Miami City

In the so-called Magic City bathed in the sun, everyone can choose who to be and when to be: Miami is the dynamic place where to truly be oneself.

The ocean washes over tourists’ feet as they stand along the long stretches of sandy beaches. People skate on the wide streets crossing gardens close to the seaside. Colors shine brighter here than anywhere else, and one can almost smell the perfume of the sunshine. Miami City is an eye-catching show you never want to end, with its stylish people in swimsuits, international business centers, tourists and subcultures running throughout its districts. One of the most iconic images of Miami is of someone laying on the beach to sunbath just above the Tropic of Cancer, which experiences an occasional tropical rainfall, but the city has much more to discover than just that. The heart of the dynamic city is Downtown Miami, the central business district in Florida, on the eastern side. However, if you are looking for thrilling nights out in Miami, then going South is the best option to find bars, nightclubs and bohemian shops, an ideal spot for students. Hidden among its narrow, winding roads lined with trees is a dazzling historic neighborhood - the amazing Coconut Grove.

The west side of Miami is home to traditionally colorful immigrant neighborhoods, with Little Havana, an iconic capital of integration and mixed cultures often associated with Florida and, in particular, with Miami. Little Havana may be one of Miami’s most important places to experience the sights, sounds and smells of the city’s classic Cuban culture. Cuba’s traditions and historical characteristics are strongly felt in this area, especially in the well-known street of Calle Ocho; its inhabitants include many of those who fled Cuba after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. Vestiges of the lives they left behind are evident in the many Mediterranean-style coral rock and stucco houses, accented with cane rocking chairs on their pastel-painted front porches, reminiscent of Havana’s Vedado and Miramar neighborhoods. Where Memorial Boulevard meets SW 13th Avenue is the Brigade 2506 Memorial, an eternal burning flame to remember those who were killed during the infamous Bay of Pigs invasion. Walking down the street, one of most important things to note is the large ceiba tree, which people following the Santería religion consider sacred and where they come to offer their deities chicken bones and cloth bundles. Then, last but not least, there is Midtown, another one-of-a-kind district located on Miami’s north side. Midtown is an intriguing spot where art flourishes in many different ways and through various channels. The Wynwood Arts District is the main artistic center of Miami where murals cover the walls that run along the streets, galleries and antique shops. This is the core of culture, the pulsing heart of art and self-expression. WADA, Wynwood Arts District Association, is a great community association that organizes events, performances, spaces, cafes and anything art-related in the district’s neighborhood. One of the most important events taking place there is Art Basel, a collection of modern and contemporary art shows held annually in three major cities: Basel, Switzerland; Hong Kong, China; and every December in Miami, Florida. Midtown is the world headquarters for design and is a melting pot of cultures that found a way to influence each other by creating an organic mix that is impossible to find anywhere else: Hispanics, European Americans, West Indians and Caribbean communities, such as Little Haiti and Liberty City, are just a few examples of the diversity that connects Miami’s streets.

The food culture in Miami is a reflection of this diverse population. Besides restaurants for international tourists, Miami has developed its own way to interpret food, fusing seafood and southern cuisine. This special approach to fresh, quality seafood, with influences both from the Caribbean and Latin America, means nearly every dish is a combination of these two cultures with a dash of typical American elements, ultimately creating a unique cooking style known as Floribbean cuisine. Current Miami-based cuisine staples come from Cuban immigrants who immigrated in the late 1960s, bringing the famous Cuban sandwich and croquetas, which gained enough popularity to become a distinct element of the street food culture, with cafes, restaurants and supermarkets serving them day and night. And if culinary tourism is not appealing enough, Miami boasts many of the biggest events in the world for music, design and sports. Thousands of music lovers go crazy for concerts and festivals, such as the Ultra Music Festival. This exciting event happens only once a year and gathers the best international bands and DJs together for unbelievable performances of colors, lights and music. It usually takes place during the Miami Music Week, before moving to Japan, Korea, South Africa and Thailand. This weeklong marathon of electronic dance music events began in 2011, taking place from March 24 to March 27. Since then, Miami Music Week has continued to grow each year, eventually becoming one of the world’s greatest migrations for dance music lovers. Over 1,000 artists perform at over 260 events hosted at a myriad of venues across Miami. Venues include nightclubs, pools, boats and pop-up spaces at locations like Wynwood, Downtown Miami, Miami Beach and Little Haiti.

The Wynwood Arts District is Miami’s cultural core, the pulsing heart of self-expression, the main center where art itself runs along the street.

Miami also has great sports traditions with some of the most famous teams competing every year in exhilarating championships and competitions. The main three sports teams are the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League, the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association and the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball, with an incredible number of fans following their heart-pounding competitions and crossing the U.S. to meet their favorite iconic athletes. The Dolphins play their home games at the Hard Rock Stadium in the northern suburb of Miami Gardens, one of the oldest NFL franchises in the Deep South. The Miami Heat is one of the most recognizable basketball teams in the world, with their mascot Burnie, an anthropomorphic fireball. They play their home games at the well-known American Airlines Arena, which cost $213 million to construct and was the craftsmanship of architectural design team members who included George Heinlein, Cristian Petschen, Reinaldo Borges and Lance Simon. On January 2, 2000, the Miami Heat inaugurated the new arena by playing the first game and defeating the Orlando Magic 111–103. The Miami Marlins baseball team may have never won a division title, but they collected two World Series championships as a wild card team. Miami has many elements to make sports addicts fall in love with its sunny weather and dream teams. It is a city whose variety of cultures and possibilities generated so much buzz that, in 2012, Miami was classified as an Alpha−World City, just two years after being ranked seventh in the U.S. for finance, commerce, culture, entertainment, fashion, education and other sectors.