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Accompanying note: "Latin Miami is the second largest Cuban populated city in the world, only Havana is larger. In the past twenty years, 75% of Miami's growth has been due to Latin (particularly Cuban) immigration. This astonishing immigration gives Miami its cosmopolitan, Latin character."

Accompanying note: "'Little Havana' is a section of Miami located just south of downtown, bordered by Calle Ocho to the north and Coral Gables to the south. Formerly an area of decaying neighborhoods and shuttered businesses, 'Little Havana' exists today as a thriving Latin marketplace and tourist attraction, while serving as home to over one-quarter of metropolitan Dade County's Hispanic population."

"Studies reveal that 40% of all Cuban refugees who have settled in other parts of the U.S. eventually have moved to Miami. Three reasons are cited repeatedly for this migration: climate, proximity to friends and family, and the cultural environment. These factors play an essential role in creating an ethnic community with cohesive values and lifestyle. Social scientists now recognize the fallacy of the 'melting pot' theory. In the United States we are a nation of many nationalities. Far from blending into a homogeneous "American" character, we have strong ties to ethnic, religious, and place-specific heritage. 'Little Havana' is an example of one group's solution to the need for continuity and tradition in a new environment."

"As folklorists have begun to work within the urban communities of America, we have just begun to explore the complex cultural exchanges that occur in the city. In 'Little Havana' we can see the retention of older traditions from Cuba as well as the emergence of new, indigenous folklore. Each city creates a folk cultural complex composed of the traditions of its various inhabitants."