MIAMI — Oscar Hijuelos stopped abruptly on Calle Ocho at a mural of Latino celebrities. “Wow,” he said, pointing to colorful portraits of people he knew: Celia Cruz, Cuba’s queen of salsa, and Tito Puente, the drummer extraordinaire.
“They used to send me Christmas cards,” Mr. Hijuelos said. He chuckled at the thought, his eyes bright as a child’s, his pale, bald forehead wet with sweat. Even without a camera, he had come to resemble what he admits he is here in Miami: a tourist.