© 2026 WGCU News
PBS and NPR for Southwest Florida
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

A Museum 10 Years In The Making Emerges For Cuban Exiles

WLRN Public Media | By Rebekah Entralgo
Published November 18, 2016 at 12:16 AM EST
The American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora, located at 1200 Coral Way in Miami.
Rebekah Entralgo
/
WLRN
The American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora, located at 1200 Coral Way in Miami.

Those who have driven on Coral Way in Miami over the past 10 years may be familiar with a banner across a building that read, "Cuban museum coming soon." Now that museum is finally complete.

Originally founded in 1996 as the "Cuban Museum," the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora has been undergoing a rebranding process. 

"The name 'Cuban Museum' could mean anything about Cuba," said founding director Ileana Fuentes. "We wanted this museum to be focused on the art of the exiles."

Fuentes hopes this museum will be what she calls a "museum of memories," a place for exiles to connect with their forgotten past. 

"A museum of memories is crucial for a people, a nation, to understand and know their history," said Fuentes. 

Luis Cruz Azaceta is the first featured artist. The museum will have its grand opening on November 19th, 38 years to the day since Azaceta left Cuba.

 

Copyright 2020 WLRN 91.3 FM. To see more, visit WLRN 91.3 FM.

Tags
CubaHistoryImmigrationLocal
Rebekah Entralgo
Rebekah Entralgo is recent graduate of Florida State University, where she completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Editing, Writing and Media with double minors in Film Studies and Political Science. Even though her time at a university has ended, she's always looking for her next adventure.
See stories by Rebekah Entralgo
Trusted by over 30,000 local subscribers

Local News, Right Sized for Your Morning

Quick briefs when you are busy, deeper explainers when it matters, delivered early morning and curated by WGCU editors.

  • Environment
  • Local politics
  • Health
  • And more

Free and local. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

More from WGCU
  • Environment
    Introduction to White Ibises
    Dr. Jerry Jackson
    White Ibises are common birds of Florida wetlands that increase in numbers with arrival of migrants from more northern areas. While they normally feed in shallow water, they have also become birds of grassy areas such as our yards, parks, and highway and canal rights-of-way. Adults have white plumage with only the tips of outer primaries black -- a characteristic that reduces wear of those feathers. Sex of adults is often easy to distinguish when the birds are in a group. Males are larger with a longer, straighter (but still curved) bill.Females are smaller with a shorter, often more-curved bill. Young White Ibises always have white on their underparts, but recent fledglings can be almost all gray-brown. Over their first year the more-gray plumage is replaced by brown and then gradually changes to the white of an adult. Through much of the year the legs, bill, and face of a White Ibis is flesh-colored or pink, but as nesting approaches the bill, face, and legs become vibrant red. Both sexes have beautiful light blue eyes.
  • ArtFest Fort Myers takes over Edwards Drive from Heitman to Lee Street.
    Arts & Culture
    Four art festivals visit Southwest Florida February 6-8
    Tom Hall
    Four outdoor art festivals dot the Southwest Florida landscape this weekend: ArtFest Fort Myers, Bonita Springs National Art Festival, the Pine Island Art Association Annual Art Show and the 38th Annual Downtown Sarasota Festival of the Arts.
  • Jennifer Johnson and Sue Ryan co-chair the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women's Luncheon, Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburon Thursday February 05, 2026
    Health
    'Go Red For Women' event helps put the focus on heart disease
    Jennifer Crawford
    National Wear Red Day 2026 was celebrated on Friday via the Go Red for Women Campaign shining a light on heart disease, the leading killer of women. The Southwest Florida Go Red for Women effort took center stage at the Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburon Thursday.