Laura Bustamente
Interviewed by Suzette Benitez on October 29, 2000
Suzette Benitez: Thank you, Laura, for doing this interview. When and where were you born?
Laura Bustamante: I was born in Matanzas, Cuba, July 28, 1957.
SB: What was your family life like in Cuba?
LB: I don’t recall because I came when I was not five years old yet. I have very little recollection of my life in Cuba.
SB: When did you arrive here in the United States?
LB: May of 1963. We came on a cargo ship; my mom and my brother and sister.
SB: What were the reasons for your family to come to the United States?
LB: Because of the Communist dictatorship of Fidel Castro.
SB: Tell me a little bit more of how it was you arrived here in Miami?
LB: Well, a lot of Cubans, thousands and thousands of Cubans were arriving here in Miami at the time that we came. When we arrived we were transported, as far as I can remember, in a huge bus to what was called the Tower of Freedom. They gave us a little package with a toothbrush, and soap, and everything. We were escorted to other people who helped my mom try to locate my father who was here–in Miami. He came first. He left in the middle of the night, and I remember seeing him from the door as he left. I remember my mom crying. He had to leave in the middle of the night because he came without the knowledge of the government. He came with other men and he stayed here in Miami for about year until we got reunited.
SB: Talk about the first neighborhood you lived in here in Miami.
LB: The first neighborhood that I can recall was in SW 15 AVE. and 5th Street. It was called “La Souwecera.” About 80% of the Cubans that resided in Miami, all relocated to that area. It basically consisted of apartment buildings, with struggling families that had just arrived from Cuba. Children played in the streets, we had a lot of friends–to me it was a wonderful time. We moved out of there when I was 15 or 16 years old. I met my husband there, and then we moved to another neighborhood in Little Havana, not that far from there, but a little further west. There we lived in a duplex near the Orange Bowl and there I lived until I got married in 1975. Once I got married, I again moved to an apartment building close to where I had originally lived on SW 15th Ave. I lived there with my husband for approximately five years and then I bought a home in 1980 and near the Orange Bowl, where I also had lived when I was single and I’ve lived here ever since in this neighborhood. I’ve lived in Little Havana all the 37 years that I’ve been here, lived in the United States.
SB: What do you think has made you stay in this neighborhood?
LB: The feeling of a small neighborhood. I know in the 1980’s, when we bought this house–it was shortly before the Mariel boatlift, and at that time, many thousands of Cubans, of families, lived in Little Havana. But after the Mariel boatlift, everybody started to disperse to the suburbs and thousands and thousands of people started moving out of Little Havana. Really the only people that stayed, I suppose, not many couples, but allowed of the elderly stayed because they had no means of moving or buying other properties—but that’s when all the neighborhood’s on SW 100th Ave. started to populate–and Kendall and all those with Cubans. Prior to that they lived in neighborhoods like Little Havana.
SB: Why do you think there was a flight in this neighborhood? Why do you think Cubans began to leave?
LB: Because the boatlift brought an element that no one could resist. Crime got so high. The people that you saw on the streets were awful looking people, and especially the crime became horrible, so people got scared and they started leaving. Many people left Miami all together, but the majority of people who lived here in the Little Havana area, moved south, the majority. That’s why we have such traffic congestion everywhere because all of them live to the South and they work here in this area, in downtown.
SB: How would you say the neighborhoodits changed within those 20 years?
LB: Especially right after the Mariel boatlift it began to decay and the people that lived in your neighborhoods, were not people you wanted to live around. I think, in 1990, again good people, hard working people, started slowly to buy in Little Havana, and I think it’s been progressing slowly but surely— my house, instead of the property value going under, its risen and now I hear of so many people that want to come and move here because they can’t stand the traffic. People here are people that are down to earth. People here have lived here for many years. I wouldn’t move from here because if I want to go to Coral Gables, I’m there in 15 minutes. If I want to go to the airport, I’m there in 15 minutes. If I want to go to Kendall, I take the expressway. Downtown is close, the beaches are close so I think if everybody had done what we did, and stayed, and roughed it out a little bit, Miami would be–especially this neighborhood, would be even better.
SB: What as a resident have you done to make the neighborhood better?
