The Cuban Experience in Florida: Revolution and Exodus

Related Resources

Online Classroom

Educational Units

Photographs

Photo Exhibits
Photographic Collections

Video

Full-Length Films
  • Flower of Tampa (1950s)
    This film provides an overview of the cigar industry in Ybor City using the story of a young man visiting his uncle to learn about the family business. The film contains excellent footage of all aspects of the cigar making process, from field to consumer. Teachers should prepare students for the plot line of the film in advance so as not to detract from the important aspects of the film. They should inform students that the story involving the young man and the young lady, the uncle, etc. is secondary to the footage of the inner-workings of the cigar industry. Teachers should explain that the story was used by the cigar industry in order to add a backdrop to the state of the cigar industry in Tampa/Ybor City ca. 1950.
  • Julio 26 (1959)
    This film, produced by WCKT Television in Miami, reflects on the first six months of rule by the revolutionary government in Cuba. The film includes footage of interviews with Cuban officials, including Fidel Castro, and programs initiated by the revolutionary government.
  • FYI-The Plight of Pepito and Cuba’s Lost Generation (early 1960s)
    This film follows the experience of a fictional Cuban refugee named Pepito and his family. The film portrays the family’s arrival in Florida, their processing at the Cuban refugee assistance center in Miami, and aid provided by the Cuban Refugee Assistance Program.

Audio

Cigar Industry and Related
  • Interview with Domingo Rojas
    Rojas was born in Key West in 1893. His parents came to the United States from Cuba and worked in the cigar industry, first in Key West and later Ybor City. Rojas started as a roller and eventually became a foreman for the American Cigar Company. He discusses work in the cigar factory, wages, working conditions, labor strikes and many other aspects of the industry.
  • WPA recordings in Ybor City, August 26-27, 1939
    WPA recordings in Ybor City, August 23-25, 1939
    These two recordings represent fieldwork conducted by folklorist Stetson Kennedy on behalf of the Works Progress Administration in the late 1930s. The recordings consist of songs and stories collected in Ybor City. The recordings are primarily in Spanish.
Immigration and the Refugee Experience
  • Interview with Aleida Martinez Garrido
    Garrido came to the United States from Cuba in 1962. She and her family originally settled in Atlanta, Georgia, but moved to Miami, Florida, in 1977. Garrido discusses life in Cuba under Batista, her motivations for opposing the Castro government, and the process of seeking exile in and adjusting to life in the United States. Starting at 40:30 on the first MP3 and going on to about 45:00, Garrido discusses the Marielitos, Cuban culture in Miami, and her hope for political change in Cuba.
  • Interview with Marta Keen
    Keen came to the United States from Cuba as a teenager in 1962. She originally settled in Connecticut, but moved to Miami, Florida, in the early 1980s. Keen discusses her experience in the United States, changes in the Cuban exile community in South Florida, and Cuban cultural traditions on and off the island. From about 10:00 onward on the first MP3 she discusses traveling to the United States alone as a teenager. In the beginning of the second MP3, Keen discusses the Mariel crisis and its impact on the Cuban exile community.
  • Interview with members of the Salsa Express, a Cuban-American salsa band from south Florida.
    This interview was conducted by folklorists Peggy Bulger and Doris Dyen in 1986. Raoul Menendez, a member of the band, was born in Cuba and talks about adjusting to life in Miami, Florida, and the Mariel Crisis of 1980.
  • Interview with Dr. Helen Safa, Director of the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Florida, Gainesville
    In this interview, Dr. Safa discusses Caribbean migration. She provides a general overview of the history of Cuban, Haitian and Puerto Rico migration situated within the larger context of regional culture, politics and the role played by the United States.
Cuban Musical Traditions
Cuban and Afro-Caribbean Religion
  • Afro-Cuban Orisha traditions, 2003
    This interview consists of a discussion of Orisha in the context of Cuban and Caribbean cultural and religious traditions.
  • Interview with Santeria Priest Ernesto Pichardo, 1985
    Pichardo discusses Orisha, drum ceremonies, dances, the history of Santeria coming to Cuba from Yoruba, Africa, and the differences between Santeria in Cuba and in the United States.

State Library of Florida

Heritage Guides

Additional Resources at Other Institutions

The following institutions provide a wealth of information about and digitized materials related to the Cuban Experience in Florida:

Florida International University, Cuban Research Institute
The Cuban Research Institute (CRI), within the Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC) of Florida International University, is the nation’s leading institute for research and academic programs on Cuban and Cuban-American issues. Since its founding in 1991, a blend of scholarship and the singular resources of the Greater Miami community have enabled the CRI to produce an exceptional level of research and public programs.

U.S. Immigration Service, History of Cuban Immigration to the United States
This site provides a broad overview of the history of Cuban immigration to the United States.

University of Florida, Latin American Collection
The Latin American Collection at the University of Florida ranks among the finest in the world. It contains approximately 500,000 volumes, 1,100 current / active serial titles, some 50,000 microforms, and a growing amount of computer-based information and access.

University of Florida, Digital Library of the Caribbean
The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) is a cooperative digital library for resources from and about the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean. dLOC provides access to digitized versions of Caribbean cultural, historical and research materials currently held in archives, libraries, and private collections.

University of Miami, Digital Collections on Cuba and Cuban Heritage
Cuban Heritage Collection contains manuscripts, photographs, letters, maps and other digitized resources held by the University of Miami Libraries.

University of South Florida, Ybor City Oral Histories
As a major contribution to the University of South Florida Oral History Program, the Ybor City Oral History Project provides primary source material about a culturally rich and diverse historic community in Tampa.

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Florida Electronic Library (FEL)
The Florida Electronic Library is a gateway to select Internet resources that offers access to comprehensive, accurate, and reliable information. Available resources include electronic magazines, newspapers, almanacs, encyclopedias, and books, providing information on topics such as current events, education, business, technology, and health issues. The Florida Electronic Library offers information for all age groups, including homework help for students and resources for teachers.

Publication of Archival Library and Museum Materials (PALMM)
PALMM is a cooperative initiative of the public universities of Florida to provide digital access to important source materials for research and scholarship. PALMM projects may involve a single university or may be collaborative efforts between a university and partners within or outside of the state university system. PALMM projects create high-quality virtual collections relevant to the students, research community and general citizenry of Florida.

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