If you grew up in Miami with a first-generation Cuban exile father or grandfather, you heard him says this many times.
Translation:
“Before the Cubans arrived, Miami was a sleepy little rural town.”
Quote of the Day: What every Cuban exile dad in Miami told us
Yes, I proudly remember hearing that. And it’s so true. Cubans are hardworking and intelligent and have an entrepreneurial streak that has pushed them to open up businesses and not only become self-sufficient, but to create jobs for others.
Tragically, Cubans did not see the Latino menace lurking around the corner. Chicanos petitioned the US Census to create the Latino racial category. This served them twofold: by relabeling all Spanish speakers as “Hispanic” [it would later on be changed to “Latino”] Chicanos could hide behind the catch-all label and not be singled out when the media reported on their crimes so that for instance, if Mexican American gangbangers had a shootout killing a mother and her two children, the police report and subsequent newspaper coverage would state that a Hispanic gang was responsible not Mexican Americans. Also, if everyone was morphed into a Hispanic/Latino, this would give Chicano groups like LULAC, MALDEF and National Council of la Raza political might since they would then say that they represent not just Chicanos in the Southwest, but, also, Puerto Ricans in the Northeast and Cubans in Florida.
As the years have gone buy, Cubans have been conflated with Chicanos and other Hispanics. Nobody ever talks about Cuban success anymore, but rather Latino poverty, dropout rates and slum dwelling. In the eyes of the world, we have gone from Cubans to just another type of Latino.
The difference is that Cubans never wanted to be seen or treated as a minority group; they simply wanted to integrate fully into American society as Americans, which is how immigrants used to operate. Thus, they weren’t interested in special labels or in being “otherized.” We’re talking about different mindsets and approaches. “Latins” have a lot of issues that are alien to us.
As I have said repeatedly, the least we can do is to reject the “Latin” label completely. I can accept being “Hispanic,” albeit grudgingly, but if I’d been born and completely raised in the US, I wouldn’t accept even that. Any attempt at putting us in some convenient box as a “separate” group, like any attempt to make us plantation dwellers, is not only beyond dubious but unacceptable.
Yes, haha.
Yes, my dad also said that and for years I thought Miami had always been a small little rural town. It was not until I studied the history of Miami that I learned Miami was already a city in the 1950’s. Still, the influx of Cuban immigrants did help it grow into a major city.