Its pastel-colored skyscrapers face the Atlantic Ocean with chests out and chins high as if to say: "Look at us, this is who we are and we're proud of it."
And they would also say it Spanish - complete with the Caribbean lisp.
Miami, F-L-A, is Hispanic central for the
United States and maybe the world. While Phoenix
is confounded with its waves of immigration and
struggles to accommodate, Miami welcomes, grows
and prospers.
To be sure Phoenix is growing and becoming rich
off the back of immigration, too, but leaders
here would never admit it. Miami knows its role.
Miami came to terms with it long ago. And if
Phoenix leaders had any smarts they would look
to Miami to see how it has absorbed wave after
wave of immigrants and still kept its wits,
embraced them and flourished.
There are some very distinct differences between
Miami and Phoenix, but there are also plenty of
parallels to draw from.
Miami-Dade, a city-county with an estimated
population of about 2.5 million, is 60 percent
Hispanic. Unlike Phoenix, where most all
Hispanic residents are of Mexican decent,
Miami's Latino residents are a diverse group
that come from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia,
Venezuela, Honduras, Nicaragua and now Mexico.
In fact, Mexicans are the fastest-growing aspect
of the Hispanic population in South Florida.
A huge building boom is drawing Mexicans to
construction and hospitality jobs all around the
Miami region. That's the same reason they're
coming here. But in acknowledging its geographic
location as the nearest U.S. big city to Central
and South America, Miami has positioned itself
for the now and future.
For example, over the years it has become the
busiest center for Spanish language television
outside of Mexico City drawing thousands of
entertainers and industry leaders to the city.
Its airport is a hub for two continents, it is a
worldwide tourist mecca and it has become the
place to go for the creative and professional of
Central and South America.
And over the years, beginning with the Cubans,
Hispanics in Miami-Dade have moved up the ladder
and now run the region's most powerful
institutions such as banks, the media and
governments. As an example of just how strong
and widespread the Latino influence is, one of
the city-county library branches carries only
Spanish-language titles.
And most public signage is in three languages:
English, Spanish and French.
Now Phoenix is no Miami, but when you're deep in
the west or south sides, you can definitely have
an out-of-Phoenix experience. And the Latino
presence here is getting stronger as Phoenix's
Latino population approaches 40 percent and the
Valley's nears 30 percent.
Phoenix, because of its geographic location and
the long shadows of Los Angeles, can't become a
powerhouse like Miami. But we must figure out
how to harness the kinetic energy that comes
with a large immigrant community.
That's no easy task. Unlike Miami's wave, the
vast majority of Phoenix's immigrants are not a
professional, entrepreneurial group and because
of regressive, antiquated school and state
policies, they face a barrage of natural and
intentional hurdles.
And even after decades of steady immigration,
Valley leaders have done just about everything
in their power to ignore and not understand this
emerging community. I'm not suggesting we coddle
undocumented immigrants or hand out amnesty, but
only for us to dutifully find a way to harness
what has become our fate and make it work - like
Miami.
It wasn't all a piece of cake for that city, but
Miami took time to understand what it was about
to become and look where it is now.