|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
“If you live in Miami, you don’t get your coffee indoors. You get it through a window. A little window. A ventanita.”
Through poetry, stunning photos, and joyful interviews, the book Ventanitas: A Window into Miami’s Coffee Culture looks into the lives of the people who gather at the city’s coffee windows for conversation and human connection.
“O, Miami is thrilled to present Daniela Perez Miron’s view into a culture that is deeply interconnected with the identity of Miami,” said P. Scott Cunningham, founder and executive director of O, Miami. “We wanted to make this book because it captures a unique part of our city that you won’t find anywhere else in the world.”
Writer and Miami native Daniela Perez Miron began developing her love letter to ventanitas during the peak of the pandemic in 2020. Pursuing her graduate degree thousands of miles away in London, a Miami news story with the headline, “Hialeah Orders People to Stop Hanging Out at the Ventanita,” inspired a surprising conversation with her classmates.
What is a ventanita?
“Ventanitas are the lifeblood of Miami, keeping the city fueled with strong, sweet coffee, and also a window into its culture: — a proud mix of the United States and Latin America that is like nowhere else in the world,” said Miron, whose stories are accompanied by the work of Miami-born photographer Gesi Schilling.
“It was a joy to document the sweetness and warmth that passes through these ventanitas,” Schilling said. “They remind us that what we share is stronger than what we don’t. The colada represents just that. A $2 coffee made to be shared with co-workers, friends, or strangers.”
This “only in Miami” phenomenon emerged in the 1960s when two unlikely forces came together at the perfect time: Cuban coffee and American air conditioning. If you are on the go or want to see a familiar face, la ventanita promises human connection and quick and delicious coffee.
“The variety of Miami’s ventanitas doesn’t just extend to what’s offered. Some are places to debate politics, family issues, and social opinions, while others seem to be a lot less political and more about the grab-and-go. One thing they all have in common, though, is the culture of Miami, a culture that I’ve always been, and always will be, in love with,” writes James Beard Award-Winner and restaurateur Michelle Bernstein in the book’s foreword.
The vibrant culture around ventanitas never stops. Day or night, there’s almost always a line at popular places like La Carreta on Calle Ocho, Islas Canarias in West Dade, and the 24/7 Mary’s Coin Laundry in Coconut Grove.
The book also explores more modern adaptations: the ice cream vendor in Kendall selling Miami-inspired flavors and the upscale bakery in Key Biscayne selling sourdough bread. In Miami, even Michelin-star restaurants have pop-up ventanitas.
As you flip through these pages, you can almost feel the A/C blasting through the window and the bitter-and-sweet taste of a cafecito. This is Miami’s coffee culture, a culinary innovation that unites the city across the boundaries of age and language.
Excerpts
“In Miami, American coffee is called American coffee. Everywhere else, it’s just coffee.” —
Felipe Valls Jr.
On Los Pinarenos Fruteria: “So what makes this ventanita different from the rest? “My smile!” Guillermina “the grandmother of Little Havana” says.
“Yaima, who works at Tinta y Cafe, says what keeps her tied to her job is the many friendships she’s made. Conversations happen at the ventanita that don’t happen inside.”
Her favorite customer, Eric, agrees. “The ventanita is healthier than a bar and cheaper too,” he says, laughing. “It just has a different feeling.”
About the creators
O, Miami builds community around the power of poetry. Through collaborations, projects, events, and publications, we create a platform for amplifying Miami’s voices, investing in a new shared narrative of our city and a more equitable picture of its future. For more information, visit omiami.org.
Daniela Perez Miron is a graphic designer and art director born in Guatemala and raised in Miami. She graduated from the University of Miami with dual degrees in Art and Management and then went on to study Visual Communication at the Royal College of Art. She is passionate about creating work that tells intimate cultural stories, centers real people, and empowers others. Daniela currently works for Pentagram and lives in London, where she spends her time hunting for a proper cortadito.
Gesi Schilling is a Miami-born photographer. Her work appears regularly in various publications, including The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Vogue, and The Miami Herald, where she began her career as a photojournalist. Her work focuses on portraits and ethnographic studies of communities, groups, and cultures, seeking to observe beyond what’s visible in real-time. She holds a degree in visual anthropology from the University of Florida and lives in Fort Lauderdale.
The new book is now available for pre-order and will be published on Mar. 5 (305 day in Miami). A book launch event is scheduled that day at Versailles Restaurant.
ABOUT US:
For more Miami community news, look no further than Miami Community Newspapers. This Miami online group of newspapers covers a variety of topics about the local community and beyond. Miami’s Community Newspapers offers daily news, online resources, podcasts and other multimedia content to keep readers informed. With topics ranging from local news to community events, Miami’s Community Newspapers is the ideal source for staying up to date with the latest news and happenings in the area.
This family-owned media company publishes more than a dozen neighborhood publications, magazines, special sections on their websites, newsletters, as well as distributing them in print throughout Miami Dade County from Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Brickell, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest, South Miami, Kendall, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay and Homestead. Each online publication and print editions provide comprehensive coverage of local news, events, business updates, lifestyle features, and local initiatives within its respective community.
Additionally, the newspaper has exclusive Miami community podcasts, providing listeners with an in-depth look into Miami’s culture. Whether you’re looking for local Miami news, or podcasts, Miami’s Community Newspapers has you covered. For more information, be sure to check out: https://communitynewspapers.com.
If you have any questions, feel free to email Michael@communitynewspapers.com or Grant@communitynewspapers.com.
