Little Havana Guide: Calle Ocho, Cafecito and Dominoes

Little Havana, just west of Downtown, became the heart of Cuban Miami after the revolution of 1959, when exiles settled in its modest streets. Today the neighbourhood is home to people from across Central and South America too, but Cuban culture still sets the tone along its main street, SW 8th Street, known as Calle Ocho.

It's a real neighbourhood, not a theme park, and some visitors find it smaller and scruffier than they expected. The stretch to walk is short, roughly from 12th to 17th Avenue. Go in the late morning or afternoon, when the cafés and the domino tables are busy.

A walk along Calle Ocho

1. Cuban Memorial Boulevard. Start at 13th Avenue, a tree-lined median with monuments to Cuban independence heroes and to those killed in the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961.
2. A ventanita. Stop at a walk-up coffee window for a cafecito, a tiny, very sweet espresso, or a colada, a larger cup meant to be shared in thimble-sized plastic cups.
3. Cigar shops. Several shops along the street roll cigars by hand in the window. Watch for free, and buy only if you want to.
4. Máximo Gómez Park. Known to everyone as Domino Park, at 15th Avenue, where older men play dominoes with serious concentration. Watch quietly from outside the fence.
5. The Walk of Fame. Stars set in the pavement honour Latin performers such as Celia Cruz and Gloria Estefan.
6. The Tower Theater. A restored 1926 Art Deco cinema at 15th Avenue, which once showed Hollywood films with Spanish subtitles for new arrivals.
7. Ball & Chain. A historic bar that first opened in 1935, now with live Latin music and dancing on its back patio. Come back in the evening.

Where to eat

Try a Cuban sandwich (roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard on pressed Cuban bread), croquetas, and a guava and cheese pastelito from a bakery. Versailles, further west along Calle Ocho, is the famous Cuban restaurant and political meeting place, loud, busy and fun. Fruit shakes (batidos) of mamey or guanabana are the local refreshment.

Events

On the last Friday of each month, Viernes Culturales brings live music, art and street food to Calle Ocho. In March, the Calle Ocho Festival turns the street into one of the largest block parties in the country.

Little Havana is a short rideshare from Downtown or Brickell. Combine it with Wynwood in the afternoon, as in our 3-day itinerary, and see our things to do list for the rest of the mainland.