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Spanish-Cuban-American history
is alive and doing well in Tampa

In Spanish: La historia hispano-cubano-americana está viva y le va bien en Tampa

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I. ​Ybor City: The 'Little Havana' ​of the 19-20th centuries

​By Miguel Pérez

YBOR CITY, TAMPA - They didn't call it Little Havana then, but let's face it: This is the original Little Havana, the mecca of Cuban immigrants in the late 19th century and early 20th.
     They called this section of Tampa "Ybor City," because this is where, in 1886, Vicente Martinez-Ybor, a wealthy Spanish cigar manufacturer, moved his Havana and Key West factories and began developing a community of mostly Cuban cigar makers. This became known as "The Cigar Capital of the World."
​     But it was also "The Cradle of Cuban Liberty." It was also the mecca for Cuban exiles when they organized to fight for Cuba's independence from Spain. This is where José Martí organized the Cuban Revolutionary Party. This is where there was an attempt on his life!
​     The Ybor City Historic District, declared a National Historic Landmark,  "includes more than 1,300 buildings, nearly a thousand of which are historic," according to the sign at the main entrance. And throughout this district, there are numerous historic markers telling its story.

     "Late 19th and early 20th century Cuban immigration to the United States was impressive for the craft talents brought to the country," a historic marker explains. "Along with their Spanish counterparts, skilled Cuban cigarmakers made Tampa's hand-rolled cigars world famous."
     Another marker explains that by the end of its first year,  Tampa's first cigar factory was producing 500,000 hand rolled cigars per month. "This world famous cigar center gave Tampa its rich and exotic Latin Heritage," yet another marker proclaims.
     As you walk around Ybor City, historical markers teach you fascinating lessons. There is a marker about the attempt to poison Martí and another marker about Ruperto and Paulina Pedroso, the couple who gave him refuge.
​     There is even a marker about dueling in the early years of Ybor City, explaining how men "sometimes fought over honor, women, and at least once over an argument regarding which novel was appropriate to be read by the lector of a cigar factory."
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​     Another sign marks the spot where Col. Teddy Roosevelt and his "Rough Riders" watered their horses during the Spanish-American War. And another marker covers Tampa's Cuban bread history, started by a Sicilian, and explains that at the peak of production, 35,000 loaves of Cuban bread were produced weekly. "Tampa's Latin Loaf is like no other bread in the world," the marker adds. "It is leavened with emotion, flavored with tradition, and eaten with a large helping of nostalgia."
​     Actually, that describes not just the bread, but how I feel about Ybor City! 
Regrettably, I also saw some new construction that threatens the district's historic flavor, like a new building about to cover a colorful Hispanic mural on the side wall of a historic Afro-Cuban clubhouse. When I went back to the historic "Sociedad Martí-Maceo building one year after I took photos of that construction, I was very disappointed. (See photos).

​​     The markers also tell you about the Cuban and Spanish social clubs which served as mutual aid societies, attending to even the educational and medical needs of their members. Each of them ​had their own clubhouse building, some of which are still here and considered National Historic Landmarks. And they also had the "Hotel de la Habana, for newly arrived tobacco workers and Cuban political exiles."
​
     Among the clubs here were El Centro Español de Tampa, for Spanish immigrants and other Hispanics; El Centro Asturiano de Tampa, for Spanish immigrants from Asturias; El Circulo Cubano, for Cuban immigrants; Sociedad La Union Martí-Maceo, for black and white Cubans involved in the Cuban independence movement; El Liceo Cubano, a Cuban social center where Marti delivered his two famous speeches, "Con Todos y Para Todos" and "Los Pinos Nuevos."
     Although he lived in New York City and spent the last 15 years of his life writing profusely from his Greenwich apartment, Ybor City is the place where Martî came to lay the foundation for the Cuban independence realized three years after his death in 1895. New York recognizes him with a very impressive statue in Central Park. But in Ybor City, Martí is everywhere!
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     So where is the house where Martí stayed? It's now park bearing his name. See part two ——>>>
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II. Cuba Without a Passport!
​
Parque Amigos de José Martí

