The 2020 #Corolla and myself in Wynwood, Florida. 📸 Dawn Gibson Thigpen
Is there a better way to see South Florida’s best sights?
I live in Miami. Latin culture is everywhere. So while we regularly enjoy ceviche and mojitos, it’s even better when you get to dive in with with experts who can show you what you’re missing.
And, when you get to hang out with one of your favorite car brands while doing so. This past week, I celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with Toyota by driving the all-new striking and very sporty 2020 Corolla around Miami. During our time, we visited several different locations and indulged in the Latin culture, including Little Havana, Wynwood, Hialeah, and North Beach. And it was a great time. As many Latinos say, WEPA!!!!!
I had a blast driving the 2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE. I fell in love as soon as I got behind the wheel. Let me tell you, I felt like one cool chica. It’s zippy, easy to drive, easy to park and filled with great features that will spoil you. And a town like Miami, where everything is fun and beautiful, this sporty little car fits right in.
The starting price on this baby is $23,100.00, a nice bang for your buck considering all that you get: a cabin that is comfortable all of the latest technology. Check out a few of the specs and features:
- 53 city mpg
- Smart key system
- 8-in. touch-screen
- 7-in. color driver information display with multi-function option, so you can set up how you want
- LED headlights and taillights
- Hybrid power mode, so you can drive economically when you want, or not
- TSS – Toyota Safety Sense driver-assist system, which includes pre-collision braking, pedestrian detection, lane departure alert with steering assist, automatic high beam headlights, road sign assist, lane trace assist (which helps you stay in your lane!) and adaptive cruise control
Related: Hispanic Heritage Month: Travel With Purpose
The 2020 #Corolla matched my outfit perfectly; here we are in Wynwood, FL.📸 Dawn Gibson Thigpen
Who Drives the Toyota Corolla?
It’s small, easy to drive and filled with great features, so it’s a good choice for most everyone. And, it was the perfect choice for this adventure. But the Corolla is also a major staple within the Hispanic Community. Check out a few impressive stats below…
- 49.8% of Corolla buyers are multicultural
- More than 62% are Hispanic
- Corolla has the highest share of first-time Hispanic buyers than any other car in this segment
With the Corolla lined up and ready to go, our first stop was Little Havana, where we drank “Cafecito” (coffee) and played Dominoes.
Related: Toyota Rav4: A Small SUV Big on Adventure
Interior of the 2020 Corolla.📸 Dawn Gibson Thigpen
You Can’t Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month Without These
Latin culture is known for music, food, and drinks. These are some of the things we explored:
- Cafecito: a warm cup of espresso, Cuban style- a nice cup of Cafecito is a must in the morning! It is a nice pick me up to get the day started.
- Dominoes: we played this traditional game when we stopped for a cafe or a drink at the end of the day
- Latin cuisine: the most flavorful food ever! It was fun to dig into a Vegan Reuben and to sample the Cuban staples at El Pub in Little Havana
- Latin music & art: two of my favs – with- great tunes in the car we followed the scenic route to Wynwood where we found some great murals (like the one in the photo above)
- Walter Mercado: ICONIC! The bathroom at Stephen’s Delicatessen is decorated with the face of legendary Walter Mercado a famous Spanish soap opera actor/dancer, and writer who later became the most famous astrologer and the Latin Community adores (and worships) him.
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- Cafecito. 📸Dawn Gibson Thigpen
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- Inside El pub Restaurant. 📸 Dawn Gibson Thigpen
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- Vegan Ruben. 📸 Dawn Gibson Thigpen
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- The bathroom at Stephens. 📸 Dawn Gibson Thigpen
Bottoms Up, Mi Gente!
The Broadmoor Miami Beach is located on North Beach and makes the most delicious and thirst-quenching drinks. The drink shown above is called, “something.tonic.lime.” It was a fitting toast to Hispanic Heritage Month with Toyota.
It was so much fun indulging in Latino culture. And if you haven’t visited these places, I highly recommend them! When you visit the Miami area, take the time to explore and create your own HHM memories. Miami is such a fun, colorful place filled with culture, good food, and people. You cannot go wrong.
Cheers!
The Something.tonic.lime nonalcoholic drink from the Broadmoor Miami Beach. 📸 Dawn Gibson Thigpen
Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!
What We Listened to While we Toured Miami in the Toyota Corolla
Tunes are ALWAYS important, but in Miami, a great playlist is critical. This is what got us going as we toured around in the Corolla.
Disclosure: The vehicle was provided to me for testing purposes and editorial consideration. All opinions are 100% my own
Dawn Thigpen
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I would like to appreciate the whole post, but its all wrong on the Latino details. Maybe have a Latina write next time? Not all Latino’s say Wepa, that’s strictly a Puerto Rican thing, its NOT said by all latinos. Walter Mercado was a Puerto Rican actor turned astrologer/ tv personality NOT a SPANISH Actor, as you are only spanish if you are from Spain. We the latino community speak Spanish but we are not all Spanish. We are either Latino or Hispanic or both depending on what country we identify with and if we have ancestry from Spain. Again we are not all Spanish and neither was Walter Mercado. This post has good intentions but it is at the same time it needed more research on who its mentioning, or it needed a Latina/o/x view, especially since its for Hispanic Heritage Month.
Thank you for sharing your views. While we did not have a Latina writer cover this event, we did want to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and shed a light on it.
P.S. our writer had a blast celebrating and learning about Hispanic Heritage Month. She interacted with Puerto Rican writers while there who taught her fun words such as -Wepa. But in the article, she does not state that all Latinos say this nor does she call Walter Mercado “Spanish.”She also learned about Walter Mercado who was well celebrated in the restaurant mentioned. He was an actor, astrologer, dancer- an icon. Thanks for stopping by!