Miami’s Cuba Nostalgia returns with tribute to Willy Chirino and Havana replicas
Much of the charm of La Bodeguita del Medio on Empedrado Street in Havana is how small and intimate it is. The way the mojitos are flowing in this packed, intimate space full of revelers sweaty from the Cuban heat is part of the appeal.
La Bodeguita del Medio at Cuba Nostalgia, Miami’s largest fair celebrating Cuban culture, is a replica, but there is no shortage of rum, ice, mint or smiles. What you won’t miss is the heat, though, because Cuba Nostalgia in Miami takes place in air conditioning.
There are replicas of other iconic Havana buildings and monuments, including the Paseo del Prado, the Malecón, the Capitol, the Payret movie theater, the Floridita restaurant and the Tropicana cabaret, where concerts will be held this weekend. The difference is that these replicas are the best versions of these relics, whereas the originals in Cuba are just a memory for generations of Cuban migrants.
“Sometimes, you find them crying because those places no longer exist,” says Peter Regalado, owner of Cuba Nostalgia. For example, the Payret Cinema, which was torn down to make space for hotels.
“You don’t know how I kissed my wife in that Payret Cinema!” patrons of Cuba Nostalgia have told Regalado.
The Payret Cinema in Cuba Nostalgia shows documentaries on the history of Cuba and Cantinflas films on a giant screen. Like the original, it’s located on the Paseo del Prado, one of the jewels of Havana, with marble benches and the famous lions, designed by the French landscape architect Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier.
Nearby is the replica of El Floridita, where visitors can take a photo next to the statue of the bar’s most famous customer at the entrance on Obispo Street, Ernest Hemingway, who would order his daiquiri with no sugar.
Visitors can also go to the Ten Cent store, the former Woolworth’s, on Galiano Street, which had a well-stocked cafeteria where people waited to sit on the stools and order a chicken- or egg-salad sandwich.
“The most important thing we want is for young people to come, to bring their children to the event, to tell them and explain about these places,” Regalado said, noting that admission is free for children under 10 years old.
A TRIBUTE TO CHIRINO’S 50-YEAR CAREER
Cuba Nostalgia, which turns 25, will celebrate five decades of Willy Chirino’s career with an exhibition at the entrance to the fair. The exhibit will include memorabilia and personal objects, such as the suit he wore when he married Cuban singer Lissette Alvarez.
All the suits still fit, except the wedding suit, said Chirino, 77, last year at the History Museum exhibit dedicated to him. That exhibit included awards, photos and memorabilia, such as the signed flag that rafters gave him when he performed a concert at the U.S.’ Guantanamo Naval Base in 1994.
“While I was there, which was all day, from early morning until dusk, I kept calm, greeting everyone. But when I got on the plane [back to Miami], I had a violent crying fit,” Chirino told el Nuevo Herald about his experience with the 35,000 Cubans who escaped from the island on fragile boats, truck tires and wooden boards.
Chirino will offer a “full concert,” as he promised on his social media, on Sunday at 8:30 p.m., closing the weekend of Cuban traditions.
CONCERTS
Regalado took the helm of Cuba Nostalgia in 2019 and since then attendance has grown to exceed 30,000 people.
His experience organizing events such as the House of Terror and Cuba Under the Stars taught him that “you can get people out of the house with music.”
“We have more than six trios and quartets playing all the time throughout the fair,” says Regalado, indicating that the replica of the Tropicana cabaret, the most famous in Cuba, can accommodate around 1,500 people seated and more than 2,500 standing and that concerts usually last about an hour.
On Saturday, Leslie Cartaya (2 p.m.), Lena Burke (4:30 p.m.), Boncó Quiñongo (7 p.m.) and Leoni Torres (9:30 p.m.) will perform.
“I always sing my own songs, but I also include Cuban classics,” Burke told el Nuevo Herald. She said there will be songs from La Lupe and a Celia Cruz tribute that she recorded with Free Cover Venezuela.
“In each show I pay a small homage to my grandmother [Elena Burke], some bolero,” said Lena, who gets her inspiration to compose songs in her kitchen, where she has a piano but never cooks.
On Sunday, before Chirino, Roberto Torres (2 p.m.), Los Tres de La Habana (4:30 p.m.) and Carlucho (6:30 p.m.) will perform.
ART AND FAITH
Kiosks with merch that highlight Cuban pride and galleries with works by Cuban painters line the streets of “Havana.” There will be vintage cars and a motorcycle that was painted for Chirino, who will sign autographs in a reproduction of a Cuban park with streetlights and grass and where dominoes are played.
An image of the Virgen de la Caridad (Our Lady of Charity) will arrive in a procession from the Ermita de la Caridad in Coconut Grove after touring part of Miami and Sweetwater. Her final destination will be in front of the replica of the Havana Cathedral, where she will be joined by a Cuban flag.
On Sunday at 12:30 p.m., Father José Espino will officiate a Mass, which will be broadcast on giant screens throughout the Fairgrounds.
THE HERALD
El Nuevo Herald will have a Paseo del Prado kiosk, where visitors can meet journalists from el Nuevo Herald and the Miami Herald. Editor and columnist Daniel Shoer Roth will be meeting the public on Saturday and Sunday starting at 1:30 p.m. and sports columnist Jorge Ebro on Sunday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
“It is an opportunity for el Nuevo Herald to connect with the community we represent,” said Raymond Dueñas, director of community affairs for the Miami Herald/el Nuevo Herald.
In conjunction with Our Lady of Charity National Shrine (La Ermita de la Caridad), Shoer Roth will sign his biography of Monsignor Agustín
Román, published by the Ermita, on Saturday at 4 p.m., and proceeds from the sales will go to support the sanctuary’s mission.