​By Miguel Pérez

​
You don't even need a passport to step on Cuban soil here. Once you enter Parque Amigos de José Martí in Tampa's Ybor City, you are on Cuban territory! The property is owned by the Cuban government!
     It was donated "to the people of Cuba" because here stood the boarding house where Cuban patriot José Martí stayed when he came to Tampa to organize the movement for Cuban independence from Spain near the end of the 19th century.
​Although Martí lived in Manhattan during his 15 years in exile, he came to Tampa frequently, because Ybor City's large Cuban exile community is where he found moral and financial support for his cause, not only from Cuban tobacco workers, but from Spanish tobacco factory owners.
     It was Martí's fiery speeches in Ybor City that earned him the title of
 “Apóstol de la Libertad de Cuba” (Apostle of Cuban Freedom).
     The boarding house belonged to Ruperto and Paulina Pedroso, the Afro-Cuban couple who nursed Martí back to health after he has poisoned by two Spanish agents in 1893. Cuban folklore says that many years later, before she died back in Cuba, Paulina requested to be buried with a photo of Martí. On the back, it was dedicated "to Paulina, my black mother."
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     Needless t0 say, this place is bursting with history! The park has a statue of Martí, a bust of Cuban independence General Antonio Maceo, a modest mural-map of Cuba, and the Cuban and American flags. It is covered with soil from each of the original six Cuban provinces! At the nearby Tampa Riverwalk, where the city's most prominent citizens are recognized, there is a bust of Paulina Pedroso. The plaque below her bust describes her as a "freedom fighter" who raised money to buy munitions for the Cuban rebels. "Ostensibly a humble cigar maker, her natural political skills made her a factor in winning Cuba's independence from Spain."
     The Pedroso house went through several transactions until it was purchased in the early 1950s by Cubans wishing to recognize its historic significance.
 When ownership was transferred to the Cuban government in 1956, at first there was talk of turning it into a museum.
     But when it was severely damaged by a fire, it was decided to turn it into a small park -- "Parque Amigos de José Martí -- dedicated to the memory of the patriot, poet, and journalist who led the island's revolution to win independence from Spain."
​     However, the new Cuban Revolution delayed the park's opening until 1960. 
Tampa city officials agreed to maintain the park's lights and irrigation, but leave the landscaping and operation responsibility to the Cuban-American community in Tampa.
     
So, other than the Cuban embassy in Washington, D.C., this is the only Cuban territory in the United States. And for Cuban exiles like me, who for many years have longed to step on free Cuban soil again, without having to deal with communists, this is it!
     It was great to be there! But frankly, it was not the same as the Cuba I knew. I think I will have to wait until the rest of Cuba is free.
Next: Martí's story continues, at the nearby Tampa Bay History Center. See part three —>>>
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III Tampa Bay History Center showcases the city's unique relationship with Cuba

​By Miguel Pérez

​I had seen this photo before, but not large enough for me to get in it! LOL I had to sit on the floor of the Tampa Bay History Center to get in this photo, and it was worth it! I'm pointing to José Martí, the apostle of the Cuban War of Independence from Spain, as he is speaking to his followers in Ybor City, Tampa sometime in the early 1890s.
     At the Tampa Bay History Center museum, visitors get an impressive lesson on the history of this city's long and unique relationship with Cuba — from the time when Cuba was a Spanish colony to today's communist dictatorship.
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A SELFIE WITH JOSÉ MARTÍ
​     After all, a war with two difference names — the Cuban War of Independence and the Spanish-American War — was launched from here! One exhibit here calls it "the Spanish-Cuban-American War," which is a much more accurate description. This is both where Cuban exiles led by Martí organized their revolution against Spain in the 1890s and where more than 15,000 U.S. Army soldiers led by Col. Teddy Roosevelt ​embarked for Cuba in the summer of 1898.
​     
"With Cigar City's largely Cuban workforce, the issues of Cuba were those of Tampa," a History Center exhibit explains.
​
     ​Calling Tampa the "Cradle of Cuban Liberty," the exhibit notes that "During the 1890s, nearly every Cuban member of the Tampa workforce willingly pledged on day's salary per week toward Cuba's independence from Spain . . . From Tampa, Martí and other revolutionary leaders found a place to rally, recruit and train a growing force of insurrectos."
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    Here you learn that Tampa's cigar industry "turned out millions of cigars annually and left long-term cultural impacts on the growing City of Tampa." While the first of Tampa's cigar factories opened in 1886, by 1920, there were as many as 300 working at full capacity, employing thousands of workers. And it was not until 1950s that Ybor City began transforming from an industrial center into a tourist attraction.
​
​     The amazing still-living history I saw in Ybor City is well-documented here. 
​     But of course, Florida's Hispanic history dates back much further than Ybor City, and that history is also well-represented here, from Juan Ponce de Leon's discovery of Florida in 1513, to Pedro Menendez de Aviles' establishment of St. Augustine in 1565, to the many famous conquistadors who first landed in the Tampa Bay area –  Pánfilo de Narváez, Álvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, Estevanico, Juan Ortiz, Hernando de Soto.

