Tampa's population soared from 1000 to 16,000 in about a decade due to Cuban immigration to work in cigar factories. Some Spanish and Italians also. So, not only were Tampa's Cubans not fleeing Castro, its now the 3rd or 4th generation. And Tampa's Cuban population isn't seeing massive growth. The increase in Hispanic demographics is due to other Latinos, primarily Puerto Ricans and Colombians.

Miami wasn't even founded until the 20s, and didn't see a mass influx of Cubans until the early 60s... not that there weren't any, just not in big numbers.

Seriously, I have no idea where people get all their misinformation about Florida's Hispanic demographics. It seems most of it is pulled out of the ass of someone who has never been here, let alone met a Cuban-American or any other Latino.
And, I'll add that the Cuban Sandwich was a Tampa invention, not from Miami.

and it isn't because they are stupid, it's because the corporate media has never felt compelled to reveal even the simplest truths about it.

It has always been to the greatest advantage to keep the public in the dark, making it so much easier to sway with propaganda when it was felt necessary for political reasons.

U.S. Americans have often expressed surprize discovering people in other countries seem to know so much more about world events and politics. They should ask themselves why it is we have learned so little!

I have spoken with my state's senator's and representatives offices about their Cuba positions. In speaking with my state's Republican Senator's people, a man told me that the senator. a lock-step Republican was in Cuba, in a cab, and was amazed to discover the driver even knew about current Cuba legislation pending before Congress at the time of their discussion!

Very interesting to get to the truth about the Cuban sandwich, to, by God, after all these years of hearing exiles, and exiles-in-marriage boast and rave on about their love for that creation! One, living in the North East told a Miami exile getting her next Cuban sandwich fix was her first plan for her next visit back in Miami, all shared with posters at a message board populated mostly by exiles around the time of Elian Gozalez, the "exile"-held kid in Miami.

One well known Tampa Cuban in American history is, of course, the humongous Mafia criminal, Santos Trafficante. He lived loudly, wielded a lot of power in Tampa.

And Trafficante wasn't the only mobster. Tampa has a long history of organized crime: bolita, prohibition, prostitution, drug-smuggling, corruption... wasn't squashed until the 1980s, although smaller organized criminals still pop up from time to time. Latest is "pill-mills", which freely dispense oxycontin, etc for "pain"; several groups committing ID and tax-return fraud, and staging fake auto accidents. Cops tend to go after low-hanging fruit, until criminal activity can no longer be ignored.

This development will stop the endless, vile, and disparaging things said about Miami and its Cuban population that is so common in this forum.

It's exactly as we've been saying but there is a shift going on due to demographics, however the miami thuglicans still have power over Cuba policy, so you'll still hear the same characterizations of those in Miami when referring to congressional politics. Otherwise I doubt that we ever painted Miamians with the broad brush you suggest, most right wingers like to make this claim you've written here - same defensive but incorrect posture.