyline to stroll around in the morning. It’s a bit like walking around Wall Street or any American financial district with busy executives. Starbucks filled with businessmen and women with phones, laptops and huge coffees in paper cups.
From there, I usually head to Coral Gables, a neighbourhood that I personally love, straight out of that American dream with a colonial atmosphere. It’s wonderful to stroll along Miracle Way, the main street, which transports us to a family atmosphere. Women wearing large hats, men in linen shirts, exquisite terraces with the best French pastries and endless clothing shops.
It’s an essential walk to get to know the most ‘American’, classic and elitist side of Miami. To get to the centre, you have to go through Little Havana, Calle Ocho, which is just a five-minute drive from Miracle Way. Entering there is like stepping into the most authentic Cuba.
Combines the best of
the USA and Latin America
In any case, for me, there’s nothing like Miami Beach, and South Beach in particular. Historically and commercially very interesting, strolling through the Art Deco district is like enjoying an authentic architectural gem that houses some of the city’s most important museums.
In Miami Beach, there is one of the most unknown places that has impressed me in my life, comparable to the Taj Mahal or the Great Wall of China. The Jewish Holocaust Memorial is an impressive architectural, sculptural and sensory composition, consisting of a lake, a small labyrinth and an immense hand with charred bodies.
A city of contrasts, with different atmospheres, its climate and its ‘angel’ make me dream of going on holiday to Miami to relax. If you want to enjoy South Florida, I’ll gladly take you there!
