The religious sites in Little Haiti carry the burden of creating spaces for the multifaceted religious beliefs of Haitians in the diaspora. While many of these spaces mirror their purposes from the homeland, Haitians see particular changes in practice which create new narratives for Haitian Americans in Miami.&nbsp;

Crossing the Water and Keeping the Faith: Haitian Religion in Miami

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Many of the first Haitians who arrived in Miami joined existing congregations, but within a few years, Haitians also organized their own churches. Eglise de Dieu Sanctifiée Haïtienne (The Haitian Church of God Sanctified) was established in 1969. The First Interdenominational Haitian Church was established two years later. The church grew rapidly and in 1976 members purchased this building. This is one of the largest Haitian churches in Miami 

First Interdenominational Haitian Church

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This walking tour builds on the work of Sandrine Louis-Jeune and includes a variety of sites calculated to offer a diverse view of the culture and history of Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood. Many of the entries appear in both English and Creole.

There is limited research on the historic sites in Little Haiti, but some scholars briefly cover the significance of art and religion in the community.&nbsp; Notre Dame D’Haiti is central to the political shifts in the homeland and abroad and remained a key reason why many immigrants settled in Little Haiti. The social services provided to the&nbsp; new immigrants were concentrated in the church and created an atmosphere of cultural familiarity. Alex Stepick writes extensively about the rise of Little Haiti (and to a large extent the Haitian diaspora in Miami) in comparison to Cuban communities. In Visual Culture and Visual Piety in Little Haiti: The Sea, the Tree, and the Refugee Alex Stepick and Terry Rey discuss the space where Haitian Vodou and Haitian Catholicism occupy and the dual meanings of imagery seen in the art around Little Haiti. Using the “triangle of religious forces” model, they identify different sites of historical significance in Little Haiti, Notre Dame D’Haiti, Botanica Halouba and Mission Evanelique du Christianisme. While their work does bring light to religious sites in Little Haiti, they ignore secular spaces like the Little Haiti Cultural Center.&nbsp;Newer art based establishments are building on the history of Little Haiti and Lemon City as a way to engage new audiences in Little Haiti.&nbsp;Creole: Gen limite rechèch sou sit sa yo istorik nan Little Ayiti, men gen kèk entelektyèl yon ti tan kouvri siyifikasyon an nan atizay ak relijyon nan kominote a. Notre Dame D'Ayiti se pwen santral nan orè yo politik nan peyi a ak aletranje e li te rete yon rezon ki fè kle poukisa anpil imigran rete nan Little Ayiti. sèvis sosyal yo bay imigran yo nouvo yo te konsantre nan legliz la e te kreye yon atmosfè nan abitye kiltirèl. Alex Stepick ekri anpil sou monte nan nan Little Ayiti (epi nan yon gwo limit dyaspora ayisyen an nan Konte Miami) an konparezon nan kominote Kiben yo. Nan vizyèl Kilti ak vizyèl pyete nan Little Ayiti: Lanmè a, pye bwa a, ak Refijye Alex Stepick la ak Terry Rey diskite sou espas ki la kote ayisyen Vodou ak ayisyen Katolik rete nan ak siyifikasyon yo doub nan simagri wè nan atizay la nan Little Ayiti. Lè l sèvi avèk "triyang lan nan fòs relijye" modèl, yo idantifye sit diferan nan siyifikasyon istorik nan Little Ayiti, Notre Dame D'Ayiti, Botanica Halouba ak Misyon Evanelique du Krisyanis. Pandan ke travay yo fè pote limyè nan sit relijye nan Little Ayiti, yo inyore espas eksklizyon tankou Little Ayiti Sant Kiltirèl la.Plus atizay ki baze établissements ap bati sou istwa a nan Little Ayiti ak Lemon City kòm yon fason yo angaje yo odyans nouvo nan Little Ayiti.

Construction of the Little Haiti Cultural Complex began in 2006. The complex includes an art gallery, marketplace, theater, and several community spaces. The complex also serves as the home of several festivals that highlight the art and culture of Haiti and people of Haitian descent in Miami and around the world. 

