Growing up in Miami Beach, I was very familiar with St. Patrick Catholic School. Although I attended a public school (North Beach Elementary a few blocks away,) my upstairs neighbors Katheline and Jennifer Cortes, attended the St. Patrick's and I attended their events at the school. I also took CCD classes there for my communion and confirmation.
So I was surprised to learn that Desi Arnaz, best known as the hunky Cuban-American bandleader and for playing the devoted husband Ricky Ricardo on the beloved "I Love Lucy" sitcom, graduated from St. Patrick's. Not just that, he learned English there, became a musician and had his early brush with fame when he started to perform the conga at the Park Avenue restaurant and nightclub before making it big on Broadway and Hollywood.
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| via The New York Times / Library of Congress |
This week, the city of Miami Beach honored the entertainer's early years in Miami and Miami Beach after he left Cuba as a teenager. I wrote a story for paper, The New York Times, about Mr. Arnaz's journey from Cuba to Miami and Hollywood. The marker sits outside the Miami City Ball, near where the Park Avenue nightclub stood by Collins Avenue.
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