All language subtitles for Aerial Cities Series 1 4of6 Miami 24 1080p

THERE ARE SOME THINGS

THAT ARE JUST IMPOSSIBLE
TO MISS IN MIAMI...

LIKE THE PACKED BEACHES
THAT LINE ITS SHORES,

THE PEACEFUL WATERS
OF ITS BISCAYNE BAY,

AND EVEN THE CROWDED WINDOWS
OF ITS CUBAN CAFES.

BUT WHEN YOU SPEND
A DAY IN THE SKIES

OVER THIS FLORIDA METROPOLIS,

YOU ALSO DISCOVER
THAT IT TAKES HARD WORK

TO KEEP MIAMI RUNNING 24/7.

THERE ARE THOSE WHO BATTLE
BAD WEATHER AND ROUGH SEAS...

OTHERS WHO PUT
THEIR LIVES AT RISK

TO PROTECT AMERICA’S SHORES...

AND EVEN THOSE WHO WORK
THROUGH THE NIGHT

IN A MAD RACE AGAINST TIME.

SO MUCH HAPPENS IN A DAY
IN THE LIFE OF MIAMI,

IT CAN BE HARD TO FATHOM.

AND WHEN THE SUN STARTS TO SET,
THIS METROPOLIS COMES ALIVE

LIKE NO OTHER PLACE IN AMERICA.

WITH THE COLORFUL GLOW
OF OCEAN DRIVE,

EXPLOSIONS OF LIGHT AND SOUND,

AND EVEN HARD-FOUGHT GAMES
THAT GET PLAYED HIGH IN THE SKY.

ALL THIS IN JUST ONE DAY ON
THE LANDS AND WATERS OF MIAMI.

♪

♪

♪

IT’S ALMOST 6:00 A.M.,
AND THE FIRST MORNING LIGHT

IS JUST BEGINNING
TO PEEK THROUGH

THE TOWERS OF DOWNTOWN MIAMI.

THIS CITY THRIVES LIKE NO OTHER
ON SUNLIGHT.

♪

AS DAWN BREAKS OVER MIAMI BEACH,

TEAMS OF HOTEL STAFF RACE TO
STAKE OUT A PLACE IN THE SUN

FOR THEIR GUESTS

BEFORE MANY OF THEM
ARE EVEN AWAKE.

EACH HOTEL’S UNIQUELY COLORED
BEACH CHAIRS,

CABANAS, AND TOWELS

ALL GET FRESHLY
LAID OUT ON THE SAND.

IT’S A DAILY RITUAL
THAT’S A BIG PART

OF WHAT GIVES MIAMI
ITS SIGNATURE STYLE.

NEARBY A GROUP OF YOGIS
IS ALREADY EMBRACING

SOUTH FLORIDA’S FIRST LIGHT.

♪

BUT NOT EVERYONE IN MIAMI
STARTS THEIR DAY ON THE BEACH.

ESPECIALLY NOT
CRANE OPERATOR TIMMY GOMES.

EVERY MORNING, TO GET TO WORK

HE HAS TO CLIMB UP
AN 80-STORY CRANE

THAT CLINGS TO THE OUTSIDE

OF ONE OF MIAMI’S
HIGHEST SKYSCRAPERS.

IT’S CALLED PANORAMA TOWER.

BY THE TIME TIMMY REACHES
THE TOP OF HIS CRANE

AND STARTS RUNNING
THROUGH A DAILY CHECK

OF THE CRANE’S
PULLEYS AND CABLES,

HE HAS THE HIGHEST PERCH
IN FLORIDA.

THE PANORAMA IS
THE TALLEST STRUCTURE

ON THE EASTERN SEABOARD
OUTSIDE OF NEW YORK CITY.

THAT MEANS THAT EVERY DAY TIMMY
HAS THE BEST VIEW IMAGINABLE

OF THE LANDS AND WATERS
THAT ARE KNOWN AS MIAMI.

