It’s still a dark morning, but already hot at the Miami airport. The queue to go through immigration is long, and a mess of bags fills the halls of the place. A few minutes away, colossal cruise ships line up at the port, waiting for travelers to board later. On the streets, the traffic is not so intense, but it collects plates from different states.
The pandemic is not over yet, but you can see that the city of Florida, in the south of the United States, is already eagerly receiving a large number of tourists, as anti-Covid regulations loosen and its attractions reinvent themselves.
We are talking, after all, about a Miami that was already trying to detach itself from the label of a shopping destination, investing in first-rate bars, restaurants and museums. The process predates the pandemic, but it seems to gain strength at a good time, as, after months of confinement and canceled trips, many people want to gather a diverse number of experiences in a single destination.
Presenting this younger and more hip Miami is the challenge of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, an association for the promotion of local tourism that, after a long period of hibernation, tries to sell another image of the city, especially to Brazilians, for whom the beaches of the local have little power of attraction and now face a high dollar that makes the capitalist frenzy that spurred many flights there impossible.
This concept of a cultural and pluralist Miami is reflected even in the hotel wing, which has bet on boutique hotels with more personality and exclusivity. In South Miami Beach, for example, these developments have occupied the art deco buildings that form the city’s iconic coastal landscape.
Aware of the huge Latino presence in Miami –both among residents and tourists–, hotels like The Balfour, owned by Brazilian partners, invest in a more immersive and less generic ambience, with samba coming from the loudspeakers, Colombian beach hats available in the rooms and imported tiles lining the bathrooms.
As part of a deep renovation, the place also prepares a restaurant, so as not to be left behind in the gastronomic wave that takes over the city. This one, too, seems to want to mimic Miami’s Latinity, in an era in which cultural diversity is defended – and sold – with gusto.
It is easy to find Mexican and Cuban food there, whether in the small doors of modest areas, between the graffitied walls of trendy neighborhoods or on the luxurious terraces of new and gigantic shopping centers.
If the idea is to have authenticity, the Little Havana region is the most indicated. A stronghold of Cuban immigrants, it seems to be out of space-time. In the streets, a friendly gentleman sells roasted peanuts wrapped in a paper cone, while huge billows of smoke fill the sidewalks in front of the many cigar shops.
Salsa and bolero envelop pedestrians and shuffle to the sound of dominoes being played by an eccentric collection of old people in Domino Park. A kind of square full of tables, this is where Miami’s Latino seniors spend hours and more hours daily.
Everything is very peculiar and must sound, in part, familiar to the Brazilian tourist. It is possible, for example, to eat Cuban versions of pastel or hot mix at restaurants such as Ball & Chain and El Pub, accompanied by “sugar cane juice” –the famous sugarcane juice– or strong coffee, which is nothing like the ultra-diluted drink served by Americans.
If the idea is to look for Latin meals with a touch of modernity and joviality, then the most sophisticated hotels and malls in Miami are an option. On warm nights, Serena, on the rooftop of the Moxy hotel, accommodates diners on colorful sofas and metal garden tables, while neon signs and hanging lights highlight the drinks and dishes.
But if it rains, CH’I, in the imposing Brickell City Center mall, is welcoming with its atmosphere reminiscent of a speakeasy, hidden behind a huge door. There, dishes that mix Latin and Chinese cuisine are served, also under colorful and fluorescent lights.
On the outskirts of Wynwood Walls, Bakan is another one that bets on Mexican ingredients, in a more laid-back environment, which combines with daylight, and which serves as a stop for those who walk through the region, which attracts tourists with its urban art.
Following Art Basel in Miami, one of the most important art fairs in the world, other initiatives contribute to the new image of an artistic Miami that tourism agencies and associations want to promote. The Wynwood Walls murals –which currently host a graffiti by the Brazilian Eduardo Kobra– have already become a mandatory stop in the city, but there are several other addresses for those looking for a more erudite type of tourism.
Perhaps the main one is the Rubell Museum, a private art collection that has just moved to display a larger portion of the approximately 7,000 works collected by the couple that give the museum its name.
For more than five decades, the Rubells have been finishing off pieces by up-and-coming artists, betting on as-yet-unknown names and seeing the zeros lining up in the value of their collection over the years. Today, it includes highly sought after and expensive artists such as Yayoi Kusama, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst.
Upon moving, the family bought a series of sheds in the vicinity of the Rubell Museum, in order to have some control over the type of enterprise that would be installed there. The idea is for the region to flourish as a new art district – a photo gallery is due to open soon and Superblue, dedicated to immersive and interactive works, has opened a branch there.
Miami seems to be in full swing in its quest for reinvention. We are, after all, talking about one of the main tourist destinations in the United States, for both Americans and foreigners – pre-pandemic levels of international visitors easily exceeded 5 million annually.
It’s a city with a strong pull, fixed in popular culture thanks to real characters like Gianni Versace, whose iconic Miami Beach mansion became a hotel and restaurant, and fictional ones like Tony Montana, the mobster in “Scarface”, and Detectives Crockett and Tubbs from “Miami Vice”.
Miami was already a sexy city, from shirtless men with ripped abs working out by the beach to windblown women driving convertibles. But now, she tries to maximize her power of attraction, seducing tourists with the most varied intentions and showing that she has much more to offer, besides shopping bags and the blue coast.
The reporter traveled at the invitation of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau
