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You cannot be a cosmopolitan, international city with a strong unique cultural identity to the city itself. In fact the US doesn’t appreciate or work to preserve places with cultural identities, instead calling those cities insular and cliquish, close-minded maybe. Backwater and not with the times. Part of being a melting pot means losing cities like this. Part of having an assimilated “American” culture means losing places like this.
Miami is the opposite of this. It stands as an icon of Latin immigration into the United States for the most part. It is a hub of a good portion of modern day American mainstream media (influencers and new social media, modeling, etc.) and pop culture. Miami is an icon of assimilation of multiple cultures into general American culture. NYC falls into this category also. Now compare that to New Orleans, a city well defined by a couple cultures and then building the entire metro’s identity around those couple cultures and not general “American” culture with an influx of immigration. New Orleans is not known as a place for people to adopt general American culture, a fact proved by New Orleans unique accent, entirely independent languages, and many other behaviors.
What this thread is asking for is a comparison to two cities: one that is a big icon FOR assimilation into general US culture, and one that has been an icon AGAINST assimilation into general US culture. And as a result of that, which has more of an identity?
The answer is New Orleans because it is choosing to be less like everyone other city in the US. Not Miami, a place known for first wave immigrants to get their flavor of American culture and an easy place to assimilate while still being around a couple things here and there that remind them of home.
Miami may be morphing into an icon of assimilation of multiple cultures, but it's not into general American culture but rather a pan-Latin Miamian culture for Latinos and Black American culture for Black Caribbean immigrants. But in the meantime, the distinctions among Cubans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Brazilians, Puerto Ricans, Argentinians, etc. and Haitians, Jamaicans, Bahamians, Trinidadians, etc. still exist. Spanish is easily the most dominant language in Miami to the extent that the English spoken there is now recognized as its own local Spanish-influenced dialect.
Cities like Dallas come to mind when one says "assimilation into general US culture." Miami? Not so much.
This might sound pedantic but I think New Orleans has more identity while Miami has a stronger identity.
Miami has a stronger identity because it's identity is more known throughout the world. The identity projects to more people. But it is so well known, so diverse, so internationally oriented that it's actual identity is lessened a little bit and becomes slightly watered down and corporate. There is no equivalent force like that acting on New Orleans. It's 100% itself.
On the uniqueness and flavor scale, New Orleans wins for me.
On the fame scale, Miami by far. NO is more of a US brand vs. Miami's global brand.
Just read the other responses after posting mine and mhays said it better what I was trying to say
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