Tamiami Trail

The Tamiami Trail /ˈtæ.mi.ˌæ.mi ˈtreɪl/ is the southernmost 275 miles (443 km) of U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) from Florida State Road 60 (SR 60) in Tampa to US 1 in Miami. A portion of the road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90 (SR 90).

The 275-mile (443 km) north–south section (hidden SR 45) extends to Naples, whereupon it becomes an east–west road (hidden SR 90) crossing the Everglades (and forming part of the northern border of Everglades National Park). It becomes South Eighth Street in Miami-Dade County, famous as Calle Ocho in the Little Havana section of Miami, before ending east of Miami Avenue at Brickell Avenue in Brickell, Downtown Miami.

History

Construction and early designations

Construction on the north–south section was begun in 1915. The east–west portion was originally called the Miami-Marco Road. The following year, Miami’s Capt. James Franklin Jaudon first proposed a road connecting Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic coasts with an eye on developing his properties in the Everglades. The notion was seconded by Tampa’s E.P. Dickey, who also suggested a name, the Tamyami [sic] Trail, although D.C. Gillett of Tampa claimed to have originally suggested the name. The name Tamiami is said to be a contraction of the phrase "Tampa to Miami". While support in Tampa for the proposed road was lacking, Miami Herald columnist William Stewart Hill would keep the idea alive whenever he felt that support was waning on the southeastern coast.

I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)

"I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" is a song by hip-hop artist Pitbull released as the second single from the album, Rebelution. The song samples "The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind)" by Bucketheads and "75, Brazil Street" by Nicola Fasano versus Pat Rich, which itself samples "Street Player" by Chicago. The core is from a song by Dominican rappers El Cata and Omega. The title is a reference to Calle Ocho, a street in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood. The song premiered on the Miami radio station WPOW. It has also been featured in Dance Central, the Xbox 360 Kinect-based dancing game, Dance Dance Revolution X2 for PlayStation 2, the PlayStation 3 PlayStation Move-based dancing game SingStar Dance, and in the pilot of Suburgatory. It received a nomination a Latin Rhythm Airplay Song of the Year at the 2010 Latin Billboard Music Awards.

Music video

The music video was first released on March 9, 2009 by Ultra Records on YouTube and was directed by David Rousseau and Produced by Alexandra Sdoucos. It features Pitbull, Nayer and models Sagia Castañeda, Maria Milian, Angelica Casañas. It has received over 230 million views even though this particular upload is not available for worldwide viewership due to licensing restrictions in certain countries.

Calle Ocho Festival

The Calle Ocho Festival (“El Festival de la Calle Ocho”) is a one-day fiesta that culminates the Miami Carnaval. It takes place in March in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, Florida between SW 8th Street and 27th Avenue.

The festival is one of the largest in the world, and over one million visitors attend the Calle Ocho event. It is a free street festival that showcases Pan-American culture.

History

Calle Ocho started in 1978 as a way for Cuban immigrants to express themselves and teach about their culture in the community. The festival’s focus grew to include participation from all Latin American countries

In 1996, the festival was cancelled due to the shooting down of four Cuban exile aviators, by Cuban warplanes on February 24, 1996. The aviators were part of the Brothers to the Rescue organization.

Program

The annual festival shuts down 24 blocks of SW 8th Street in order to host dancing, food, drink and 30 stages of live entertainment.

The stages are spread throughout Little Havana, and host various styles of Latin music from the Hispanic countries and the Caribbean, from merengue to top 40 pop music.