For as long as we can remember, Viernes Culturales (Cultural Fridays) has been a South Florida tradition.

This free arts and music festival has typically taken place on the third Friday of each month on Calle Ocho, in the heart of Little Havana.

Of course, the popular event had to be canceled last year – but now it’s ready for a comeback!

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Viernes Culturales returned on Friday, May 21, with a limited capacity. As part of its return, the nonprofit organization behind these monthly events also announced other big news.

In keeping with its mission to preserve and celebrate the Latin history and culture of this Miami area, it has redesigned the Little Havana Welcome Center – with support from Bacardi USA and its Women In Leadership initiative. This welcome center had reportedly been closed for years due to lack of funds.

(Courtesy of Bacardi)

Viernes Culturales is also offering the newly created “Spirit of Little Havana” self-guided tour, which will include nine locations throughout Little Havana, on Calle Ocho from Fifth to 22nd avenues. The tour will include $5 Bacardi cocktails at each location.

“Our Cultural Fridays (Viernes Culturales) festival will finally return in May, and we couldn’t think of a better way to pay tribute to the neighborhood than with the reopening of the much-needed Little Havana Welcome Center, AND this newly created self-guided tour that will bring new traffic and business to the area at this very crucial time,” said Bill Fuller, president of the Viernes Culturales nonprofit organization, in a statement.

(Courtesy of Bacardi)

The website at Viernesculturales.org does not yet appear to be up to date, so there is no specific information on the festival part of this event. But keep checking back, as we will be updating this post!

According to a news release: “Little Havana (like many parts of the City) was mostly closed for the last year, but it has seen a huge uptick in tourism and traffic to the area since March so this is a big step towards the continued reopening of the entire City and State. The goal of this initiative is to continue to share the unique history of the area and send visitors to explore the entire neighborhood while also helping the many businesses that have been through so much the last year.”

For more information on Viernes Culturales, call-305-505-1616 or email info@viernesculturales.org.

Popular Miami events that have been canceled

The year 2020 brought many firsts and never-before-seens, including the cancellation of some of our favorite events.

Organizers have had to make tough decisions and take into account factors such as public safety, which is understandable. Events such as the Coconut Grove Arts Festival and Santa’s Enchanted Forest will have to wait for the time being, but hopefully they’ll be back soon! Click here to see which events have been affected.