TOUR: A Journey Through Miami's Culture

by Pedro Medina León

Tour offers an overview of the main historical, cultural and popular elements that have shaped the city of Miami. Pedro Medina León shares through essays and brief chronicles, how Henry Flagler opened the doors of Miami to the rest of the country; how the decline of the legendary rock band The Doors started in Coconut Grove; how Opa Locka, a city inspired by The Thousand and One Nights, was conceived as one of the most ambitious urban projects and today is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the United States; how Bob Marley died in a hospital bed in Downtown Miami and how Cassius Clay was crowned the world boxing champion in Miami Beach. And among these fascinating and controversial characters he describes the different faces of a city that started as a small agricultural and fishermen village, transformed itself into the world capital of crime and drug trafficking in the 1980s, and has now become a haven from Latin America.

242 pages, Paperback

Published January 3, 2019

Reviews

[Gina Salvatore]

A bubble gum book that purports to be about Miami history, but is told through short and disparate anecdotes. A quick, fun, easy read- the author makes no connection between the stories and how they were actually impactful on shaping the city’s culture. I’d recommend this book to a tourist.

What’s impressive, and wasn’t part of the books description, is the author’s encyclopedic knowledge of Noir genre literature written about the city- which may be the thread tying it to why each story matters- but as it’s never directly stated that’s an assumption the reader has to make for him or herself. I wasn’t sure at times whether I was reading a history of Miami or a history of detective books about Miami, and was left unsure as to why the latter mattered. An example of this is the chapter titled What Burt Reynolds Didn’t Understand, which starts out as a factual account of the Mariel Boatlift, then abruptly shifts to a description of the novel “Stick” by Ernest Stickley Jr, and ends with a review of Burt Reynolds’s performance in the movie adaptation. Burt wasn’t the only one who didn’t understand- I didn’t really get it either.

There were a few exceptions to this- the chapter about the bohemian who conceptualized Woodstock from the back room of his head shop in Coconut Grove touches on how the inhabitants were impactful and then that influence bled out into the creation of one of the greatest cultural moments of the 60’s.

I guess my point, and it’s the general problem with teaching or passing down history, is that if there isn’t a connection made to the present then it becomes just another story with no relevance except to possibly amuse. The author failed to make that connection.

I’ve added “Continental Drift” to my reading list this year thanks to this book though. I was compelled by the chapter where Russel Banks is interviewed and discusses the novel’s relevance.

[Daniel Reschigna]

Por fin un libro necesario para conocer una ciudad como nadie se la imagina. saluD Pedro!

[Patrick]

Pretty disappointing read unfortunately- cover looked cool, and I was down with the concept, but like the other reviewer said, this feels like a VERY superficial look at Miami and at times diminutive. The book shines here and there and I learned a bit more about this city I love. But ultimately the oversimplification of the city along with an incomplete feel kind of killed it for me.

Also, not phenomenal writing which would be fine if the content was engaging but otherwise not so much.