Irish TV Show Takes Little Havana By Storm

[Maria de los Angeles]

On Friday I had the pleasure of playing City of Miami ambassador to an Irish TV crew and celebrity host Daithi O Se. I gave them a tour of Little Havana and appeared in front of the camera with Daithi.

I wrote about the adventure on my blog. Here's an excerpt, mainly what we covered during the 4-hour shoot:

1. Stopped at Maximo Gomez Park (Domino Park), where we talked about the importance of the park as a community hub and noted the signs that say "no cursing, no sweat shirts, no flip flops and no guns," among other rules.

2. Filmed in front of the Tower Theater, where I explained its architectural and cultural importance.

3. Had Daithi sample a colada, a cortadito and a pastelito de guayaba (coffee and guava pastry) at El Exquisito, my favorite family-owned Cuban restaurant. I discussed the ventanita (little storefront window where coffee is served) as the space for political talk and local gossip.

4. Smoked cigars at Cuba Tobacco Cigar Company, a family-owned business that started on the island circa 1896 and has been making cigars in Miami for over 40 years. Unfortunately -- or perhaps fortunately -- I had to squeeze in a Monica Lewinksy joke.

5. Filmed at the Bay of Pigs Memorial on 11th Avenue, where I fielded some hardcore questions about Cuba and the exile experience.

Read more and check out more photos: sex and the beach: Turning An Irish Stud Into A Cubanaso

[Matt Meltzer]

What exactly is this guy's show? And what is he doing in my neighborhood?

I must say, though, I do appreciate any show that does a segment on Miami and bothers coming west of 95.

[Maria de los Angeles]

Matt, the whole thing is explained in my blog post. It's a travel documentary for Irish TV . They didn't even go near any of the typical touristy stuff -- didn't even set foot in South Beach.

[sungal]

Wow Maria, he's super cute!

[GandJ]

Nicely done! Do you know if they have plans to eventually broadcast that on American TV? It would fun to see it.

Glenn

[coach]

Very cool! Congrats!

[swaps522]

Call me dense, pero no entiendo el connection between the Cigar Co. and our most famous, beloved White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. Rumor has it that she went to work as an intern for Letterman after she was discovered, and labeled a distraction to the President.

[GandJ]

Call me dense, pero no entiendo el connection between the Cigar Co. and our most famous, beloved White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. Rumor has it that she went to work as an intern for Letterman after she was discovered, and labeled a distraction to the President.

Seriously? You never heard about the Monica, Clinton, and the cigar? Okay, I'm not going to do it. Can someone else fill in swaps522 about the story of the "human humidor"?

Glenn

[swaps522]

Oh, I forgot - why no visit to the Versailles? And why does the most famous Cuban restaurant in Miami possess a French name? And yes, it was a nice gig for you, and I am sure they appreciated your guidance and knowledge. Now, I know what they call the little Cuban cafe windows.

[swaps522]

Seriously? You never heard about the Monica, Clinton, and the cigar? Okay, I'm not going to do it. Can someone else fill in swaps522 about the story of the "human humidor"?

Glenn

I never heard of the 'I did not have sexual relations with that woman' incident referred to as the 'human humidor', but of course, I can see the correlation. 'Nothing like ending your day with a good cigar, and a bad woman.' My quote, not Billy Bob's.

[Doug]

That's cool that they were interested in seeing Miami's inner city neighborhoods. I hope they had some good craic with the locals!

[Maria de los Angeles]

Nicely done! Do you know if they have plans to eventually broadcast that on American TV? It would fun to see it.

Glenn

Hi Glenn,

Regretfully this will only air in Ireland. I will have access to clips that I can put on YouTube though.

[Maria de los Angeles]

Oh, I forgot - why no visit to the Versailles? And why does the most famous Cuban restaurant in Miami possess a French name? And yes, it was a nice gig for you, and I am sure they appreciated your guidance and knowledge. Now, I know what they call the little Cuban cafe windows.

Thanks, swap! And to answer your questions:

Versailles is not located in Little Havana; it's off of SW 37th avenue.

"El Exquisito" is not French name; it's Spanish.

[Maria de los Angeles]

Can someone else fill in swaps522 about the story of the "human humidor"?Glenn

Monica Lewinsky alleged that Bill Clinton had stuck a cigar tube inside her private parts ...

[Maria de los Angeles]

My article about the travel show filming was republished at Tiki Tiki Blog, with an addendum of Five Things To Do in Little Havana: Doing Little Havana a Lo Cubano

[Bethmahoney]

Gotta love the Irish... Erin Go Bragh!!

[Maria de los Angeles]

Go Cubans! Azucar!