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Visible proof of that real business already flows daily through the city's seaport and airport: perishables from Latin America, electronics from the Far East, perfumes and alcohol from Europe. Going out are the goods -- everything from bulldozers to blenders -- that Latin America needs to rebuild its infrastructure after the dormant decade of the '80s. In return, Central America, Chile and Brazil send about 350,000 tons of refrigerated produce annually to Miami. The airport runs the largest cut-flower operation in the world, daily processing 15,000 boxes of buds from south of the border.
Jose Suquet, the Cuban-born general manager of the Suquet insurance agency, notes that wealthy and sophisticated Latin American businessmen are now using Miami not just for hit-and-run business trips but also as a base of operations that offers a security they can't find in their own countries. (Even Miami's violent-crime rate pales by comparison with the kidnappings, terrorism and guerrilla warfare that many Latins face in cities like Rio de Janeiro, Medellin or Lima.) "Venezuelans, Brazilians and increasing numbers of Argentines are investing in Miami, developing hotels and purchasing malls," says Suquet. "They are setting up businesses here, buying homes in Coral Gables or Cocoplum, sending their kids to Gulliver Academy or Belen Jesuit Preparatory School."
The Latin flavor that has attracted businessmen has also turned Miami into the capital of Hispanic TV and music, complete with a "Latin Hollywood" of resident stars like Julio Iglesias and Gloria Estefan. "Miami has become the meeting place of the Americas for the Spanish-speaking world," says Ray Rodriguez, the Cuban-born president of the No. 1 Spanish-language network in the U.S., Miami-based Univision. "Go to a restaurant like Victor's Cafe, and you know half the people -- the writers, the stars and the reps." Many of them live in Miami: the Venezuelan singing idol Jose Luis Rodriguez, known as El Puma; the Dominican merengue star Juan Luis Guerra; and Don Francisco, the pudgy, jovial host of Latin TV's most popular show ever, Sabado Gigante, based -- where else? -- in Miami.
With so many Latin stars in residence, "Latin" Miami has gained the upper hand over "Anglo" Hollywood in attracting Spanish-language TV and film production from all over the world. Both the top Spanish-language networks in the U.S. base their productions in Miami. "Miami is a magnet. There's not a day goes by when somebody doesn't want to cut a deal with us -- Warner, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Argentine producers, Peruvians, Venezuelans," says Blaya.
Not everyone is convinced of Miami's grand scheme for the future. The trade sector is, to a large extent, based on glorified mom-and-pop businesses offering low-paying service jobs. "Miami is not the capital of Latin America," German Consul General Klaus Sommer says dismissively. "The Germans have billions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile. You don't need an agent sitting in Miami."