10 Things Latinos Who Grew Up in Miami Can Relate To

When people who live outside of Florida think of Miami, they’re probably imagining the turquoise waters of Biscayne Bay or the glamorous restaurants of South Beach. They think about the sunshine and clubbing, good food and partying, cute Art Deco houses and art scene. But when you’ve lived in Miami, your mind turns to something a little different.

You know that Miami isn’t just about the glitz and glamour, the high fashion or the sandy beaches (although these things are pretty nice, too). Growing up in Miami, you had the full experience of what it’s like to be Latinx in this international city at the southern tip of Florida. From the incredible Cuban influence of Little Havana to the not-to-secret spot to take your fabulous quince photos, here are 10 things you grew up with if you were Latina in Miami.

The music scene is incomparable: From knowing Celia Cruz is the ultimate queen to listening to Pitbull’s early stuff to hearing salsa at every special occasion, music is everywhere in Miami. You probably grew up pretty spoiled hearing the best of the best on every corner and learning to dance at an early age, amirite?

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You need at least five stomachs for all the good food: You know that Versailles is the best Cuban food on the planet and Pollo Tropical is your go-to fast food. You also can’t forget about all of the street churros, starting your mornings by dipping a tostada into cafe con leche, grabbing a mid-day cortadito and so many more delicious goodies.

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Warm weather year round was a gift: Thanks to Miami’s eponymous year-round sunshine, you were able to wear chancletas every day to class. Sure, sometimes you had to deal with hurricanes and always carry an umbrella in the car in case of rain, but at least you never had to fake a tan thanks to the beach access any day.

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Your quinceañera looked fabulous at Vizcaya: Not only did you spend your entire early high school career going to quinceañeras, but when it came to your own—the photos couldn’t be beat. That’s because you knew to go to the beautiful Vizcaya Museums & Gardens, where photos are absolutely magical and the view is AH-mazing.wp_*posts

The Calle Ocho Festival is the bomb: Calle Ocho is probably where you spent a lot of your time as a kid, especially if you were Cuban. The best time to be had, of course, was the annual Calle Ocho Festival. It’s a huge one-day fiesta that showcases Pan-American culture with plenty of dancing, food, drinks and live entertainment.

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Everyone is always late to everything and that’s okay: Whether you call it Cuban Time, Latino Time or simply Miami Time, you know that one of the bigger quirks of your city is that pretty much everyone is late to absolutely everything. Sure, you can blame the traffic… but the truth is that it’s simply ingrained in the culture to not stress the time.
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It’s totally normal to see Spanglish signs around town: All over Little Hialeah you will see signs that are in English, Spanish and everywhere in between. You don’t need to know español in order to read the signage, though, since you can basically sound things out. And, ya know, it’s a really fun quirk of the city you call home.

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Fashion is king, but so is casual style: You may have grown up with your dad’s guayaberas, but South Beach inspired you to take things to the next level. The nightlife alone has been the #1 reason to wear wedges and mini dresses all the time. That being said, Miami embraces casual style just as much as nightlife style—which is why you can look chic for any occasion.

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Family is everything, though: If you knew up in Miami, then you certainly know how to prioritize family time. From playing dominos with your papi on Sunday night to watching Sabado Gigante every Saturday night growing up, being with your familia was everything. And visiting abuelita? Well, that was just a bonus way to get some good food. wp_*posts

Field trips nearby are a must: One of the best parts of living in Miami is having the ability to leave every once in a while. Field trips to theme parks in Orlando and Tampa were a regular part of your childhood and, now that you’re a little bit grown up, going to Key West is pretty fun too. Plus, you can’t call yourself a Floridian until you’ve visited the Southernmost Point in the Continental U.S., right?