City of Miami and The Bahamas Bridge Cultural and Economic Connections Through The Creation of The Miami Bahamas Junkanoo Festival

Event Scheduled To Take Place July 26, 2015 in Coconut Grove

MIAMI, Florida (June 30, 2015) – The City of Miami’s Mayor Tomas Regalado along with representatives of the Bahamas Government joined forces and announced the formation of the Miami Bahamas Junkanoo Festival, scheduled to take place in Coconut Grove on July 26, 2015.

The unique cultural festival which will feature Bahamian entertainers and musicians, authentic Bahamian cuisine, art and a live Junkanoo rush out, is one of several activities planned for the 42nd Annual Bahamian Independence Celebration in Miami and is expected to bring together families and residents of Florida and the Bahamian diaspora at large. 

“The City of Miami, the Greater Miami Host Committee and its partners, take great pride in the diversity of our residents and visitors, and are honored to welcome such a cultural and iconic festival that is representative of Bahamian heritage to our City,” said Mayor Regalado.

Bahamian immigrant settlers predate the city of Miami itself.  They received land by the Spaniards along the Miami River, and later became Miami’s first Black community established in Coconut Grove.  Their rich legacy as being Miami’s first skilled creative labor force in maritime, agriculture, horticulture, transportation, construction, forestry, hospitality and tourism industries is well known. 

Mayor Regalado said that “Bahamians have played a significant role in establishing Miami as a city.  Some 119 years ago, the Bahamian-American immigrants, represented one third of the registered voters needed for the incorporation of the City of Miami and on July 28, 1896, their votes resulted in the city’s formation,” he said.

“The Bahamian-American immigrants are Miami’s oldest Caribbean community and they built much of Miami’s infrastructure, and indelibly shaped the modern city’s culture and economy,” he said.

Mayor Regalado has commissioned a monument to be built in the City of Miami to honor the Bahamian pioneers, who were instrumental in the infrastructural development of Miami for economic, cultural and social advancement and simultaneously, bridge permanently, the communities of The Bahamas and the City of Miami.

The monument, which will be created by two Bahamian artists, (one residing in The Bahamas and the other of Bahamian decent residing in America) will be erected during the City of Miami’s 120th Anniversary Celebrations in July 2016.

Bahamas Consulate General, the Hon. Ricardo Treco said he “is thrilled with the twin city sister-sister partnership of the two countries as they have enjoyed a long and wonderful, mutually beneficial relationship”.

“The rich legacy of the many contributions made by Bahamian residents that migrated to America more than a century ago, their continued patronage to Florida’s economy today as hotel guests, restaurant consumers, business owners and explorers, trade and service providers and academic scholars coupled with the fact that Florida represents the largest market for visitors to The Bahamas, for the nation’s number one industry, tourism, further demonstrates this strong relationship”. 

“The Bahamas Government, inclusive of the Bahamas Consulate General office, Ministry of Tourism (MOT) and Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture look forward to working with the City of Miami on the many opportunities, we know this partnership will bring for our nation and the state of Florida,” he concluded.

Other partners for the City of Miami include representation from the State of Florida, Miami Dade County, the City of Coral Gables, the Miami Sports and Exhibition Authority, Baptist Health of South Florida, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, City of Miami Parks and Recreations Department, City of Miami Police Department, Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, Coconut Grove Collaborative Development Corporation, Coconut Grove Ministerial Alliance, Sytotech, Inc., University of Miami, Coconut Grove Drug Free Community Coalition, Coconut Grove Arts and Historic Association, Youth Leadership Prep Foundation, Inc. , and the Greater Miami Host Committee established by the City of Miami to host world-class signature events.