Latin era
Since 1959 Miami was transformed by its neighbor to the south, Cuba, who gradually became from a small refugee group, around little havana into the largest ethnic community in south florida and holding economic, cultural and political power.
Following the 1959 revolution that unseated Fulgencio Batista and brought Fidel Castro to power, Cuban exiles began traveling to Florida en masse. In 1965 alone, 100,000 Cubans packed into the twice-daily "freedom flights" between Havana and Miami. Later, the Mariel Boatlift of 1980 brought 150,000 Cubans to Miami in a single flotilla, the largest in civilian history.
The city, for the most part, welcomed the Cuban exiles. Little Havana emerged as a predominantly Spanish-speaking community, and Spanish speakers elsewhere in the city could conduct most of their daily business in their native tongue.
The Cuban influx slowed down in the 1980s, and was largely replaced by refugees from Haiti. As the Haitian population grew, the area known today as Little Haiti emerged, centered around Northeast Second Avenue and 54th Street. Additionally, into the 1990s, the presence of Haitians was acknowledged with Haitian Creole language signs in public places and ballots during voting. However, because Haiti was not under Communist rule, the U.S. government later under the Clinton administration created and implemented the Wet Foot-Dry Foot Policy, which was not as willing to grant residency to many Haitians seeking political asylum.
Since then, the Latin and Caribbean-friendly atmosphere in Miami has made it a popular destination for tourists and immigrants from all over the world, and the third-biggest immigration port in the country after New York City and Los Angeles.
Today there are sizable legal and illegal populations of Argentinians, Bahamians, Barbadians, Brazilians, Colombians, Cubans, Dominicans, Ecuadorians, Haitians, Jamaicans, Mexicans, Nicaraguans, Peruvians, Puerto Ricans, Salvadorians, and Venezuelans throughout the metropolitan area.
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