​     Here you learn that "the first cattle introduced to the American landscape arrived in Florida, from Spain, in the early 1500s — long before the legendary herds of the West and the famed American cowboy." Here you see the coins and other artifacts recovered from Spanish shipwrecks off the coast of Florida.
     There are extensive exhibits on the history of Cuba, Tampa and Florida, especially its native people. In fact, the presentation of how the Florida natives were treated by the U.S. government, after the Spanish had left, is hair-raising! It makes visitors see the huge difference in the way the Spanish and the Americans treated the Indians. In a nutshell: The Seminoles that the Americans couldn't kill were either driven into the Everglades swamps or forcibly moved to Indian reservations in Oklahoma!
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And yet nowadays, we have Black Legend-influenced people who blame the Spanish for the "genocide" of Florida natives. Not too many Americans are even aware of the three "Seminole Wars," because our history books avoid our shameful chapters. But this museum doesn't avoid it. Check out my photos from their exhibit on: The Seminole Wars.
​
     For me, this museum brought back emotional family memories. I saw how my grandfather met my grandmother! An exhibit recreating a cigar factory shows a lector reading to the workers and a woman rolling cigars. In the days before radio, factories hired "lectors" to entertain the workers by reading newspapers, magazine and novels. Since I was a kid, I've heard stories about how my grandfather Miguel, a lector, impressed and romanced my grandmother Ofelia when they both worked in a cigar factory in Cuba. It all came rushing back to me in this museum. Sometimes my search for our Hispanic roots gets very personal!

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My grandparents in Havana
Next stop: Much more on Tampa's role in the Spanish-Cuban-American War, from another Tampa museum!
See part four ——>>>
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IV. The Tampa Bay Hotel: Now a history museum with its own Spanish-Cuban-American history!

​By Miguel Pérez

​     Even before you enter this museum, the building's stunning Moorish and Turkish architecture has you awed. It's the grand old Tampa Bay Hotel, opened in 1891, which is now the Plant Museum at the University of Tampa. It was also the headquarters for the U.S. Army during the Spanish-Cuban-American War.
​     It has an impressive collection of memorabilia from that war and its huge connection with Tampa.
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​     In fact, the museum is named after Henry B. Plant, a transportation tycoon who built the hotel and convinced the U.S. government to make Tampa the official port of embarkation for U.S. Army troops, because he had the railroad to take the soldiers to Tampa and the steamships to take them on to Cuba.
​     Although this 500-room luxury resort was built to draw tourists to Florida and remained open until 1932, it was used by the U.S. Army in preparation for the invasion of Cuba in 1898. 
​
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Now and . . .
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. . . then.
"Officers and war correspondent resided in luxury at the Hotel — rocking on the veranda, sipping iced tea and planning strategies," a museum exhibit explains. "The enlisted men were encamped in tents (in seven Tampa area camps) fighting mosquitos, eating spoiled food and enduring stifling temperatures in their wool uniforms."
     Other exhibits explain that the Army embarkation from Tampa was "chaotic" and "utterly mismanaged." Apparently, the soldiers were so anxious to get out of Tampa that they held celebrations, like the one illustrated in an exhibit image (see below) showing the soldiers dancing when they received orders to go to war.
​     "In the end, the Americans were able to board only about 16,000 fighting men, along with 89 war correspondents and artists, 11 foreign military observers, 30 civilian clerks, 272 teamsters and 107 stevedores — the largest military expedition that had ever left the United States," an 
exhibit explains.
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     Here you learn about all the factors that triggered the American involvement in the war, starting with the years-long struggle for Cuban independence and the involvement in that struggle of Tampa's Cuban cigar manufacturing community in the 1890s.
     Other exhibits tell you about "the ruthless and brutal measures the Spanish army resorted to in Cuba to put down insurgents," and the yellow journalism practiced by New York newspaper publisher William Randolf Hearst, who "day after day" reported on Spanish atrocities in Cuba, "both real and imagined." Hearst allegedly told his war correspondents, "You furnish the pictures, I'll furnish the war."
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     With the American public already calling for war, thanks to competing yellow journalists, the final straw that led to a naval blockade of Cuba and a declaration of war against Spain came after the battleship U.S.S. Maine mysteriously blew up in Havana Harbor, killing 266 of its 354 crew members on Feb. 15, 1898. The identity of possible saboteurs is still being debated, but it sparked an anti-Spain frenzy and gave the United States an apparently credible reason to go to war.
​     Although the war was fought for 10 weeks in 1898, American troops remained in Cuba until the island was granted its independence in 1902. Yet, as a result of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war, the United States obtained possession of the former Spanish territories of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The Philippines were granted independence in 1946, but Puerto Rico and Guam have remained as unincorporated U.S. territories.
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     And it was all launched from Tampa's Ybor City, by Cuban exiles who organized the Cuban Revolutionary Party led by José Martí, and from the Tampa Bay Hotel, led by the U.S. Army Col. Theodore Roosevelt. Both the hotel/museum and Ybor City are now designated as National Historic Landmarks.
     Back 1973, when I was a junior at the University of South Florida, I was also a reporter for The Tampa Times. And so I thought I knew this city, at least a little. But there is so much that has changed that I could hardly recognize it. Frankly, I might have been a little lost, had it not been for my friend Azucena Abed, who became my guide to Hispanic Tampa and took me to many more places than I expected to visit. It was great! Azucena: ´Mil gracias!
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With Azucena Abed, my guide to Hispanic Tampa.
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                   CHAPTERS/CAPITULOS