BUT THE NAME MIAMI
REFERS TO MUCH MORE

THAN JUST A SINGLE CITY.

FIRST, THERE’S THE RIVER
FOR WHICH MIAMI WAS NAMED.

NATIVE AMERICANS CALLED IT
MAYAMI, OR BIG WATERS.

SURROUNDING
THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER

IS THE CITY OF MIAMI ITSELF,
WHICH LINES BISCAYNE BAY.

TO THE EAST IS THE SEPARATE CITY
OF MIAMI BEACH,

WHICH COVERS AT LEAST
15 DIFFERENT ISLANDS.

THEN, THERE’S MIAMI-DADE COUNTY,

WHICH STRETCHES OUT ACROSS
MORE THAN 2,000 SQUARE MILES

BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC COAST
TO THE EAST

AND THE EVERGLADES TO THE WEST.

THERE ARE 84 MILES OF SHORELINE
IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY,

INCLUDING 22 MILES OF BEACHES.

AND THAT MAKES
THIS PART OF FLORIDA

A BIG CHALLENGE
FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT.

IT’S 10:00 A.M.,
AND WELL-EQUIPPED AGENTS

ABOARD A BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER
ARE PATROLLING THE SHORELINE.

WITH ITS PROXIMITY TO
THE CARIBBEAN AND THE BAHAMAS,

MIAMI HAS LONG BEEN
A FAVORED DESTINATION

FOR DRUG TRAFFICKERS.

TODAY THESE SHORES
ARE HEAVILY GUARDED,

BUT IN THE 1970s
FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

HAD VERY LITTLE PRESENCE HERE
ALONG SOUTH FLORIDA’S COAST.

THAT’S WHEN TRAFFICKERS

WORKING WITH THE MEDELLIN CARTEL
IN COLOMBIA

DISCOVERED THAT
IT WAS EASY TO SMUGGLE

ENORMOUS QUANTITIES OF COCAINE
INTO MIAMI

ON THE WATER AND IN THE AIR
WITHOUT GETTING CAUGHT.

THE MEN AND WOMEN
WHO RAN THOSE OPERATIONS

CAME TO BE KNOWN AS
THE COCAINE COWBOYS.

MANY BELIEVE THAT
THEY PAID OFF THE POLICE

TO KEEP THEIR SHIPMENTS COMING.

WITH SO MUCH DRUG MONEY
FLOWING THROUGH MIAMI,

IT SOON BECAME
THE BANKING CAPITAL OF AMERICA.

IN THOSE DAYS, A STEADY STREAM
OF SMUGGLERS AND DEALERS

SIMPLY WALKED THROUGH THE DOORS
OF MIAMI’S BANKS

WITH SUITCASES FULL OF CASH.

AT THE TIME,
BANKS WEREN’T YET REQUIRED

TO AUDIT SOURCES
OF CASH DEPOSITS,

WHICH MADE IT EASY
TO LAUNDER DRUG MONEY.

ONCE THE MONEY HAD MADE
ITS WAY INTO BANKS,

LAW FIRMS AND
OFFSHORE CORPORATIONS,

IT WAS OFTEN INVESTED
IN PROPERTY.

IN FACT, MANY NEW BUILDINGS
IN DOWNTOWN MIAMI

IN THE 1970s AND ’80s

WERE PAID FOR WITH PROFITS
FROM COCAINE.

THIS EMPTY LOT ON NORTH BAY ROAD
WAS ONCE COVERED

BY THE VAST, PINK
WATERFRONT ESTATE

OF COLOMBIAN DRUG LORD
PABLO ESCOBAR,

HEAD OF THE MEDELLIN CARTEL.

HE BOUGHT THE HOUSE IN 1980

AND IS SAID TO HAVE USED
THE DOCK OUT FRONT

TO RECEIVE SHIPMENTS
OF CASH AND COCAINE.

