Highsmith, Carol M., photographer. 2020. Men enjoy a game at Domino Park in the historic Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, Florida. Photograph. Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida. https://www.loc.gov/item/2020721165/.
Often, refugees are portrayed in the media as living in squalor in camps, of being violent, or illegally crossing borders. In this photograph, the men are enjoying a game of dominoes as other men observe. The neighborhood surrounding the men is colorful and lined with murals. Although the men in the photograph are not named, it can be inferred that residents of this neighborhood are primarily Cuban refugees and exiles or descendents of Cuban refugees and exiles, as Little Havana was the main landing point for exiles escaping the Castro regime. It is valuable for students to see evidence of immigrants who were originally refugees and exiles living dynamic lives in vibrant communities in the United States.
This photograph, taken by Carol M. Highsmith in 2020, shows a group of men playing dominoes in Domino Park (Máximo Gómez Park) in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, Florida. For years, the district was the nexus of the Cuban refugee community and the best, if not only, part of Greater Miami where one could find genuine Cuban food, music, art, and attire. But as many in the community prospered and moved to fancier addresses, the neighborhood has taken on a pan-Hispanic flavor. Women, as well as talk of politics and religion, were long banned at the domino site, but those restrictions have loosened. In this photo, men of various ages are playing dominoes while other men watch the action.
The Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, Florida, was the nexus of the Cuban refugee community and part of Greater Miami where one could find genuine Cuban food, music, art, and attire. This photograph is of men playing dominoes at Domino Park (Máximo Gómez Park) in Little Havana.
- How are immigrants, refugees, and exiles often portrayed in the media?
- How does the language used (undocumented immigrant/illegal alien/refugee/exile) affect messaging?
- What do you see in this photo? Who or what is missing? Why might that be?
- How does this portrayal of life in a historically refugee community compare and contrast with our preconceived ideas about these communities?
- What stories does this photograph tell?
Michigan Merit Curriculum: Visual Arts and Michigan K–12 Standards for Social Studies
ART.VA.III.HS.8: Explore social and global issues through the application of the creative process.
- Students can explore the deliberate design of this candid photograph and make inferences as to the photographer’s intent and the story that is being told.
ART.VA.IV.HS.1 Observe and describe artwork with respect to history and culture.
- Students can investigate the context of this photo taken in Little Havana as well as the history of the neighborhood and its people. P2.4: Use relevant information from multiple credible sources representing a wide range of views, considering the origin, authority, structure, and context, to answer a compelling or supporting question.
- Students can investigate this photo as well as other primary source documents related to immigration and/or the Cuban Exodus, and compare to the current political climate related to immigration and the border.
P2.4: Use relevant information from multiple credible sources representing a wide range of views, considering the origin, authority, structure, and context, to answer a compelling or supporting question.
- Students can investigate this photo as well as other primary source documents related to immigration and/or the Cuban Exodus, and compare to the current political climate related to immigration and the border.
- In a literature class, students can investigate Little Havana, its history and people, and the various cultural and traditional aspects of life there as a companion activity after reading The House on Mango Street, a series of vignettes about growing up in the Hispanic Quarter of Chicago. Although the communities are very different and the people are from different areas of the Hispanic diaspora, the investigation and discussion of the communities can broaden students’ understanding of the immigrant experience in the United States.
- In a photography class, students can use this photo to analyze the framing of the content and the stories that are told through a candid photograph.
- In a history or social studies class, students can use this primary source to further their understanding of the immigrant experience, to research the Cuban Exodus, or to investigate the demographics of neighborhoods throughout the United States.
- Immigration, especially undocumented immigration, refugees, and asylum, are current heated political topics and may lead to conversations that not all families support or are in agreement with.
- Immigrant families may feel singled out or called out when discussing and investigating immigration issues in the United States.
- Because this specific photograph shows a vibrant, healthy culture and infrastructure, some families may feel that the true crises of those seeking asylum are being glossed over or ignored.
- Using the search features at the Library of Congress, families can narrow the search for photographs of Little Havana taken within the last decade, and find appropriate and/or complementary photographs focused on the art, architecture, and culture of Little Havana.
- Little Havana is a thriving community in Miami, FL, and this shows the ingenuity and drive of the residents.
- A paper on the tradition of dominoes and its relationship to Cuban immigrants: Keeping Close to Home: The Ritual of Domino Playing Among Older Cuban Immigrants in Miami's “Little Havana”
- A complete guide to Little Havana, including history of the area and its people: Things to do in Little Havana
- An extensive history of Cuban migration, documented by the Migration Policy Institute, an “independent, nonpartisan think tank that seeks to improve