The best local handicrafts and artisanal items, from our online worldwide Authentic Shopping Guide.
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Bustelo coffee
Strong, inexpensive, espresso-like Cuban coffee grounds; sold in every grocery store in Miami.
Guayabera
A men's shirt popular in Latin America and the Caribbean (particularly in Cuba), button-down with four patch pockets on the front and tiny pleats running vertically along the front and back. The style has now been adapted for women, with sexy strapless linen guayabera-style tops and matching capri pants or guayabera dresses with halter necklines; sold at guayabera shops throughout Miami.
Handmade cigars
Cuban exiles smoke a mix of leaves primarily from Nicaragua and Honduras. Find some of the best at El Titan de Bronze on Southwest 8th Street and Padron Cigars on Southwest 1st Street.
Mariquita Perez doll
Handmade Spanish baby doll that was all the rage in Latin America in the 1940s and '50s, when it was owned by the likes of Eva Paron, Gina Lollobrigida, and all the Latin American presidents' daughters. It was widely said that anyone who was someone important must own a Mariquita Perez. Sold at Delicias de Espana, a Spanish restaurant-store at 4016 SW 57 Ave., Miami; tel. +1 305 669 4485. www.deliciasdeespana.com
Patron Saint Candles
Tall, glass-encased candles with screened images and words devoted to individual saints that are lit when the user needs help (Saint Joseph for work and job issues, Saint Lazarus for healing, Lady of Mount Carmel for family matters, Saint Anthony to return lost items and loves, etc.); found in Little Havana botanicas (Santeria stores) and most Miami grocery stores (in the candles aisle).
