Calle Ocho (“8th
Street”)is the centre of Hispanic/Cuban culture in Miami and on any day
it’s a feast of sights, savories, and Spanish-only. But yesterday was el ultimo, the Biggest Latin-American
Street Party in the World. About a million Latinos (bona fide OR honorary like
us)packed 15 blocks of Calle Ocho to be blasted by 11 thumping sound stages and
hundreds of street food stalls. Every Latin American country was proudly represented
by flags, foods, and flagrant foolishness.
I read that back home in Ontario there has been
record-breaking warmth, with no trace of snow. But Calle Ocho sets Guiness
Records every year. One year Gloria Estefan led the World’s Longest Conga Line (200,000+). Another year they made the World’s Longest Cigar (Cuban, get
it??). And yesterday they created the Most
Flags Tied Together As One. To emphasize the theme of One World, the flags of
287 different countries were stitched together covering two blocks, and held up
in the breeze for 287 seconds. Can you find yours in this aerial view?
My personal record came this morning on a walk by a canal.
It’s the Closest I’ve Ever Come to a Manatee. About 2 feet away, the sea cow
was munching on mussels attached to the sea wall. A real wow. Then it casually samba’d
away, in the direction of Calle Ocho!
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