On July 28th Miami had its 125th birthday. The city was founded by a woman. I’ve heard it batted around that it is the first major USA city with that cred. Her name was Julia Tuttle, aka the Mother of Miami. Interestingly enough, she could NOT vote to incorporate the city in 1896 because women could not vote. (Let that sink in!) 344 men voted that day. One-third of them were Bahamian. Here is a timeline of early Miami. Here is a short history of early Black Miami.
But before Flagler’s train and America’s industrial titans made Miami the playground of the rich and famous that it still is to this day. It was Tequesta land. 2000 years ago, the Tequesta tribe gathered at the mouth of the river that feeds into Biscayne Bay. Here’s a little bit about it.
Happy Birthday, Miami!
You aren’t perfect, but I love you.
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Mango, Mambo, & Murder, is the first in the Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series. It debuts 10/12/21, but you can pre-order it now. The story is set in a fictitious village within Miami and I highlight Miami’s multicultural residents through their food cultures. As Jane G, a GoodReads reviewer put it “Mango, Mambo, and Murer is something akin to Miami vice meets Murder, She Wrote.” Join the Latina Sleuths newsletter for monthly book giveaways.
