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MARIO J. TORRES
The diverse faces of the moon
Most cities in the world are
characterized by a dominant ethnic group in which races considered as
secondary or as a minority adapt to an invisible law of behavior imposed by
the former and coexistence between this large majority and the smaller non
compatible groups is most of the time limited and when this traditional rule
tends to be violated it can cause conflicts.
The city of Miami does not fulfill this principle and instead, it has an
unusual integration not commonly seen in a large city. In the fast,
capricious and uneasy city of the palm trees, many different and quite
opposite races coexist in perfect harmony as the well-known song and these
only try to find their place in the map as the only rule to accomplish and
as if following a call from the wild. Among the striking diversity that this
city embraces as equal children, the careful observer may find these as most
outstanding: the always rebellious and nonconformist Afro American, much
more calmed and in peace in this South Florida, maybe poor and set back,
perhaps updated and thriving, the white American who is seemingly
indifferent at being displaced by the strong foreign push and who has even
adapted to the new environment of guava pies and sugar cane juice, getting
the best from the change.
Other neighbors of the colorful puzzle of this anxious and restless city are
Latin Americans from every Spanish speaking country including the mother
homeland of Hispanics as if each country had a national sample and each
wanted to turn the home of sun and rain into the international capital of
Hispanicism and migration, with all the rainbow of diverse and special
accents of our Spanish language as well as with the conjunction of habits
and traditions that are peacefully mixed in a neutral territory from the
humble and respectful Honduran to the sagacious and proud Argentinian.
Visitors and residents from countries and languages other than Spanish are
also comprise this impressive melting pot.
As a wrap up, with the task of most important pieces of this game, at times
acting as leaders and besides, in the role of enriching even more this
beautiful and bilingual female, Cubans are also included in their different
versions such as: seniority, way of arrival, social and economical status
"here and there" and they embellish the city with their wide range of
origins, tempers and characters as the high class people of the 60's who
lost everything they had in their country or the middle class Camarioca
Beach immigrants, both already in good accommodation, as the former
political prisoners or the ones who risked crossing the Guantanamo Base
border, the so called economical immigrants, the Mariel immigrants from the
80's, those who came through visa lotteries, the ones who made it through a
third country, all visitors who decided to stay, till finding the heroic
raft men who crossed the sea either on their own or in the Guantanamo
exodus. Some born in the island and others born in the Florida Peninsula,
citizens or residents, the paused and slow from Oriente or the fast and
impulsive from the capital; all instructed, decent, polite and prepared or
boisterous, noisy, uncultured and unrefined, good or ill-mannered, who all
unite with no discordance in a city that offers everyone a piece of
hospitality from Opalocka to Kendall.
MARIO J TORRES
NOVEMBER 2004
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