Little Haiti Cultural Complex and Art Gallery 

English: The Little Haiti neighborhood is located in the City of Miami’s 5th district and embodies the creation of new spaces of intersectionality. Here, class, race, ethnicity and imperialism meet to generate new narratives and enrich our understandings of what it means to be Haitian-American in Miami and across the US. Furthermore, this neighborhood embodies the transnational routes present in the Atlantic and give us insight into the political involvement of Haitians in the diaspora and the homeland. The buildings, architecture and murals seek to express this unique identities in new and evolving fashion. Together, they form an aesthetic that can’t be duplicated or refashioned due to their unique history and public memory. Sites in Little Haiti continue to challenge boundaries of time and seek to tell their stories in less linear models while continuing to repurpose symbolism from the homeland (and the original homeland of Africa) to maintain connections while forming communities in new spaces. The sites can be broadly categorized into four different groups: religious, secular, murals and public art.&nbsp;
Creole:&nbsp;se katye a Little Ayiti sitiye nan vil la nan distri 5yèm Miami an ak defini kreyasyon an nan espas nouvo sou intersectionality. Isit la, klas, ras, gwoup etnik ak enperyalis satisfè jenere nouvo narasyon ak anrichi konpreyansyon nou nan sa li vle di yo dwe ayisyen-Ameriken nan Konte Miami ak atravè tout Etazini an. Anplis de sa, katye sa a defini wout yo transnasyonal prezan nan Atlantik la ak ban nou insight nan patisipasyon politik la nan Ayisyen nan dyaspora a ak peyi a. bilding, achitekti a ak epitou travay chèche eksprime sa yo panse sa a idantite inik nan nouvo ak en mòd. Ansanm, yo fòme yon ayestetik ki pa ka double oswa refashioned akòz istwa inik yo ak memwa piblik la. Sit nan Little Ayiti kontinye defi limit nan tan ak chache rakonte istwa yo nan mwens modèl lineyè pandan y ap kontinye repurpose Symbolism soti nan peyi a (ak peyi a orijinal la nan Lafrik) yo kenbe koneksyon pandan y ap fòme kominote yo nan espas nouvo.

Also known as Mache Ayisyen, the nine thousand square foot Caribbean Marketplace is the largest space within the Little Haiti Cultural Complex. The Little Haiti area in Miami is a neighborhood which embodies a rich history concerning Haitian immigration to Florida. Museums and murals alike seek to develop new narratives about the transnational nature of the small neighborhood. The religious institutions have a history of activism and continue to participate in social justice programs that enhance the livelihood of their constituents. 

Little Haiti Caribbean Marketplace

This church was established as a Haitian Catholic Mission archdiocese who wished to serve the growing Haitian population by offering humanitarian and spiritual services to those in need. Here Fr. Gerald Jean-Juste, Fr. Gerald Darbouste and other priests worked hard to create new roads for for legal status within the community. The religious site took on new meanings and set new trends in the role of the Haitian catholic church in Miami. Of the priests, Fr. Jean-Juste was most outspoken and would frequently confront the archdiocese on the resources being allotted to the Haitian community in comparison to other immigrant populations. Due to his politics, the church soon ostracized him, but he used his influence to create the Haitian Refugee Center which used the church as a homebase for recruitment and dissemination of information. This created a trend which blurred the lines between secular humanitarian work and religious based aide that still continues today with the church.&nbsp; Today, Fr. Reginald Jean-Mary heads the church and uses the same charismatic style to push for activism both inside and outside of the Catholic church. He attends community meetings and is active in encouraging the youth to understand the homeland while creating new connections here.&nbsp; Creole: Notre Dame D'Ayiti kenbe yon plas espesyal nan fòmasyon an nan katye a Little Ayiti epi ki fèt aprè fiks rezoud nan imigran ayisyen sa yo ki zòn an patikilye, yo konnen kòm Lemon City nan moman an. Premye kòmanse kòm yon Misyon Katolik ayisyen, Acheveche a te vle fè sèvi ap grandi popilasyon ayisyen an pa ofri sèvis imanitè ak espirityèl nan moun ki nan bezwen. Isit la Fr. Gerald Jean-Juste, Fr. Gerald Darbouste ak lòt prèt travay di yo kreye wout nouvo pou pou estati legal nan kominote a. Sou sit la relijye te pran sou siyifikasyon nouvo ak mete nouvo tandans nan wòl la nan legliz ayisyen an Katolik nan Miami. Nan prèt yo, Fr. Jean-Juste te pi gwo ènmi e yo ta souvan konfwonte Acheveche a sou resous yo ke yo te attribué nan kominote ayisyen an nan konparezon a popilasyon imigran ak lòt. Akòz politik l 'yo, legliz la byento ostrasize l', men li te itilize enfliyans li yo kreye ayisyen Refijye Sant la ki itilize legliz la kòm yon HomeBASE pou rekritman ak sikile enfòmasyon. Sa a te kreye yon tandans ki trouble liy ki genyen ant travay pwofàn imanitè ak relijye asistan baze sou ki toujou ap kontinye jodi a ak legliz la.<div> </div><div>Jodi a, Fr. Reginald Jean-Mari chèf legliz la epi li sèvi ak menm style la karismatik pouse pou aktivis tou de anndan ak deyò nan legliz Katolik la. Li ale nan reyinyon kominotè ak se aktif nan ankouraje jèn yo konprann peyi a pandan y ap kreye nouvo koneksyon isit la.</div>

Notre Dame D'Haiti holds a special place in the formation of the Little Haiti neighborhood and the subsequent steady settling of Haitian immigrants to that particular area, known as Lemon City at the time.

