Once the headquarters of the Miami News, Miami’s iconic Freedom Tower has long been a symbol of freedom for Cuban refugees and has been dubbed the “Ellis Island of the South.”
It even made an appearance in the 1983 blockbuster “Scarface.”
Now a contemporary art museum and offices for Miami Dade College, the 17-story building has officially become the headquarters for a “Media Hub of the Americas,” under an agreement between the U.S. Department of State and the college, the Miami Herald reported. The State Department will use the office for engaging Spanish-language and Portuguese media, and hosting foreign dignitaries.
“It’s very significant for Miami. We’ve been after this for three years to convince them to do that,” Miami Dade College President Eduardo Padrón told the Herald.
“It’s sort of the extension of the podium for U.S. policy in the Americas … and the 30 to 40 million Americans who get their news in Spanish,” State Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Valerie Fowler told the Miami Herald. [Miami Herald] — Kristina Puga