Cuba Nostalgia Returns with Longer Hours

by Lou Hernández

Cuba Nostalgia announced their annual cultural celebration at the Westchester Cultural Arts Center, April 20. Billed as the “biggest and most prestigious Cuban cultural event in South Florida,” the indoor, ethnic jamboree takes place Saturday and Sunday, May 20-21, at the Miami Dade County Fair & Expo Center.

Multi-talented Cuban singer, pianist, composer, and actress Aymée Nuviola and South Florida favorite Albita Rodríguez will be part of the entertainment card. Other well-known Cuban artists performing will be the famous mother and daughter singing duo of Malena and Lena Burke, singer-songwriter Leslie Cartaya, salsero Nic N’Taya and baritone vocalist Luis Bofill. Also appearing is comedian and entertainer Boncó Quiñongo, who will be sure to liven up the bill.

“It’s a pleasure to bring this annual entertainment to our public,” event producer Peter Regalado said. “We want to keep our culture alive for our children and grandchildren and to be able to continue our traditions, though we are outside of our native island. We have 14 interactive exhibitions within the 300,000 square foot space.”

For half a century, the most important religious symbol of the Cuban community in Miami has been the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, where a special statue of the Virgin resides. “On Sunday we’re going to have a mass at one o’ clock, celebrated by Father José Espino,” Regalado informed. “The Virgin will be taken from the Shrine and brought by procession on Friday night to the replica of the Havana Cathedral inside the Cuban Nostalgia locale.”

The special appearance by the patron saint of Cuba appropriately correlates with the 2023 commemorative poster. The poster depicts the Virgin in bright yellow garments hovering over the tempest-tossed boat of the three Cuban fisherman legend has that She saved during a violent storm four centuries ago in the Bay of Nipe in eastern Cuba. The artwork was painted by Ninoska Pérez Castellón, one of the most well-known representatives of the Cuban exile community in Miami.

“I was very excited when Peter asked that the poster be of the Virgin of our Lady of Charity,” said Pérez Castellón at the press conference unveiling. “The Virgin unites all Cubans. It doesn’t matter that religion in Cuba was once eliminated, a Cuban immigrant arrives today and brings his piece of the Virgin. For me, Cuba Nostalgia is very special. It was here that I exhibited my paintings for the first time. That began a spontaneous love affair. Thank you, Peter, for this opportunity to keep Cuba alive in the exile community. I feel very honored.”

This year Cuba Nostalgia celebrates its 24th edition. It is always scheduled around the 20th of May, which marks the anniversary of Cuban independence from Spain in 1902.

Doors open at 11:00 am both days. Saturday’s extravaganza will last until 2:00 am as the organizers requested and received extended operating hours from the county. “Last year, we had to tell 5,000 disappointed people to leave at the 11:00 pm closing time,” Regalado said.

“Maybe this year they won’t want to leave at two in the morning, either!”