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This essay captures the vibrant essence of Latino Miami through photographs taken between mid-February and late April 2009, primarily in Little Havana. The ventanillas, or little windows, serve as bustling hubs where Latin American culture thrives. These spots offer drinks and food for those on the go, and also function as communal gathering places for conversation and camaraderie, predominantly among men. While famously Cuban, the offerings reflect a blend of Caribbean and Central American influences, symbolizing the evolution of the area as a cultural melting pot.
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The photographs contained in this essay were taken between mid-February and late April 2009 in Miami, in the downtown area, just north of the downtown area, and, principally in so-called Little Havana, in this case on SW8th Street between approximately SW8th Avenue and SW36th Avenue. Latin American people are notable sociable and ambulatory (one recalls the Mexican macho declaration, “Me voy a la calle” [I’m off to the street]), and the ventanillas (little windows) provide the opportunity to buy drinks and food as one strolls along the street.
They also provide a place where individuals gather to talk, joke, and discuss politics, although such clients are typically men. Usually part of a sit-down restaurant, the ventanillas cater to those who prefer to eat as they stand along the sidewalk, rather than sit down to the higher prices and tipping associated with a conventional restaurant setting.
Although these establishments are legendarily Cuban (and some are associated with legendary establishments such as the Café Versailles), the food advertised may also come from other Caribbean or Central American countries, an index of the way in which La Sauwesera (SW8th Street) is no longer dominated by the Cubans who fifty years ago took it over from middle-class Anglos.
Occasionally hassled by state authorities in Tallahassee and other representatives of sanitation and public hygiene, the ventanillas have survived and are now a permanent fixture of wherever Caribbean and Central Americans gather. They are as ubiquitous and iconic of Miami as street carts vending all manner of food in the streets Manhattan. The consumption of food is one of the inherent necessities of the human body, and the rituals of food consumption are part of the inalienable rites of a society. There is no better place to begin to explore Latino culture in Miami than the ventanillas.
