United States Capitol Historical Society

From Havana to DC: The Rise of Cuban Americans in Florida Politics with Carlos Orta

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Join us for a webinar on Carlos Orta’s new book, From Havana to DC, in our latest book talk on congressional history.

From Havana to DC: The Rise of Cuban Americans in Florida Politics is a “love letter” to the first group of Cuban Americans appointed or elected to political and public office from Miami.

As a former legislative aide, he had the opportunity to work with most of them. It also speaks to the Cuban community’s drive, force, focus, and ingenuity of Cuban immigrants, who, within a generation, went from zero elected officials to electing the first Latina and first Cuban American to the United States Congress.

Like all USCHS programs, this webinar is free and open to the public; registration is required.


With a profound understanding of the public, private, and nonprofit sectors and their intersection with the U.S. Latino community and its leadership, Carlos Orta has earned a reputation as a trusted and strategic leader. His contributions have garnered recognition from various institutions and publications, including a CINE Golden Eagle and two Bronze Tellys for an award-winning short documentary film series called “Insider Game” and an award from the PR Council for an in-house corporate DE&I campaign.

He has unique insights and knowledge gained at five global Fortune 500 companies: Anheuser-Busch, Carnival Corporation, Ford Motor Company, Tyson Foods and Waste Management. Those opportunities have taken him to Atlanta, Detroit, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Miami and Arkansas. His areas of expertise encompass government relations, communications, DE&I, nonprofit management, and philanthropy.

Currently, he is working on a master’s degree at Georgetown University. A lifelong learner, he holds executive education certificates from Cornell (DE&I), Harvard Business School (Corporate Governance), and UCLA (Latino Leadership).

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