1. Our Pre-Mayflower Thanksgivings
Nuestros Días de Acción de Gracias Pre-Mayflower
               
2. A Tale of Two Cities
                 
3. Our Pre-Hispanic Heritage
              

4. The Black Legend Returns

4. La Leyenda Negra Regresa
                
5. Even on HBO, The Black Legend Lives
                   
6. Our Spanish Heritage
                     
7. Exalted or Offended?
                    
8. We are all 'Americanos'
                  
9. Latinos are Failing
                  
10. Hispanic, Columbus or Indigenous Day?

10. ™Dia Hispano, De Colon o Indigena?
                   
11. Two Good Places to Rest
11. Dos buenos lugares para descansar
                  
12. Whitman's Prophetic Letter
12. La Carta Profética de Whitman
                  
13. America’s Cradle
13. La Cuna de America
                 
14. Our Quincentennial is Coming!

14. ´Nuestro Quinto Centenario Se Avecina!
                   
15. 
This chapter was merged with Chapter 29
                
16. A Time To Welcome the Spirits
                  
17. A Hispanic Christmas
17. Una Navidad Hispana
                  
18. JOSE MARTI:
     His Legacy Lives Here
     
Su Legado Vive Aqui
                
19. Hyphenated and Proud!
                   
20. Politicizing Education

21. Speak Any Spanish Lately?
              
22. 
Let's Celebrate Three Kings Day!

22. ´Celebremos el día de los Reyes!
               
23. 
This chapter was merged with Chapter 29


24. A Long-Overdue Museum
                 
25. America's First Christmas was celebrated in Spanish

25. La Primera Navidad Americana ​ fue celebrada en español​

26. The Grand Canyon
and the Bucket List
 Of Hispanic Heritage
26. El Gran Canyon
y la Lista de Lugares de la Herencia Hispana

                  
27. 
On Fiesta Month, Can We Talk About Heritage?
27. En el mes de las fiestas, ™podemos hablar de nuestra herencia?

28. Our Hispanic Heritage: On Exhibit and Yet Hidden
28. Nuestra Herencia Hispana: En Exhibición y Sin Embargo Oculta

29. Florida's Birthday Should Be a National Holiday

             
30. A Local Celebration that Should be National               

31. 
This chapter was merged with Chapter 30               
​

32. The Conveniently 'Forgotten War'
32. La Guerra Convenientemente Olvidada

33. Guantanamo Has a History  June 4, 2013

34. Exposing the Social Media Bigots  June 18, 2013
34. Exponiendo a los Intolerantes
     de los Medios Sociales June 18, 2013

35. Thinking of Cusi On the Fourth of July
35. Pensando en Cusi en el Cuatro de Julio

36. The Discovery of White Hispanics
36.  El Descubrimiento de los Hispanos Blancos

37. Let's Build a Timeline Of Hispanic-American History
37. Vamos a Construir una Cronología
     De la Historia Hispanoamericana