FEDERAL AUTHORITIES
SEIZED THE PROPERTY,

AND IT WAS EVENTUALLY BULLDOZED
BY NEW OWNERS IN 2016.

BY 1979 RIVAL DRUG GANGS
HAD STARTED TURNING MIAMI

INTO THE MURDER CAPITAL
OF AMERICA.

ON JULY 11th, A DEADLY SHOOTOUT
INSIDE A LIQUOR STORE

HERE AT THE DADELAND MALL
SOUTH OF DOWNTOWN

KICKED OFF THE BLOODBATH.

IT CAME TO BE KNOWN AS
THE DADELAND MASSACRE.

IN 1981, THERE WERE MORE THAN
600 KILLINGS IN MIAMI.

FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES
MOVED IN

TO SHUT DOWN THE OPERATIONS
OF THE COCAINE COWBOYS

AND STOP THE VIOLENCE.

THE LAST OF THE MAJOR SMUGGLERS,
A MAN NAMED GUSTAVO FALCON

MANAGED TO EVADE AUTHORITIES
FOR 26 YEARS,

BUT WAS FINALLY CAPTURED
IN APRIL 2017 IN ORLANDO.

TODAY, CARTELS STILL TRY
AND GET DRUGS INTO MIAMI,

BUT IT’S MUCH HARDER NOW.

AGENTS LIKE THESE, FROM U.S.
CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION,

KEEP A CAREFUL EYE
ON SOUTH FLORIDA’S COAST 24/7.

THEY DO IT WITH A WIDE ARRAY
OF ASSETS,

FROM HELICOPTERS TO BALLOONS
TO POWERFUL, FAST BOATS.

AND EVERY DAY OUT ON THE WATER,
THEY TRAIN HARD.

THESE TWO MEN ARE
ACTUALLY FEDERAL AGENTS

TAKING PART IN
AN INTERCEPT TRAINING EXERCISE.

ONE OF THEM IS MASKED SINCE
HE OFTEN WORKS UNDERCOVER.

USING A FAST BOAT JUST LIKE
THE SMUGGLERS DO,

THEY’LL TRY TO REACH LAND
BEFORE THEY’RE STOPPED.

FOR MORE THAN FIVE YEARS,
THE TELEVISION SERIES MIAMI VICE

WAS FILMED IN AND AROUND
MIAMI BEACH.

AND NOW, WITH NEW FILMS
AND TELEVISION SHOWS

BEING SHOT HERE ALL THE TIME,

IT CAN BE HARD TO KNOW WHAT’S
REAL LIFE OUT HERE ON THE WATER

AND WHAT’S NOT.

THE DRUG RUNNERS
AND HUMAN TRAFFICKERS

THAT U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER
PROTECTION INTERCEPT

COME FROM ISLANDS ACROSS
THE CARIBBEAN AND THE BAHAMAS.

OUT HERE, DRUG RUNNERS HOPE
THEY WON’T BE SPOTTED.

AS THEY MAKE THEIR WAY CLOSER

TO THE MANY INLETS
ALONG THE MIAMI SHORELINE,

WHERE THEY CAN TRANSFER
THEIR DRUGS TO DEALERS

OR SIMPLY DROP THEM OFF
IN THE WATER FOR PICKUP.

BUT WHEN U.S. CUSTOMS
AND BORDER PROTECTION

IDENTIFIES POTENTIAL SUSPECTS,

IT CAN TAKE TIGHT COORDINATION
BY AGENTS IN THE AIR

AND ON THE WATER
TO GET THEM TO STOP.

BY USING TWO MARINE
INTERCEPTOR CREWS,

AGENTS PRACTICE
KEEPING SMUGGLERS

FROM MAKING SHARP TURNS
AS THEY TRY AND GET AWAY.

THE GOAL IS TO KEEP PUSHING THEM
CLOSER AND CLOSER TO LAND.

