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Key West Art & Historical Society, Crossing the Florida Straits: 150 Years of Cuban Migrations to South Florida

April 29, 2023 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Key West Art & Historical Society, Crossing the Florida Straits: 150 Years of Cuban Migrations to South Florida

The Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden is hosting the Key West Botanical Garden Society Speaker Series Chug Collection Conservator Dr. Cori Convertito. This lecture will explore the Cuban immigration to the United States beginning in a time of peaceful coexistence between the two places.

In the middle and latter part of the 19th century, workers moved freely between Florida and the island, and the trade in tobacco, sugar, coffee, and rum was lucrative. Cigar companies soon began relocating to Florida from Cuba to avoid tariffs and trade regulations. This, coupled with political unrest in Cuba, inspired a large-scale relocation until the Spanish-American War. When Fidel Castro led a revolution in 1959, he launched a new era of mass emigration from his country to the United States.

In the decades that followed, more than one million Cubans made their way to the United States, and thousands more tried and failed. Through the years, as relations between the countries improved or deteriorated, the door of emigration would be opened and closed again and again. As a result, Cubans arrived in South Florida in several distinct phases, each of which had a distinctly different reception. This talk will examine these fluctuations in migration and will discuss the impacts of recent policy changes which influence modern crossings.

Admission is $5, or free for Key West Botanical Garden Members. This program is funded in part through a Florida Humanities Community Project Grant in partnership with the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden.

Event Details

Event Date/time:

April 29, 2023 @ 1:00 pm -
April 29, 2023 @ 2:30 pm

Other

Presenter Information:
Dr. Cori Convertito, Ph.D., Curator & Historian at the Key West Art & Historical Society
Event Fee:
$5.00
Event Type:
In-person

Event Contact:

Misha McRae
Phone:
(305) 296-1501
Email:
mmcrae@keywest.garden

Event Venue:

Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden
5210 College Road
Key West, FL 33040
+ Google Map
Venue Phone:
(305) 296-1501

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