38. In the Name of Heritage
38. En el Nombre de la Herencia

39. Hispanics or Latinos?
39. ™Hispanos o Latinos?

40.  Hollywood's Hidden Hispanic Heritage
40. La Herencia Hispana Oculta en Hollywood

41. Obliviously Living in ‘The Land of Estevan Gomez’
41. Viviendo Inconscientemente
       En la ‘Tierra de Estevan Gómez’

42. Marking America's Birthplace
42. Marcando el Lugar de Nacimiento De Estados Unidos

43. Hispanics in Denial Should Be Infamous
43. Los Hispanos en Rechazo Deben Ser Infames

44. 
Gay Marriage's Hidden American History
      Started in Spanish
 CABEZA DE VACA'S JOURNEY
44. La Historia Oculta del Matrimonio Gay
      En América Comenzó en Español
        EL VIAJE DE CABEZA DE VACA​

45. Super Bowl Coke Commercial
       Draws Out Ugly Americans

45. Comercial de Coke en Super Bowl
     Hace Relucir a los Americanos Feos


46. 
The 'Discovery' of Self-Loathing Hispanics
46. El ‘Descubrimiento' de los
     Hispanos que se Auto Desprecian


THE GREAT HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORY TOUR 
June 2014 - January 2015


47. My Pilgrimage to San Xavier
47. Mi Peregrinaje a San Xavier

48. The Great Hispanic American History Tour
48. La Gran Gira por la Historia Hispanoamericana

49. On the Trail of Conquistadors
49. En el Camino de los Conquistadores

50. Beyond St. Augustine
50. Más Allá de San Agustín

51. 
An American hero and hidden Hispanic role model
51. Un héroe americano y modelo hispano oculto​

52. The Hispanic Flank of the American Revolution
52. El Flanco Hispano de la Revolucion Americana
​

53. New Orleans Has a Spanish ‘Ne Sais Quoi’
53. New Orleans Tiene Un ‘Ne Sais Quoi’ Español
​
54. Galveston: Still the Isle of Misfortune?

55. Extracting Compacted History
     Unveils Hidden Hispanic Heritage

56. 'Remember The Alamo' Was a Spanish Mission

57. San Antonio: The Showcase Of Our Hispanic Heritage

58. There Was Compassion On the Spanish Mission Trail

58. Hubo Compasión en el Camino de las Misiones Españolas
​
59. A Hidden Latina Role Model

60. Time Portals on the Road

61. The First Thanksgiving
     In the (Southwest) United States

62. The World's Biggest Statue
of a Nameless Horseback Rider


63. A River Runs Through Our Hispanic Heritage

64. A Beacon of Hope On a Border Mountaintop

65. A Mexican-American Town
65. Un Pueblo Mexico-Americano

66. The Crossroads of Conquistadors

67. Hiking In Search of Coronado's Trail

68. The Real American Pioneers

69. Keeping My Pledge to San Xavier

70. If They Knew Arizona's History,
     They Wouldn't Be So Xenophobic

71. 'Tucson' is a Spanish Adaptation

72. Under a Utah Lake, Hispanic Heritage Lives

73. A Hilltop View Of Hispanic Heritage

74. Searching for Coronado's Quivira

75. The Spanish Savior of St. Louis

76. 
Jefferson's Spanish Library

WASHINGTON, D.C.
February-June 2015

77. When Galvez Came to Congress
77. Cuando Gálvez Vino al Congreso


78. A Tour of Our Extraordinarily Hispanic U.S. Capitol

79. Searching for Not-S0-Hidden
Hispanic Heritage in Washington, DC


80. Smithsonian Omits Hispanics In U.S. History Exhibit
80. Smithsonian Omite a los Hispanos
     en Exhibición de Historia de EE.UU.
MIAMI - August 2015
​
81. Finding Dad in a Museum
81. Encontre a Mi Padre en un Museo


​CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP - 2018
82. International Friendship Park ​at U.S.-Mexico Border
​- A Jagged Corner of the World


83. Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
​
84. Cabrillo National Monument

85. ​It took more than 2 centuries

86. Presidio Park: The Birthplace
of the Spanish Colonization of California


87. Junípero Serra Museum Transcends the Story of a Great Man

88. Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá:
California's First Spanish Mission