LB: I have always liked being an activist. In 1986, I collected signatures to improve the Lawrence Park canal waterway, which is on NW 17 Place and 7th Street. It took me six years to fight with the city of Miami. I had to get a television channel to do a story. The canal was in deplorable conditions, and finally they renovated the canal at a million dollar cost. That improved the area so much, that it was unbelievable. Drug addicts and horrible element used to surround the canal and after it was renovated, it gave a new sense of beauty to the area.
I established a neighborhood association and when the City of Miami advised that they were going to close the police station on Flagler and 22 Ave. I again started collecting signatures and we went on the radio, newspaper, and television stations. Me and the presidents of the neighborhood association got all the people together, and the mayor and the commissioners, went and said they were not closing–they were not gonna close the police station.
I’ve met with Commissioner Regalado and they brought wastes baskets from the city of Miami so that people don’t through the garbage. I met with Commissioner Morales and they placed a stop sign where people used to race a lot near my home. Basically I’ve been involved in the beautification of Little Havana for many years. I’ve written dozens of letters. Not only in my area, but in other areas where I see decay, and I believe the city of Miami could be in much, much better shape if other people took more interest and were a little bit cleaner. If they took more pride in their neighborhood.
SB: What do you think sparked this activism in you?
LB: I just could not stand living in an area and seeing it decay. An area that could be better, that could improve, and one person does make a difference. I can tell you that for sure. One person can make a big difference–I’ve made a big difference.
SB: How do you think that our city government could influence people to be more of an activist in their community?
LB: By playing a more active role in the neighborhoods. Having the commissioners visit the neighborhoods and talk to the people that live in the neighborhoods about what their problems are—and really going forth and trying to correct the problems and not just talking about. People need a sense of commitment. I think slowly that’s been happening—slowly—it’s a very slow process, but its been happening.
SB: In terms of Little Havana as a community, what would you like to see done to bring money back into the community?
LB: I think a lot of money is coming into the community, we pay a lot of taxes. Our taxes are almost as high as Metro-Dade County and they have bigger and better neighborhoods than we do. I think it’s the way that the city of Miami distributes the money. I think a much better job can be done in beautifying our roads, making cleaner streets. I think it’s just the way that money is distributed. I don’t think we are a poor city at all.
SB: What about a place like Sunset Place in South Miami? Do you think that Little Havana should get something like that here?
LB: Well, we have downtown Miami, which could be a Sunset Place. The business owners of Downtown Miami have been meeting with the commissioners. But its been decaying over the years instead of improving. I think there’s something in politics. Something is wrong somewhere and I don’t know exactly where it is.
SB: Little Havana was named “La Pequena Habana” because of the many Cubans that began the community after the influx in the 60’s and later on in the 80’s, but now we are seeing more South American and Latin American cultures in the city. How do you think that…in your opinion, has it bettered the community to have different cultures?
LB: I think so, I think everybody brings something special to Miami and we all can contribute to better Miami. In California, there’s a lot of ethnic cultures and in many places its has improved the cities, so I don’t see that the name Little Havana should be taken from Little Havana because that’s historical. As far as the cultures are concerned, I think everybody brings something special to Miami.
SB: Now there’s many stores here in Little Havana, many businesses that have moved out and gone elsewhere. What do you think is the reason for that—businesses moving out, and businesses coming in?
LB: Businesses have been moving out for a long time–a long time. They have been going to Broward County and the City of Miami has not done anything. I think they waited too long to give businesses incentives to move or stay in Miami. In Broward county, government issues them incentives—gives them tax breaks to move to Broward county, but here in Miami, no one has been paying attention to the movement of businesses. In that aspect, I think something has gone terribly wrong and that’s part of our problem.
SB: So is that something you would like to see done in this neighborhood?
LB: Yes, every year Dade county has an empowerment zone. I applied for this neighborhood. I sent pictures of NW 7th Street and at that time, I suggested that they could name NW 7th Street like an inter-American or Latin American business empowerment zone. Something that would attract other businesses, but our area was not chosen because it’s a very politicized way of giving neighborhoods the designation and that’s unfortunate.
SB: So, Little Havana, I know you said that you didn’t remember what life was like in Cuba, but from what you’ve heard from your mother and the rest of your family, do you think that it is a good replica of life in Cuba?
LB: Well, life in Cuba before Fidel Castro took power, it was, according to what my mom told me, it was great to live there. You had all the amenities, you lived in a beautiful island–a small island where everyone knew each other. I grew up in Little Havana, which was like growing up in Cuba but living the American way so I can’t complain to tell you the truth.
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