OFTEN TRAFFICKERS
ARE HEAVILY ARMED,

WHICH MEANS AGENTS LIKE THESE
HAVE TO BE VIGILANT

WHENEVER THEY APPROACH
A SUSPECT VESSEL.

AND WHEN SMUGGLERS STILL TRY
AND OUTRUN THE AGENTS,

THE BLACK HAWK ABOVE IS EQUIPPED
WITH A WEAPONS SYSTEM

CAPABLE OF TAKING OUT
A BOAT’S OUTBOARD ENGINES

WITH A SINGLE SHOT.

THE TWO AGENTS
ACTING AS SMUGGLERS

DO EXACTLY WHAT MOST
REAL SUSPECTS DO

WHEN FEDERAL AGENTS CLOSE IN.

THEY SLOW THEIR MOTORS
AND GIVE UP.

HANDS RAISED, THEY ALLOW
THEMSELVES TO BE CUFFED

AND SUBMIT TO ARREST
ON THEIR KNEES.

♪

THERE’S ALMOST ALWAYS
HIGH DRAMA HAPPENING

SOMEWHERE IN MIAMI 24/7,

BUT THERE ARE ALSO PLACES

ALONG THIS STRETCH
OF SOUTH FLORIDA COAST

THAT REMAIN ALMOST AS QUIET
AS THEY WERE CENTURIES AGO.

AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM:

THE MANGROVE-COVERED SHORELINE
OF BISCAYNE NATIONAL PARK.

LONG BEFORE EUROPEAN SETTLERS
ARRIVED IN SOUTH FLORIDA,

A NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBE
CALLED THE TEQUESTA

INHABITED THIS COASTAL AREA.

THEY SURVIVED BY GATHERING
PLANTS AND BERRIES

AND FISHING IN THE WATERS
OF BISCAYNE BAY.

TODAY, FROM THE AIR, MANATEES
CAN OFTEN BE SPOTTED HERE

AS MOVING SHADOWS
IN THESE SHALLOW WATERS.

THEY HAVE BEEN CALLED
GENTLE GIANTS

AND ARE THE OFFICIAL STATE
MARINE MAMMAL OF FLORIDA.

MANATEES USUALLY SURFACE
EVERY THREE TO FIVE MINUTES,

BUT THEY CAN STAY UNDERWATER
FOR UP TO 20.

♪

WHAT MAKES THIS
NATIONAL PARK UNIQUE

IS THAT MOST OF IT IS WATER,
NOT LAND.

THE AREA OF BISCAYNE BAY

THAT LIES CLOSEST TO MIAMI
AND MIAMI BEACH

IS FILLED WITH MANMADE ISLANDS
LIKE THESE

THAT ARE KNOWN AS THE VENETIANS.

NEARBY LIES STAR ISLAND.

WHICH MAY BE MIAMI BEACH’S
MOST FAMOUS,

THANKS TO THE CELEBRITIES
WHO HAVE LIVED HERE,

INCLUDING GLORIA ESTEFAN
AND SEAN "P. DIDDY" COMBS.

TO KEEP THE DEVELOPMENT
OF ISLANDS AND WATERFRONT LAND

FROM GETTING OUT OF CONTROL
IN AND AROUND MIAMI,

THE LARGEST PART
OF BISCAYNE BAY,

WHICH LIES SOUTHEAST
OF DOWNTOWN,

WAS PLACED UNDER PROTECTION
IN 1968.

TODAY, THIS NATIONAL PARK COVERS
MORE THAN 170,000 ACRES

AND INCLUDES ANCIENT CORAL REEFS

AND THE NORTHERNMOST ISLANDS
OF THE FLORIDA KEYS.

BUT RIGHT ON THE EDGE
OF THIS NATIONAL PARK

LIES A SURPRISING HABITAT.

A NUCLEAR PLANT THAT’S ALSO HOME

TO HUNDREDS OF THE LARGEST
REPTILE SPECIES IN THE U.S.,

AND THEY’RE NOT FLORIDA’S
FAMOUS GATORS.