89. Old Mission (Padre) Dam: California's First Aqueduct

90. Even at the beach in San Diego, you can't avoid Spanish history

91. Chicano Park: Mexican-American ​painted under highway ramps

92. Balboa Park: Candy for your eyes amid a painful controversy!

93. San Diego: An American Town
Named After the Saint from Alcalá

93. San Diego: Un Pueblo Americano
Lleva el Nombre del Santo de Alcalá


94. San Luis Rey de Francia: The King of the California Missions
94. San Luis Rey de Francia: ​El Rey de las Misiones de California

95. San Antonio de Pala:
A Sub-Mission to Reach
 the Natives of the Interior
95. San Antonio de Pala:
Una Asistencia para Alcanzar los Nativos del Interior

96. San Juan Capistrano:
The Home of the Mission Swallows
 from Argentina
96. San Juan Capistrano:
El Hogar de las Golondrinas Desaparecidas ​de Argentina

97. San Gabriel Arcángel: A Mission that Launched Cities
97. San Gabriel Arcángel: Una Misión Que Lanzó Ciudades

98. El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles:
Hispanics had to be imported

98. El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles:
Hispanos tuvieron que sen importados


99. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes:
A Walk through Mexican-American History

99. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes:
Un Paseo por la historia 
​mexicoamericana


100. Strolling the Hispanic Walk of Fame
​100. Caminando por el Paseo Hispano de la Fama

101. San Fernando Rey de España Teaches
California's Colonial History

101. ​​San Fernando Rey de España Enseña
la historia colonial de California


​102. Mission San Buenaventura Survived Earthquakes and Pirates
102. Misión San Buenaventura Sobrevivió Terremotos y Piratas

​103. Father Serra Cross: On a hill,
​overlooking ​the land he shepherded

​103.
La Cruz del Padre Serra:
​En una colina, ​con vistas a la tierra que pastoreaba


104. The Birthplace of Santa Barbara
104. El Lugar de Nacimiento de Santa Barbara

105. The Queen of the Spanish Missions
105. La Reina de las Misiones Españolas

106. Mission Santa Ines: Built to relieve other overcrowded missions
106. Misión Santa Inés: Construida para aliviar otras misiones superpobladas

107. Mission La Purísima Concepcion:
​Going back in time ​to Spanish California

107. Mision La Purísima Concepción:
Retrocediendo en ​el tiempo a la California española


XXX. Saluting an exile: ​Father Félix Varela
XXX. The Meaning of 'Sotomayor'
EXPLORING THE SOUTHEAST
To recharge our spiritual and cultural batteries
​Cuban-Americans come to ​'La Ermita'

Para recargar nuestras baterías espirituales y culturales
los cubanoamericanos vienen a 'La Ermita'


San Carlos Institute: Like walking into a  Cuban history book

Instituto San Carlos: Como entrar en un libro de historia de Cuba

​Key West: So close to Cuba and yet so far away
Key West: Tan cerca de Cuba y sin embargo tan lejos​


An exclusive preview ​of a new, yet ancient Miami cultural center
Un adelanto exclusivo ​de un nuevo, aún antiguo centro cultural de Miami


Miami's Bayfront Park celebrates ​almost all the Americas
​El Bayfront Park de Miami celebra casi todas las Américas

On Florida's Camino Real only remnants remain
En el Camino Real de Florida solo quedan restos
​

​A trip back in time, to colonial Spanish Florida
Un viaje al pasado, a la Florida española colonial

​Pensacola, Florida: ​'​A Spanish Town'
Pensacola, Florida: ​'Un pueblo español'


In the American Revolution, ​Hispanics fought and won the Battle of Pensacola
En la Revolución Americana, los hispanos lucharon y ganaron la Batalla de Pensacola

Pensacola, 'America's First Settlement' remembers its Spanish founder
​
Pensacola, el primer pueblo estadounidense recuerda a su fundador español

History Museum of Mobile recognizes pre-British American 'age of exploration'
Museo de Historia de Mobile reconoce la 'era de exploración' estadounidense prebritánica


A multilingual fort and its rotating history
Un fuerte multilingüe y su historia rotativa


​Mobil's Spanish Plaza Park, ​an unexpected gem
​Plaza de España de Mobile, una joya inesperada

Twenty-one road trip stops Tracing De Soto's Journey
Veintiuna paradas el la carretera Trazando el viaje de De Soto

ON THE ROAD AGAIN - 
​​1. Walt Whitman's House, ​Camden, NJ
​
2. ​Casa de Walt Whitman, ​Camden, NJ

2. Yorktown ​Battlefield, Va.
2. ​Campo de Batalla Yorktown

​
3. ​'First Landing' State Park, Va.
​3. Parque estatal 'First Landing'


4. ​Jamestown Settlement, Va.
4. Asentamiento de Jamestown Settlement, Va.


