Cuban rhythms in the Bluegrass State: Behind Louisville’s unexpected cultural revolution
A nascent Cuban community began forming in Louisville 30 years ago. Now over 50,000 strong, it is adding new flavors and breathing new life into the city.
The Bluegrass country has a new sound that can be heard in the streets of Louisville. The city is home to one of the fastest-growing Cuban communities in the United States.
The more than 50,000 strong population has helped offset population decline and brought commercial areas back to life with new businesses. The city has also actively sought out migrants to provide workers for major companies that have set up large operations in the area like Amazon, GE Appliances and UPS.
From a trickle to a torrent
Cuban immigrants began trickling into Louisville after the Clinton administration reached a deal with the Castro regime in 1995. The agreement allowed 20,000 people from the island a chance through a lottery to immigrate to the United States annually.
People who didn’t have family in places like Miami were encouraged to move to smaller cities in the nation like Louisville. Others chose the city as their destination thinking that there would be more opportunities for them outside of south Florida.
As the community grew, word of mouth from those who had already settled there brought in more. By 2010 the community had increased to almost 6,000 reports The New York Times.
Then came the covid-19 pandemic and the population exploded, doubling by 2021, as Cubans sought to escape the government’s crackdown on citizens protesting shortages of essentials like food, medicine and electricity.
The new Little Havana in the US
The growing Cuban community has brought with them the flavors and sounds of their former home creating a cultural revolution in Louisville. Ivan Quintanilla wrote in National Geographic that he was “instantly transported to the Miami of my youth” when he walked into the Sweet Havana bakery and restaurant.
That eatery is just one of dozens that have popped up around Louisville, making it a destination to enjoy Cuban cuisine. They have also become venues for live Cuban music and salsa dancing.
Latin bands can now be heard at annual festivals and salsa riverboat cruises on the Ohio River. Carmen Margarita Coro, the owner of Sweet Havana, started a block party modeled on Miami’s Calle Ocho Music Festival, called Carnavales de Sweet Havana.
“Carnavales are a Cuban tradition that barely exists anymore on the island,” she explained. “Our first carnival was phenomenal.” The now yearly event has been expanded to a two-day festival and attracted more people than the 6,000-capacity Fourth Street Live, a popular outdoor venue in the city.
Cuban culture has become just as much of the fabric of Louisville as the Kentucky Derby and bourbon.
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