IN THE 1930s A MIAMI FISHERMAN
KNOWN AS "CRAWFISH" EDDIE

DECIDED TO BUILD A SHACK
ON STILTS IN BISCAYNE BAY,

SO HE COULD SELL BAIT
TO HIS FELLOW FISHERMEN.

OTHERS FOLLOWED,

AND SOON THERE WERE
MORE THAN A DOZEN STRUCTURES

HOVERING OVER THE BAY.

THE COMMUNITY CAME TO BE
KNOWN AS STILTSVILLE.

BY THE 1960s, THERE WERE
BARS AND CLUBS OUT HERE, TOO,

AND THEY LURED MANY OF MIAMI’S

MOST PRESTIGIOUS LAWYERS,
BANKERS, AND POLITICIANS.

THERE WAS ALSO A BAR
IN A GROUNDED SHIP,

NAMED THE BIKINI CLUB,

SINCE IT OFFERED FREE DRINKS
TO WOMEN IN BIKINIS

BEFORE IT WAS RAIDED
AND SHUT DOWN.

THE MOST FAMOUS
STILTSVILLE STRUCTURES,

INCLUDING CRAWFISH EDDIE’S
ORIGINAL SHACK,

WERE DESTROYED BY HURRICANES.

BUT THIS ONE,
OWNED BY JIMMY ELLENBURG,

WHO WAS OFTEN CALLED
THE MAYOR OF STILTSVILLE,

IS STILL STANDING.

BY 1999, THE STATE OF FLORIDA

STARTED FORCING THE LAST
RESIDENTS HERE TO LEAVE.

PEOPLE STILL COME HERE TO FISH,

BUT NO ONE LIVES
IN STILTSVILLE ANYMORE.

THE SOUNDS OF ITS NIGHTLIFE
ARE GONE,

AND ONE DAY THE LAST REMAINING
SHACKS HERE MAY BE, TOO.

♪

BUT PARTYING ON THE WATER
IS STILL BIG IN MIAMI.

AND THE MOST FAMOUS WEEKEND
WATERING HOLE TODAY

IS A PLACE CALLED
HAULOVER SANDBAR.

IT LIES IN
THE INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY,

BETWEEN MIAMI’S BARRIER ISLANDS
AND THE MAINLAND.

ONCE, THIS WAS A QUIET PLACE
TO MEET FRIENDS.

NOW, HUNDREDS COME TO BLAST
MUSIC, DANCE, AND TAKE SELFIES.

FOOD BOATS ALSO PLY
THESE WAIST-DEEP WATERS.

THE MIAMI-DADE FIRE DEPARTMENT
LETS EVERYONE KNOW

THERE’S HELP NEARBY.

BUT HUMANS AREN’T THE ONLY ONES
IN MIAMI-DADE

WHO SPEND THEIR DAYS
BASKING IN THE SUN.

ONE OF AMERICA’S TOP PREDATORS
DOES, TOO,

AND NOT IN A PLACE WHERE MANY
PEOPLE WOULD WANT TO SUNBATHE.

THESE CANALS AND BERMS

ARE PART OF THE TURKEY POINT
NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION

JUST SOUTH OF MIAMI.

THEY WERE BUILT TO COOL
THE HEATED WATER

FROM THE NUCLEAR REACTORS

INSTEAD OF SENDING IT
INTO BISCAYNE BAY.

IN 1978, WORKERS
HERE AT TURKEY POINT

MADE AN AMAZING DISCOVERY.

THEY HAPPENED TO SPOT A NEST
OF BABY AMERICAN CROCODILES

ON ONE OF THESE BERMS.

AT THE TIME, THIS SPECIES
OF CROC WAS ENDANGERED.