​5. ​When Florida reached South Carolina,
​    St. Helena was an important town

5. Cuando Florida llegaba hasta Carolina del Sur,
​    Santa Helena era un pueblo importante


​
6. Juan Ponce de Leon at ​Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl.
6. Juan Ponce de León en Playa de Ponte Vedra, Fl.​

7. Fort Mose Historic State Park, Fl.
​The first free African American community - in Spanish Florida!

​​7. ​Parque Estatal Histórico Fort Mose, Fl.
​​La primera comunidad afroamericana libre - en la Florida española!


8. St. Augustine, Fl., The "Old City Gate"
​at our first permanent settlement
​
8. San Agustín, Florida, La "Puerta de la Ciudad Vieja"
​en nuestro primer pueblo permanente

9. St. Augustine, Fl., Castillo de San Marcos
9. Castillo de San Marcos, ​San Agustín, Fl.

​

​​


Castillo de San Marcos, ​San Agustín, Fl.
EXPLORING NEW MEXICO - 2023
​​1. Our journey begins ​at La Jornada
​​1. Nuestra jornada comienza ​en 'La Jornada'


2. In Old Town Albuquerque, if you have Spanish blood, you feel it!
​
​2. En Old Town Albuquerque, si tienes sangre española, ´lo sientes!​

3. Albuquerque: An American city named after a Spanish duke
3. Albuquerque: Una ciudad Americana con el nombre de un duque español

4. San Felipe de Neri, Albuquerque's patron saint and oldest building
4. San Felipe de Neri, patrón de Albuquerque ​y edificio más antiguo

5. History cannot be hidden or denied, even if it hurts
5. La historia no se puede ocultar ni negar, aunque duela

6. Following the historic Dominguez-Escalante Trail
6. Siguiendo el sendero histórico de Domínguez y Escalante

7. An amazing cultural center and its even ​more amazing fresco

7. Un centro cultural increíble ​y su fresco aún más asombroso​
​
8. Hispanic heritage lives ​in Native American museum

8. La herencia hispana vive en museo de nativos americanos​

9. The Native American pueblo Coronado visited, or fought?
9. El pueblo nativo americano que Coronado ™visitó o peleó?

10. My namesake San Miguel, ​the oldest church on the United States mainland
10. Mi homónimo San Miguel, la iglesia ​más antigua de los Estados Unidos continentales

11. If it's not the 'Oldest House,' ​it's certainly among them!
​11. Si no es la 'casa más antigua', ´Sin duda está entre ellas!

12. Santa Fe, a modern city that looks like an ancient pueblo
12. Santa Fe, una ciudad moderna que parece un pueblo antiguo

13. You know the conquistadores? Now meet 'La Conquistadora'
13. ™Conoces a los conquistadores? Ahora conoce a 'La Conquistadora'

14. You think you are in a park, ​but you are walking in a history book

14. Crees que estás en un parque, ​pero estás caminando en un libro de historia

15. A palace, a plaza and a desecrated obelisk
15. Un palacio, una plaza y un obelisco profanado

16. New Mexico's History shines in its fearless museums
16. La historia de Nuevo México vive en sus intrépidos museos

17. Don Pedro de Peralta still rides in Santa Fe
17. Don Pedro de Peralta todavía cabalga en Santa Fe

18. Two sacred monuments to honor the martyrs​​​
18. Dos monumentos sagrados para honrar a los mártires

19. On U.S. land that was part of Mexico, she is still revered
​
19. En territorio estadounidense que era parte de México, todavía es venerada

20. Digging for miraculous dirt in the Santuario de Chimayó
​
20. Excavando en busca de tierra milagrosa en el Santuario de Chimayó

21. Española is not a Spanish woman; It's a fabulous place!
21. Española no es una mujer española, Es un lugar fabuloso!

22. History, faith, culture and pride on display ​in Hispanic fiestas
22. Historia, fe, cultura y orgullo en exhibición en las fiestas hispanas​

