The Colors of Miami

Miami’s sizzling climate and rich cultural heritage are drawing visitors by the millions.

Since the early heyday of the so-called Magic City, when Jackie Gleason broadcast from Miami Beach, bathing beauties strolled the boardwalks and international jetsetters stopped en route to Havana to see Ol’ Blue Eyes at the Fontainebleau, Miami’s image as the sun and fun capital of the world has changed little.

It’s still a colorful backdrop for lingerie shoots, music videos and action films. From Some Like It Hot to There’s Something About Mary, Hollywood still portrays this tropical city as a playground for the rich and raunchy. Of course, there were many years when the population who called Miami Beach home mostly comprised legions of grandparents parked on the terraces of cheap rooming houses, giving way to the city’s unfortunate nickname of “God’s Waiting Room.”

But the public relations folks always found a way to advertise that celebrated Florida warmth. And now, as a multinational urban area with the largest cruise ship port in the world (some 3.5 million cruise-ship passengers passed though last year) and an airport with more flights to Latin America and the Caribbean than any other American city, Miami is a pretty easy sell. Especially since it’s surrounded by sparkling beaches and a shimmering necklace of blue seas.

The city’s character

Miami’s history is a richly woven tapestry, with threads in more colors than an interior decorator could name. It has weathered changes as dramatic and sweeping as the waves that lap its 15 miles of shorelines. From decades-long wars between Native Americans and settlers in the mid-1800s to the drug wars portrayed in the long-running series Miami Vice in the mid-1980s, Miami has seen its share of trouble. And so has the local cast of characters dominated by outlaws, gangsters, celebrities and bon vivants.

Floridians have experienced plenty of devastating hurricanes and fires, as well as perhaps the defining event of the young city’s heritage: the Cuban revolution. When Fidel Castro seized power in 1959, this backwater town—more accustomed to fried chicken than frijoles—changed nearly as much, if not more than, the island nation some 90 miles south of our southernmost border in Key West.

Always a beacon for newcomers, Miami is now proud of its diverse population—more than 57 percent of its 2.3 million-plus citizens are Hispanic, and an estimated 75 percent of inhabitants speak Spanish as a native language.

But Miami is not only Cuban-influenced. The shops and sidewalks are alive with the sounds of a dozen Spanish dialects, including Cuban, Mexican, Argentine, Nicaraguan and Uruguayan. So, while the street signs are mostly in English, you are sure to feel more at home if you speak a bit of español. And depending on the part of town you decide to explore, you’re just as likely to hear Portuguese, German, Italian, Yiddish, Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese or French as Spanish. So, no matter what language you dream in, this sprawling polyglot metropolis is accessible to you. Art lovers, golfers, tennis aficionados, gourmets and wine connoisseurs all enjoy an array of options in Miami.

One downside is that the city isn’t always easy to get around. Mass transit is nearly nonexistent, and the Los Angeles–like highways sprawl out for miles. Many people don’t realize that what is commonly referred to as “Miami” is actually Miami-Dade County, made up of some 30 separate cities, each with its own government and character. From the beautiful Mediterranean-inspired streets of Coral Gables to the luxurious island of Key Biscayne, the gritty Miami River and the bustling streets of Little Havana, not one area feels untouched by the one of the most dramatic real estate booms in history.

Even though the glittering scenes of South Beach, the southern tip of Miami Beach, provide the attraction for such diverse luminaries as Madonna, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, P. Diddy, Andy Garcia and Oprah Winfrey, other areas are also being pioneered by artsy newcomers and cutting-edge restaurateurs looking to create the next big thing. Up-and-coming neighborhoods include the Design District, the Miami River and the Upper East Side.

Although postcard-perfect images of cloudless blue skies and a scorching sun still dominate the Miami landscape, scaffolding, cherry pickers and mammoth cranes have become the most common sight when looking upward from any corner of town. That means more traffic than ever, as well as unexpected tie-ups.

Still, as the city goes through its inevitable growing pains, it also gains in stature and prestige. On the horizon is a world-class, $400 million-plus fine arts complex near downtown, designed by renowned architect Cesar Pelli, which will house a ballet-opera house, studio theater, concert hall and various other performance spaces. Completion is expected in 2006.

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victoria pesce elliott is a freelance travel writer and the restaurant critic for The Miami Herald. Email Victoria at editor@executivetravelmag.com.

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