# American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora

The American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora or The Cuban, is a Miami, Florida museum dedicated to the history and culture of those who left Cuba due to the rise of communism. The museum was established to preserve and promote the artistic, historical, and cultural contributions of Cubans living abroad, primarily focusing on those who settled in the United States following the Cuban Revolution of 1959. The Cuban serves as a cultural hub and educational space in Miami, offering exhibits and showcasing Cuban heritage through the arts.
As of 2024, the museum's permanent exhibit, known as "The Cuban Experience," immerses visitors in the brutality of the Castro regime and tells the story of those who fled Cuba. It features hundreds of artifacts, pictures, and videos, as well as immersive installations like a simulated execution wall and recreated prison cells.

## Founding

The Cuban was established in 1996 by Dr. Ofelia Tabares and other Cuban-American community leaders, such as banker Luis Botifoll and architect Hilario Candela. Its founding mission was to document and present the stories of the Cuban diaspora.
The museum's exhibitions feature both historical artifacts and contemporary art, aiming to provide visitors with a deeper understanding of the struggles and achievements of Cuban exiles. The museum serves as both a cultural hub and an educational space, offering rotating exhibitions, permanent collections, and public programs related to Cuban heritage. According to the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the museum showcases Cuban cultural heritage through "music, dance, literature, history, theater, and the plastic arts."
The Cuban first operated as "museum without walls," meaning it had no set location. The museum opened its Miami building at 1200 Coral Way with a soft launch in 2016 and a grand opening in September 2018.

## Mission

The Cuban is dedicated to sharing the history and culture of exiles who left Cuba due to the rise of communism. Its permanent exhibit is about the history of Cuba and of Cuban exiles.
The museum also houses temporary exhibitions. In 2018, it opened the largest Celia Cruz museum exhibit to date, titled "Forever Celia" and encompassing six decades of musician's life. The museum's 2021 exhibit, "Operation Pedro Pan: The Cuban Children's Exodus," recounted the story of more than 14,000 children who escaped Cuba without their parents between the years 1960 and 1962. The exhibit showed what life was like for Cuban children at the time, specifically regarding family, school, and religion, in addition to highlighting their escape from totalitarian forced re-education to come to the United States.
The Cuban is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. It was established with funds from the Building Better Communities bond program and received financial support from Miami-Dade County. The museum continues to receive support from the local community and Cuban-American cultural advocates, who value its role in preserving their unique history and identity.
In August 2024, Miami's Cuban exile community nominated Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado for the Nobel Peace Prize at the museum. Machado was proposed for her "brave fight in defense of democracy and human rights in Venezuela."
In December 2024, the museum opened a new exhibit that immerses visitors in the brutality of the Castro regime and tells the story of those who fled Cuba. Known as "The Cuban Experience," the exhibit features hundreds of artifacts, pictures, and videos, as well as immersive installations like a simulated execution wall and recreated prison cells. The tagline of The Cuban Experience is "Why Freedom Matters," and the exhibit was designed with the input of historians and by using direct source materials and eyewitness testimony. It also features interviews from the Emmy Award-winning docudrama series Leyendas del Exilio (Legends of the Exile) directed by Lilo Vilaplana.

## Leadership

In 2018, Marcell Felipe was elected chairman of the museum's board. He was re-elected as board chair in 2019. Felipe designed "The Cuban Experience" based on his time as a student at Florida International University, where he worked with former Cuban political prisoners at La Casa del Preso in Miami.