THERE HAVE LONG BEEN MILLIONS
OF ALLIGATORS IN FLORIDA,

WHICH IS WHY SO MANY OF THEM
END UP IN PEOPLE’S BACKYARDS.

BUT IN THE 1970s THERE WERE JUST
A FEW HUNDRED AMERICAN CROCS

LEFT IN THE WILD IN THE U.S.

UP CLOSE IT’S EASY TO TELL THESE
TWO PREDATOR REPTILES APART.

AMERICAN CROCS HAVE A MUCH
LONGER SNOUT THAN GATORS.

HOPING THESE WARM CANALS
WOULD PROVIDE

A SUITABLE BREEDING GROUND
FOR THE CROCS,

THE PLANT STARTED A PROGRAM
TO MONITOR AND PROTECT THEM.

OVER TIME, THE POPULATION GREW.

NOW THERE ARE MORE THAN
400 AMERICAN CROCODILES

HERE AT TURKEY POINT ALONE

AND MORE THAN 2,000 TOTAL
ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA.

THEY ARE NO LONGER ON
THE ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST.

THESE PREDATORS SPEND MOST
OF THEIR DAYS WAITING PATIENTLY

TO STRIKE POTENTIAL PREY.

IN SOUTH FLORIDA,

CROCS AND GATORS OFTEN SHARE
THE SAME WATERY HABITATS,

AND WHEN THEY BATTLE,

AMERICAN CROCS ARE ALMOST
ALWAYS THE VICTORS.

IT’S 12:55 P.M. JUST OVER
A MILE OFF SOUTH BEACH.

A STORM IS MOVING IN,

AND SHIP PILOT JON NITKIN IS
POUNDING HIS WAY OUT TO SEA

TO DO ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT JOBS IN MIAMI.

HE HAS MORE THAN
TWO MORE MILES TO GO,

AND THE SWELLS ARE
ONLY GETTING BIGGER.

OUT ON THE HORIZON, THE CREW
ON A MASSIVE CONTAINER SHIP

FROM SINGAPORE, THE MAERSK SANA,
IS WAITING FOR JON’S ARRIVAL.

EVERY FOREIGN CARGO SHIP THAT
ARRIVES IN THE WATERS OFF MIAMI,

HAS TO STOP FIVE MILES OUT

AND WAIT FOR A BISCAYNE BAY
PILOT LIKE JON

TO GUIDE IT INTO PORT.

FOR THOSE ON MIAMI BEACH,

THIS SHIP IS JUST A TINY SHADOW
ON THE HORIZON.

BUT UP CLOSE, IT’S COLOSSAL.

THE MAERSK SANA IS WHAT’S CALLED
A POST-PANAMAX SHIP,

ONE OF A NEW GENERATION OF
VESSELS THAT ARE BIGGER, FASTER,

AND ARE ABLE TO CARRY
MORE CONTAINERS

THAN THE LARGEST SHIPS
THAT CAME BEFORE.

EVERY DAY, ON AVERAGE, THREE
CARGO SHIPS ARRIVE AT PORT MIAMI

ALONG WITH THE MANY
OTHER VESSELS

THAT HAVE TURNED THIS PORT INTO
ONE OF THE BUSIEST IN AMERICA.

IT’S WHY THE BISCAYNE BAY PILOTS
ARE BASED

RIGHT AT THE TIP OF THE PORT,

READY TO GO WHENEVER
A SHIP ARRIVES OR DEPARTS.

TODAY OUT ON THE WATER,
THE SWELLS ARE HITTING 12 FEET.

BUT ON SOME DAYS
THEY GET UP TO 20.

♪

JON’S TINY PILOT BOAT IS DWARFED
BY THE CONTAINERS

THAT TOWER MORE THAN
100 FEET ABOVE HIM.

MIAMI’S PILOTS HAVE TO CLAMBER
ON BOARD THESE GIANT VESSELS

AT ALL HOURS
OF THE DAY AND NIGHT

IN EVERY KIND
OF WEATHER IMAGINABLE.

