Cuban American

A Cuban-American is an immigrant, or descendent of immigrants, to the United States from Cuba.

Related Topics:
Immigrant - United States - Cuba

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Cuban immigration to the U.S. has a long history, beginning in the Spanish colonial period in 1565 when St. Augustine, Florida was established by Pedro Menendez de Aviles. Hundreds of Spanish/Cuban soldiers and their families moved from Cuba to St. Augustine to establish a new life. Other areas of early Cuban immigration to the U.S. include New York City, Key West, and Tampa, Florida.

Related Topics:
Spanish - 1565 - St. Augustine, Florida - Pedro Menendez de Aviles - New York City - Key West - Tampa, Florida

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In the late 1800s a Cuban entrepreneur named Vicente Martinez Ybor started a cigar making business in Tampa. Soon other Cuban businessmen followed and within several years Tampa had a thriving cigar making industry. Numerous Cuban families lived and worked in the area known as Ybor City near Tampa, and there are many third and fourth generation Cuban Americans who trace their Cuban heritage directly to this early immigration.

Related Topics:
1800s - Cigar

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Political upheaval in Cuba created new waves of Cuban immigrants to the U.S. during the 1900s. New York City and Key West, Florida with its proximity to Cuba (only 90 miles away) have always had a Cuban presence.

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In 1959 when Fidel Castro established his communist regime, a large exodus of Cubans to the U.S. began. From 1960 to 1979 hundreds of thousands of Cuban refugees left Cuba and began a new life in America, forming the backbone of the anti-Castro movement. They settled all over the U.S. but particularly in Miami, Florida and Union City, New Jersey. Another large wave of Cuban immigration happened in the 1980s with the Mariel boatlifts.

Related Topics:
1959 - Fidel Castro - Communist - 1960 - 1979 - Miami, Florida - Union City, New Jersey - 1980s - Mariel boatlift

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Cuban Americans have been very successful, establishing businesses and developing political clout. They transformed Miami from a beach retirement community into a modern city with a distinct Hispanic flavor. There are now 3 Cuban American members of the House of Representatives, and 1 Senator from Florida in the U.S. Senate, as well as the current Secretary of Commerce.

Related Topics:
House of Representatives - Florida - U.S. Senate - Secretary of Commerce

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Before the 1980s, all refugees from Cuba were welcomed into the United States as political refugees. This changed in the 1990s and now only the ones that actually reach U.S. soil are granted refuge. Cuban immigration continues with an allotted number of Cubans (20,000 per year) provided legal U.S. visas.

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Some of these political refugees included thousands of Chinese, Jewish, and Black Cubans who like the others were anti-Castro (some of them were jailed or killed) and whose businesses were confiscated -- as a result, they also left Cuba to seek better economic fate.

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