Latin America has always escaped from all classical definitions. It is, in fact, a complex territory to describe. Over the years, it has often stumbled in shortcuts and media clichés. The most famous is that Latin America would be a set of countries that speak only Spanish. Wrong. As it is a mistake to think that the terms «South American» and «Latin American» are synonyms.
We like to think that Latin America is a subcontinent with cultural-political and economic environment in constant motion without geophysical borders or language restrictions. So it shouldn’t be a surprise to hear that city that has been considered the «new capital of Latin America» is situated in the United States, a country almost never assimilated to Latin America.
But which is the city that was able to overcome cities such as São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Mexico City and Bogota?
It is Miami, known as Florida’s pearl. A city that unites the major desires of the most wealth Latinos’ class: an intense urban life; good safety standards; natural beauties and investment opportunities. So the new wave of foreigners, mainly from South America, has managed to snatch the cultural and economic hegemony of the Cuban community.
Lizette Alvarez, Miami Bureau Chief of «The New York Times», noted that, in most cases, are «people with a high level of education, capable of exerting a key role in the revitalization of depressed areas damaged by the recession». The presence of so many Latin American communities is allied with the economic scenarios of the past several years.
The economic boom in countries such as Brazil, Peru and Colombia has developed a new middle class, eager to move to Florida. Just consult the data to understand the transformation that the city has been through: the Colombians represent the most present community; the number of Venezuelans has grown by 117% over the past 10 years; Florida is the largest foreign polling station outside Brazil (22,294 subscribers), while more than half of Miami’s residents are from other countries. About 250,000 Brazilians are living there permanently, while 755,000 tourists visit it annually.
Each community has migrated for different reasons: the Venezuelan high society has pulled out their passport after Hugo Chávez’s election in 1998; Argentines have decided to keep a safe distance from the domestic economic fluctuations; while the Brazilians have poured into real estate investments, considerably less expensive than local ones.
Even if the reasons to move to Florida are different, it is possible to delineate three cycles of immigration. The first dates back to the mid-nineties, when the flow was mainly for touristic purposes. Towards the end of the millennium, many have decided to buy a property. Now, however, many have decided to move permanently and to start a commercial activity. The melting pot has also affected American’s cultural scene.
According to «The Guardian», «Miami is the most exciting city in the USA» and «sometimes seems to follow London’s formula: speculation + contemporary art + restaurants’ boom + cultural diversity: a global and dynamic city», says the architect Rowan Moore in a recent publication. The South American immigrants – writes Lizette Alvarez on NYT – «are, however, late from a political point of view than the Cubans’ one. Many do not vote and even less candidates». But this will probably be the next challenge of Latin America’s most rich class to be overcome.
Latin America has always escaped from all classical definitions. It is, in fact, a complex territory to describe. Over the years, it has often stumbled in shortcuts and media clichés. The most famous is that Latin America would be a set of countries that speak only Spanish. Wrong. As it is a mistake to think that the terms «South American» and «Latin American» are synonyms.