23. A town with Indian and Spanish names: Ohkay Owingeh and San Juan de los Caballeros
23. Un pueblo con nombre indio y español: Ohkay Owingeh y San Juan de los  Caballeros

24. Searching for San Gabriel, New Mexico's abandoned capital
24. Buscando a San Gabriel, La capital abandonada de Nuevo Mexico
SPECIAL SECTIONS
• Great (pro-Hispanic) Americans
​• Spanish-American expeditions before Jamestown
• NYC ​Hispanic Landmarks
• NYC Hispanic Art
• Do You Know Them? Los Conoces?
• Garita Art
​
• Do You Speak Spanglish?
HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORY TIMELINE
​• 16th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
• 17th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
• 18th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
​

​1513 Ponce de Leon Discovers North America, Names Her 'Florida'

April 22, 1513 ​Alaminos discovers the Gulf Stream

1517 De Cordoba, wounded in Yucatan, stops in Florida

1518 Grijalva Reaches Galveston Island

1519 De Pineda confirms Florida ​is not an island​

1521 Ponce de Leon Returns to Florida, Falls Mortally Wounded

1524-25 Estevan Gomez Explores North America's East Coast

1526 Ayllón lands in S.C., settles in Georgia


1528 Narváez expedition succumbs to storms and natives

1528-36 Cabeza de Vaca treks across North America

1537-42 Cabeza de Vaca Returns to Spain, Writes 'La Relación'

1539 De Niza Searches for Golden Cities of Cibola
​

1539-42 De Soto celebrates first American Christmas

1540 Hernando de Alarcon Reaches California

1540-42 Coronado Explores the Southwest,
Cardenas Discovers ​the Grand Canyon


1542-43  ​Cabrillo explores California coast​

1559 De Luna Builds Santa Maria de Ochuse​


1565 Pedro Menendez de Avilés Establishes San Agustin

1566 Santa Elena Built in South Carolina

1598 ​Juan de Oñate Explores New Mexico

1602 Sebastian Vizcaino ​explores the West Coast

1610 Pedro de Peralta establishes Santa Fe

1610-26 The Birth of San Miguel, oldest church in the U.S.A.

1613 Juan Rodriguez becomes the first Manhattan immigrant

1633 Misión San Luis de Apalachee is born in Tallahassee

​1682 San Antonio de la Ysleta becomes first mission in Texas

1691 Father Eusebio Kino builds Tumacácori and Guevavi

1692 ​Father Kino builds San Xavier del Bac 

1692 Diego de Vargas leads ​'Bloodless Reconquest" of Santa Fe

1695 Castillo de San Marcos ​Completed in St. Augustine

1718 Mission San Antonio de Valero is born
​- long before it became The Alamo
​

1738 Runaway slaves establish Fort Mose,
​the first free African-American community​


​1738 Francisco Menendez Leads Fort Mose

1742 Spanish Soldiers ​Open Fort Matanzas

1752 Spanish Soldiers Build Presidio de Tubac

1763 Spanish Florida Goes to England

1765 Juan Antonio Maria de Rivera ​explores ​Colorado and Utah
​
1769 
Father Serra opens ​San Diego de Alcalá,
California's first ​Spanish mission


1771 Father Serra establishes San Gabriel Arcángel

1772 Good hunting determines site
​of ​Misión San Luis Obispo de Tolosa


1775 Captain Hugh O’Connor
​builds Presidio San Agustin del Tucson


​1776-83 Hispanics in the American Revolution

1776 The Birth of San Francisco

1781 Spanish troops defeat the British, capture Pensacola

1781 Pobladores of Los Angeles are imported

1791 ​Alessandro Malaspina Alaska Reaches Alaska

1797 Fermín Francisco de Lasuén
Establishes Misión San Fernando Rey de España


1797 The Birth of Villa de Branciforte
So what do you think? / ™Entonces, qué piensas?
Please join our dialogue on Facebook / Por favor únete a nuestro diálogo en Facebook

Herencia Hispana Oculta de America:
La Lista de Lugares, Ideas, y Evidencia Historica para Reconectár a los Americanos con sus Raíces Hispanas

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America's Hidden Hispanic Heritage:
The Bucket List of Places, Ideas and Historical Evidence to Reconnect Americans with their  Hispanic Roots
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