The Spanish used Havana, Cuba, as a model for rebuilding New Orleans in the 1790s after fires destroyed many buildings.
Library of Congress
Cuban influence in New Orleans goes back more than 200 years. Spain ruled Louisiana from 1762 to 1800, governing the vast territory from Havana, Cuba. The Spanish rebuilt the city in the 1790s after fires burned most of the wooden structures built by the French; they modeled their reconstructed city on Havana---which means the French Quarter looks more Cuban than French!
Trade between New Orleans and Cuba was constant under Spanish rule, and many families had relatives and business in both cities. More Cuban influences arrived after the successful slave rebellion in French Saint-Domingue established the nation of Haiti in 1804, driving many Europeans and free people of color to seek refuge in Cuba; many moved on to seek their fortunes in Louisiana, each contributing a little more Cuban influence to the area.
By the mid-1800s, New Orleans was a hotbed of political intrigues as many former Spanish possessions in Central and South America gained their independence. Many local people had family and economic connections with Cuba and were of the opinion that Cuba should be independent or annexed by the United States. Narciso López led two filibusters---armed invasions intended to overthrow the government---to Cuba in the 1850s, and prominent New Orleanians were among his supporters. Neither invasion was successful, but López remains a national hero in Cuba.
New Orleans was a staging ground for American forces sent to invade Cuba during the Spanish-American War in 1898. One of the war's results was Cuban independence, and cultural and economic ties between the United States and Cuba strengthened during the 1900s.
Another revolution brought more Cubans to Louisiana: Fidel Castro led the overthrow of Cuba's government in 1959, reforming the country's government and economics along communist lines. Many Cubans came to Louisiana, attracted by family ties and jobs in the area's sugar industry.
A Cuban community still exists in New Orleans, though not in any specific neighborhood. Cuban celebrations, music, traditions, cuisine, and saint's days have integrated into New Orleans' culture.
