I propose No Reservations consider a second trip to Miami to give a closer look to the exile Cuban population mindfully overlooked in the first Miami show. More precisely, I suggest Hialeah, the third largest city in the the state of Florida and the only city with an official city motto in a language other than English.

Why?

First, it is the closest thing No Reservations will get to Cuban culture without a government minder. Specifically, it is a Cuba of yesteryear, with a culture so distinct that those of the early 1950's and '60s exile community often clash with new arrivals from the island. As the older generation dies, this Cuba is dying with them, and survives only vaguely in second and third generation Cuban-Americans like myself.

Second, Hialeah-- and particularly the over 170,000 Cubans of Hialeah -- offer a view of an alternative America; one where the money, the power, and the media are in the hands of a "minority group"; the people are fiercely patriotic Americans who fly Cuban flags off balconies and over lawns while jeering Cuban athletes every four years during the Olympics.

Third, I will not assert Cuban food is better than that of any other culture; however, while many people's may be as good, there is none better. Cuban food is the fusion of Spanish (read: Moorish), African, and Caribbean cuisine, having been forged by years of a war of independence against Spain (regardless of how brief the "Rough Riders" story may portray it) and refined during the Jazz and Swing Era of the early nineteenth century.

An episode of No Reservations shot in Hialeah, Florida offers four distinct experiences to the viewer; the exile experience, the Cuban experience, the experience of a culture in transition, and the spectacular culinary developments thereof.

I would be glad to be a host but, just the same, a more experienced fixer would be fine. I would just love to see Hialeah/Miami thrust into the American consciousness like New York's Chinatown before it is too late.

Ernie
7.8.6. 2.3.7. 4.4.1.2.

Amen brother!! That first Miami visit only scratched the surface of how complex and wonderful Miami really is...Just ask a local to drive you though, I hear you need a special license in Hialeah.