The city of Miami, Florida, has been nicknamed the “capital of Latin America.” The source of the nickname is usually credited to Ecuadorian President-elect Jaime Roldós Aguilera (1940-1981), who visited Miami in July 1979 for the Trade Fair of the Americas.
 
However, Charles W. Helser, executive vice president of the Miami Chamber of Commerce, said in 1927 that Miami was the unofficial capital of Latin America. A headline in The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) on December 13, 1978, was “The new capital of Latin America.”
 
   
Wikipedia: Miami
Miami (/maɪˈæmi/ or /maɪˈæmə/) is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County. The 42nd largest city proper in the United States, with a population of 413,892, it is the principal, central, and most populous city of the Miami metropolitan area, and the most populous metropolis in the Southeastern United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Miami’s metro area is the eighth most populous and fourth-largest urban area in the United States, with a population of around 5.5 million.
 
Miami is a major center and a leader in finance, commerce, culture, media, entertainment, the arts, and international trade. In 2010, Miami was classified as an Alpha- World City in the World Cities Study Group’s inventory. In 2010, Miami ranked seventh in the United States in terms of finance, commerce, culture, entertainment, fashion, education, and other sectors. It ranked thirty-third among global cities. In 2008, Forbes magazine ranked Miami “America’s Cleanest City”, for its year-round good air quality, vast green spaces, clean drinking water, clean streets and city-wide recycling programs. According to a 2009 UBS study of 73 world cities, Miami was ranked as the richest city in the United States, and the world’s fifth-richest city in terms of purchasing power. Miami is nicknamed the “Capital of Latin America”, is the second-largest U.S. city (after El Paso, Texas) with a Spanish-speaking majority, and the largest city with a Cuban-American plurality.
 
Wikipedia: Jaime Roldós Aguilera
Jaime Roldós Aguilera (November 5, 1940 – May 24, 1981) was President of Ecuador from 10 August 1979 to 24 May 1981. In his short tenure, he became known for his firm stance on human rights. His death in a plane crash gave rise to speculation of involvement by the United States government in the accident.
 
18 August 1927, Portsmouth (NH) Herald, “Florida Man Speaker at Rotary Club,” pg. 4, col. 4:
Charles W. Helser, executive vice president of the Miami, Fla., Chamber of Commerce, was the speaker at the Rotary club luncheon held this afternoon at the Rockingham Hotel. He was introduced by Arthur B. Duncan and chose as his subject: “The Significance of Miami.”
 
He said that Miami is the unofficial capital of Latin America and as such is doing much work to foster the patronage of Latin America.
 
13 December 1978, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), pg. 17-A, col. 2:
The new capital of Latin America
Spanish-speaking tourists, businessmen drawn to Miami
Washington Post
 
Google News Archive
23 July 1979, Sarasota (FL) Herald-Tribune, pg. 3, col. 3:
Trade Fair Beings In Miami
MIAMI (AP)—A carnival atmosphere prevailed as the second annual Trade Fair of the Americas got underway here Saturday with American and Latin officials lauding the event as a shot in the arm for international trade and friendship.
(...)
Ecuadorian President-elect Jaime Roldos cut the inaugural ribbon calling Miami “one of the most-loved American cities in Latin America.”
       
Google News Archive
8 May 1980, Ridgefield (CT) Press, “Cuba: Bringing Suffering to Light,” sec. B, pg. 8, col. 1:   
Since Castro came to power, 500,000 Cubans have swelled Miami’s population and its economy, making it, in many ways, the “capital” of Latin America.
 
21 September 1980, New York (NY) Times, “The Latinization of Miami” by Herbert Buckholz, mafgazine sec., pg. SM11:
“The capital of Latin America” is what President Jaime Roldos of Ecuador dubbed Miami last year during an address to a group of hemispheric businessmen and bankers.
 
Google Books
Latin America & Caribbean
Saffron Walden, England: World of Information
1983  
Pg. 36:
State officials believe Miami has unequivocally earned its reputation as the gateway to the Americas. The late Ecuadorean President Jaime Roldos took that description rather further when he called Miami ‘the capital of Latin America’.
 
29 June 1983, Boston (MA) Globe, “Miami: Latin Capital in Exile” by Ben Bradlee Jr., pg. 1:
Indeed, many now refer to Miami as the capital of Latin America.
 
Google News Archive
23 November 1990, Lawrence (KS) Journal-World, pg. 1B, col. 2:
New era
Miami grows into “capital” of Latin America
By DAN SEWELL
Associated Press Writer
 
Time magazine
Miami: the Capital of Latin America
By Cathy Booth/Miami Thursday, Dec. 02, 1993
By the time the first tourist hits the sand at Sunny Isles, Peruvian TV producer Jose Crousillat has been working the phones for hours, checking on his offices in Milan and Madrid. By afternoon he is in the Capitalvision studios videotaping Guadalupe, his latest Spanish-language telenovela, seen around the globe.
     
VDARE
Tom Tancredo vs. Third World Miami, “Capital Of Latin America”
By Marcus Epstein on December 13, 2006 at 2:00am
[VDARE.COM note:  Breaking news! Congressman   Tom Tancredo has been forced to cancel the speech discussed here, which was to be given at the   Miami Rotary Club, [send them   mail] because of bomb threats received and the danger from protesters: ...
 
Miami (FL) Today
June 20, 2013
Miami: Latin America meets here
By Vanessa Zambrano
The XIX Inter-American Conference of Mayors and Local Authorities this week brought public officials from Latin America to Miami once again.
 
The three-day annual event, organized by the Miami-Dade County and Florida International University, brought together more than 600 mayors and local government officials from 28 countries of the Western Hemisphere, as well as members of international organizations and US government agencies.
 
The event has been held ever since Miami-Dade County Commissioner Javier D. Souto had the idea while speaking to a friend, a former Peruvian mayor, 19 years ago.
   
“Miami is the capital of Latin America, it is full of business opportunities, banks and connections,” Mr. Souto said during the introductory remarks Tuesday.