7th Ave
Monday, May 13, 2024
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America Welcome to Florida's Sanctuary City
Where DeSantis rejects are Welcome!
It’s late morning in Ybor City, and the streets are awakening as you walk to a local coffee shop to start your day discovering this “city within a city” in Tampa. Beyond the door to Blind Tiger Café, the aromas of freshly brewed coffee and right-out-of-the-oven pastries fill the air. Within moments, you're seated at a table, and a brimming cup of café con leche is set in front of you, as well as a healthy portion of hot, buttered Cuban toast. you take a sip from the steaming mug while plotting out the day ahead.
Back outside, Ybor City’s streets and buildings evoke a sense of the late-1800s. Shopkeepers open their storefronts along the narrow streets. The merchants and signs have changed since the 19th Century, but the buildings and vibe endure. Stopping in front of King Corona Cigars & Cafe, you're quickly reminded that Ybor City was once the “Cigar Capital of the World.” Factories within just a few miles of where you're standing produced hundreds of millions of cigars per year, and all of those cigars were hand-rolled in the Cuban tradition.
It’s afternoon when you emerge once again into the Florida sunshine, and decide it’s time to do a bit of window-shopping. As you continue your stroll, roaming roosters crow, certainly late for any wake-up call. Maybe they’re still sleepy from the night before.
As the evening descends on Ybor City, people begin to gather to celebrate the happiest of hours with cold pints poured at local breweries. Live music fills the night air from open doors of venues dotted throughout Ybor City: there’s Crowbar, The Ritz Ybor and a number of nightclubs scattered along 7th Avenue, all of which welcome both local and national bands to take their stages. And tucked inside The Columbia Restaurant, the state’s oldest restaurant, colorful flamenco dancers showcase their talents six nights a week to the delight of an inspired audience.
Mostly though, Historic Ybor City is a Sanctuary for everyone. People from all walks of life are welcome there without judgement. It is a haven of friendship, acceptance and tolerance in a world filed with hatred and ignorance. In a world where bigotry has become the norm, where history is buried to appease those in power, where books are banned and religious fanaticism is esteemed and where blacks, gays, migrants, everyone but white men are kept underfoot, Ybor City is a welcoming and safe place. It is a gem filled with a wealth of flavors, culture and history tucked on the outskirts of downtown Tampa.
"All who come to this happy place, welcome"
Walt Disney
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