Tamiami Trail

The Tamiami Trail /ˈtæ.mi.ˌæ.mi ˈtreɪl/ is the southernmost 275 miles (443 km) of U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) from Florida State Road 60 (SR 60) in Tampa to US 1 in Miami. A portion of the road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90 (SR 90).

The 275-mile (443 km) north–south section (hidden SR 45) extends to Naples, whereupon it becomes an east–west road (hidden SR 90) crossing the Everglades (and forming part of the northern border of Everglades National Park). It becomes South Eighth Street in Miami-Dade County, famous as Calle Ocho in the Little Havana section of Miami, before ending east of Miami Avenue at Brickell Avenue in Brickell, Downtown Miami.

History

Construction and early designations

Construction on the north–south section was begun in 1915. The east–west portion was originally called the Miami-Marco Road. The following year, Miami’s Capt. James Franklin Jaudon first proposed a road connecting Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic coasts with an eye on developing his properties in the Everglades. The notion was seconded by Tampa’s E.P. Dickey, who also suggested a name, the Tamyami [sic] Trail, although D.C. Gillett of Tampa claimed to have originally suggested the name. The name Tamiami is said to be a contraction of the phrase "Tampa to Miami". While support in Tampa for the proposed road was lacking, Miami Herald columnist William Stewart Hill would keep the idea alive whenever he felt that support was waning on the southeastern coast.

Miami

Miami (/maɪˈæmi/; Spanish pronunciation: [maiˈami]) is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County. The 44th-most populated city proper in the United States, with a population of 417,650, it is the principal, central, and most populous city of the Miami metropolitan area, and the most populous metropolis in the Southeastern United States after Washington, D.C. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Miami's metro area is the eighth-most populous and fourth-largest urban area in the United States, with a population of around 5.5 million.

Miami is a major center, and a leader in finance, commerce, culture, media, entertainment, the arts, and international trade. In 2012, Miami was classified as an Alpha−World City in the World Cities Study Group's inventory. In 2010, Miami ranked seventh in the United States in terms of finance, commerce, culture, entertainment, fashion, education, and other sectors. It ranked 33rd among global cities. In 2008, Forbes magazine ranked Miami "America's Cleanest City", for its year-round good air quality, vast green spaces, clean drinking water, clean streets, and city-wide recycling programs. According to a 2009 UBS study of 73 world cities, Miami was ranked as the richest city in the United States, and the world's fifth-richest city in terms of purchasing power. Miami is nicknamed the "Capital of Latin America", is the second largest U.S. city with a Spanish-speaking majority, and the largest city with a Cuban-American plurality.

Calle Ocho Festival

The Calle Ocho Festival (“El Festival de la Calle Ocho”) is a one-day fiesta that culminates the Miami Carnaval. It takes place in March in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, Florida between SW 8th Street and 27th Avenue.

The festival is one of the largest in the world, and over one million visitors attend the Calle Ocho event. It is a free street festival that showcases Pan-American culture.

History

Calle Ocho started in 1978 as a way for Cuban immigrants to express themselves and teach about their culture in the community. The festival’s focus grew to include participation from all Latin American countries

In 1996, the festival was cancelled due to the shooting down of four Cuban exile aviators, by Cuban warplanes on February 24, 1996. The aviators were part of the Brothers to the Rescue organization.

Program

The annual festival shuts down 24 blocks of SW 8th Street in order to host dancing, food, drink and 30 stages of live entertainment.

The stages are spread throughout Little Havana, and host various styles of Latin music from the Hispanic countries and the Caribbean, from merengue to top 40 pop music.