This table
always
has room.
Raíces holds the Cuban American diaspora together — through festivals, civic advocacy, youth mentorship, and Sunday suppers that seat two hundred.
Who we are,
where we come from.
Where we come from
For 18 years, Raíces has been the connective tissue of the Cuban American community — from the abuelas who press guayaberas by hand to the first-generation students writing admissions essays about Nochebuena.
2,400+
Families across Miami, Orlando & beyond
Two hundred chairs. One table.
"Aquí nadie llega como extraño. You walk in, somebody hands you a plate."
— Marisol Fuentes, abuela & founding member
Culture practiced, not preserved.
The scent of café con leche and the sound of domino tiles on a folding table are not nostalgia here — they are living practice.
For the next generation
What gets lost
between generations.
The music fades when no one teaches the next verse.
Across three generations of diaspora, the threads of language, memory, and identity fray quietly — not in crisis but in the everyday forgetting that happens when there is no space to remember.
Writing the essay about Nochebuena
1 in 3
Cuban American youth report feeling culturally adrift by age 18
The table left empty
Political complexity, geographic scatter, and the relentless pull of assimilation leave many families without a center of gravity.
"My kids speak English at school, Spanish at home, and Spanglish everywhere else — but they don't know why the music sounds the way it does."
— Roberto Menéndez, Orlando
This is why Raíces exists.
Not to freeze culture in amber. To keep it warm, keep it moving, keep it at the table.
Programs, festivals,
advocacy victories.
Ready to be part of this?
Thousands of families already are.
Calle Ocho Comes Alive
12,000 attendees. Three stages. One community.
Raíces Scholars
340 college scholarships awarded to first-generation Cuban American students since 2008. Full mentorship through graduation.
47,000
Voter registrations completed in Florida over 5 election cycles
First in the family to graduate
International Women's Brunch
Little Havana Cultural Center
Calle Ocho Spring Festival
SW 8th Street, Miami
They know where the music comes from
"Raíces got me registered, got me informed, and got me to the polls for the first time at 19."
— Daniela Reyes, Miami-Dade College
Voz Cubana
Legislative briefings, community town halls, and direct advocacy on issues that matter to the diaspora — immigration, Cuba policy, small business support.
You've already been
welcomed in.
The plate is warm. The café is ready. All you have to do is say yes.
"I moved to Orlando at 22, knew nobody. Raíces was the first place that felt like home."
Carmen Suárez
Teacher, Orlando
"My son won a Raíces scholarship. He's the first in our family to finish college. We cried at graduation."
Ernesto Castellanos
Small business owner, Miami
"I wrote my college essay about Nochebuena because of what I learned here. Got into Georgetown."
Isabella Moreno
Student, Georgetown University
This table
always has room.
Join 2,400+ families. Volunteer. Mentor. Advocate. Show up for Sunday supper. There is no wrong way to belong.