Overview
The first arrivals expected to go home within months and the neighbourhood was built on that assumption; sixty years on it holds the memorials, the political murals and the Bay of Pigs monument that mark what happened instead. Maximo Gomez Park — Domino Park — is where older men have played dominoes daily since 1976, and it is open to watch but not to join. The area is now as much Nicaraguan and Honduran as Cuban, which the restaurants show more honestly than the souvenir shops.
Highlights
Go on the last Friday of the month for Viernes Culturales, when the galleries open late and there is music on the street. Order a cortadito at a ventanita and drink it standing, which is the local form. Parking on Calle Ocho is hard; the Brickell garages and a short rideshare are easier.