Notre Dame D'Haiti Catholic Church

Warrior Liberator Diplomat Stateman Pioneer of the Pan Africanism and the Negritude Movement Precursor of the Indepence of Haiti Instrumental in the Abolition of Slavery in the Americas May 20,1743 - April 7, 1803 "In overthrowing me you have cut down in Saint Domingue only the tree of the trunk of liberty, it will spring up again from the roots, for they are many and they are deep." Our first thoughts of Haiti are as the first independent majority-Black nation in the Western Hemisphere. We know it as a country that is rich with history and beauty. Their heroes and human rights activists, Toussaint L'ouverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines, are our heroes and models of resistance. January 1, 1804 is the official declaration of Haitian independence and we celebrate that victory, too. This Caribbean island that has long been tied to American history and by extension Little Haiti's history. Translation: Gerye,&nbsp; Kaitou Diplomat Chefdeta Pyonye nan Africanism nan Pan ak Mouvman an Negritude Précurseur nan Indepence an nan Ayiti Enstrimantal nan abolisyon esklavaj nan Amerik yo Me 20,1743 - Avril 7, 1803 "Nan ranvèse m 'ou gen koupe desann nan Sendomeng sèlman pye bwa a nan kòf la libète, li pral pouse ankò soti nan rasin yo, paske yo anpil e yo gwo twou san fon." panse premye nou an nan Ayiti yo jan nasyon an premye endepandan majorite-Nwa nan Emisfè Lwès la. Nou konnen li kòm yon peyi ki se moun rich ak istwa ak bote. ewo yo ak aktivis dwa moun, TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE ak Jean-Jacques Dessalines, se ewo nou yo ak modèl nan rezistans. , 1 janvye 1804 se deklarasyon ofisyèl la nan endepandans ayisyen ak nou selebre ke viktwa, tou. Sa a zile Karayib ki te lontan yo te mare nan istwa Ameriken yo ak pa istwa ekstansyon Little Ayiti a.

This monument park unveiled by the City of Miami in 2005 plays a role in continuing the victory against systematic oppression even in new spaces. The symbol and history of a revolutionary who ultimately freed slaves can be used as a way to fuse activism and history together in public spaces. 

Toussaint L'Ouverture Monument Park  

Villa Paula was built in 1926 and named after Paula Milord, the wife of Cuban consulate, Domingo Milord. The materials used to build Villa Paula were brought over from Cuba, as were many of the workers who constructed the mansion using Spanish and Cuban building techniques. The home was designed by Cuban architect C. Freira in a Neoclassical style. This is evident in the plain white exterior, the heavy use of columns and pediments, arched windows, and balustraded roof. The building includes ten rooms with grand eighteen-foot-high ceilings. In addition to being architecturally significant, Villa Paula is also historically significant for being the first Cuban consulate in Miami. For this reason, it was designated as historic by the City of Miami in 1983. Paula Milord died a few years after moving into the mansion from complications after a leg amputation. Following her death, Villa Paula was no longer used for Cuban governmental business. Muriel Reardon purchased the home upon Milord's death and lived in the mansion until her own death in 1960. The property changed hands several times throughout the 1960s and early 1970s until it was purchased by Cliff Ensor in 1974. Ensor refurbished the house and reversed years of neglect. At the time, vandals had destroyed the beautiful stained glass windows and sprayed graffiti over the walls. Ensor also employed gardeners and landscapers to restore the mansion's grounds, which had not been tended to in many years.Ensor claimed to have experienced many unusual occurrences that he could not explain, such as loud thuds that sounded like footsteps, apparitions of a one legged lady, unmoored piano music, and the falling of a chandelier. Believing that the property might be cursed or haunted, Ensor hired a self-described "psychic medium" who reported that the spirit of Paula inhabited the building and loved to play the piano. The psychic also explained the death of Ensor's three cats by claiming that Paula Millord hated cats. These stories led to Villa Paula developing a reputation as one of the most haunted houses in South Florida. In fact, Ensor sold the house at auction in 1985, but the winning bidder immediately backed out of the deal after they learned of the alleged haunted nature of the house. Two years later, Ensor successfully sold the house to Lucien Albert, a Haitian pediatrician. Albert occupied the home until 2003, when he sold it to the Villa Paula Restoration Group, in the care of Mark Swedroe.Swedroe was interested in seeing Villa Paula restored to its former glory. Though embroiled in a protracted legal battle over ownership of the home, Swedroe restored the historical appearance of the structure and insulated the space from future deterioration. In 2016, a new gallery and venue space opened in Villa Paula. With works by artists such as Auguste Renoir, Pablo Picasso, and Wilfredo Lam, the gallery boasts an impressive collection for such a new space. Artist in residence Joe Chirichigno manages the gallery. The home was put up for sale in 2018. Any future plans for the space are not available to the public as of late 2020.

Villa Paula was built in 1926 and served as the first Cuban consulate in Miami. The mansion was named after Paula Milord, the wife of a Cuban consulate. The mansion is located in the neighborhood now known as "Little Haiti" and continues to serve as a reminder of the rich history of the area and the international communities that have called this section of Miami their home over the past century. The historic home is now the location of a museum and art gallery that includes works by Floridian artists as well as masters from Renoir to Picasso.

Little Haiti Walking Tour

First Interdenominational Haitian Church

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information