Miami’s iconic Freedom Tower, rising above Biscayne Boulevard, has witnessed a century of dreams, hope and new beginnings.
“It is a living exhibit to libertad, which is freedom,” Miami Dade College President Madeline Pumariega said.
The tower, acquired by Miami Dade College in 2005, has been renovated and revitalized as a symbol of resilience. Pumariega has had a full-court career at the institution, starting as a student-athlete playing basketball before proudly wearing the president’s badge today.
“It’s an honor of a lifetime,” Pumariega said. “My mom attended this institution when she came from Cuba to learn English. … Miami Dade is the community’s college, with over 2.5 million alumni.”
First built in 1925, the Freedom Tower opened as the headquarters for the Miami Daily News and was the tallest skyscraper in the city.
“It’s not the tallest skyscraper, but still shines the brightest,” Pumariega said.
In 1960, the tower was designated as a refugee center. Inside its walls, powerful images and words tell the stories of thousands of courageous families in search of a new life.
“Over 400,000 families from Cuba fleeing communism were processed here,” Pumariega said. “Being a refugee was not a choice for Cubans who fled the island after the 1959 revolution.”
Looking at the mural inside the tower and looking at the faces of the refugees, visitors can see different emotions — stress, fear or tiredness.
“Yeah, I see those emotions because I lived them, you know, from my parents and my aunts and uncles,” Pumariega said. “My mom was a teacher in Cuba. They were lawyers, they were successful, and so they came in here with nothing but a suitcase. But that suitcase was filled with dreams, the dreams of freedom and opportunity.”
Visitors can see a replica of how the center looked.
“Welcoming those that were fleeing communism like my mom and my dad, my uncles and aunts,” Pumariega said. “They would receive some of the, you know, cheese, peanut butter, Spam … This is a recipe book of the different foods you could make from that food that was donated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.”
The exhibit also features a replica of what they called “The Wall of Luck.”
“Individuals could find their first job in the classifieds,” Pumariega said. “They could see if family members had come and where they were sent.”
Today, the tower highlights countless stories of Cubans who put their mark on the map through hard work and determination.
“This is a place where you can, you know, pursue that American dream and opportunity, and many have taken hold of that right and gone on to have incredibly successful lives and had successful children, and have made great contributions to our great nation,” Pumariega said.
“Emilio Estefan and so many others that have made not only Florida successful, Miami successful, but contributed to our nation as well,” Pumariega said.
The Freedom Tower continues to inspire visitors from around the world with stories of perseverance and the power of the human spirit.
“And how important freedom is to preserve,” Pumariega said. “And when freedom is gone, so is hope and so is opportunity to provide for your families, for further education.”
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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