WHEN THE SEAS ARE ROUGH,
IT’S ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS.

IF A PILOT SLIPS
ON THE DECK OR LADDER,

OR A SWELL SUDDENLY YANKS
THE PILOT BOAT

AWAY FROM THE SHIP’S HULL,

HE COULD EASILY GET THROWN
INTO THE WATER

AND CRUSHED BETWEEN
THE TWO VESSELS.

BUT JON IS
A FIFTH GENERATION MARINER

AND KNOWS WELL THE DANGERS
OF LIFE ON THE SEA.

AFTER 28 YEARS ON THE JOB,

HE’S EXECUTED THIS LEAP
THOUSANDS OF TIMES.

HE WAITS FOR JUST THE RIGHT
MOMENT AND THEN MAKES HIS MOVE.

ON MANY SHIPS, PILOTS HAVE
TO CLIMB 50 FEET OF LADDER

TO REACH THE MAIN DECK.

BUT THIS ONE HAS
A PORTSIDE HATCH,

AND AFTER JUST A FEW RUNGS,
JON’S SAFELY ON BOARD.

♪

WHEN THE WORLD’S BIGGEST PLANES
APPROACH AN AIRPORT,

ANY TRAINED PILOT CAN LAND THEM,

BECAUSE RUNWAYS FOR JUMBO JETS

HAVE ALL BEEN
STANDARDIZED WORLDWIDE.

THAT’S NOT THE CASE FOR
THE WORLD’S MEGA SHIPS.

NO TWO PORTS IN THE WORLD
ARE THE SAME.

AND THAT’S WHY SHIPS
LIKE THIS ONE

NEED TO HAVE A LOCAL PILOT
LIKE JON ON BOARD,

SINCE HE HAS YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
WITH THE UNIQUE WINDS, CURRENTS,

AND VARYING DEPTHS
OF MIAMI’S SHIPPING CHANNEL.

SO JUST MINUTES AFTER JON
ARRIVES UP ON THE BRIDGE,

THE CAPTAIN OF THE VESSEL
HANDS OFF

WHAT SAILORS CALL "THE CONN."

OUT ON THE BRIDGE WING,
HIS SETS UP GPS EQUIPMENT

SO HE KNOWS EXACTLY WHERE THE
SHIP’S BOW, STERN AND SIDES ARE

IN THE SHIPPING CHANNEL
AT ALL TIMES.

FROM NOW ON IT WILL BE UP TO JON

TO DECIDE EVERY MOVE
THE SHIP MAKES

UNTIL IT’S SAFELY AT ITS DOCK
AT PORT MIAMI.

♪

AND MIAMI’S SHIPPING CHANNEL

ALSO HAS ITS OWN
UNIQUE CHALLENGES.

FIRST OF ALL,
IT’S EXTREMELY NARROW.

MOST OTHER MAJOR PORTS
IN THE WORLD

HAVE CHANNELS THAT ARE
AT LEAST 1,000 FEET WIDE.

BUT THE WIDTH OF MIAMI’S
IS JUST 500 FEET,

AND THERE’S NO ROOM
TO WIDEN IT FURTHER.

GUIDING A FULLY LOADED
140-FOOT-WIDE VESSEL

SAFELY THOUGH THIS CHANNEL

IS A JOB FOR ONLY THE MOST
EXPERIENCED PILOTS AND CAPTAINS

IN THE WORLD.

IT YOU WERE TO PUT THIS SHIP
ON ITS END,

IT WOULD BE TALLER THAN
MIAMI’S TALLEST BUILDING.

A TEAM OF TUGBOATS AND THEIR
CREWS HELPS KEEP IT ON COURSE.

WHEN THE WIND IS BLOWING HARD,
LIKE TODAY,

THESE MEGA SHIPS DON’T TRAVEL
NICELY IN STRAIGHT LINES.

THE CONTAINERS STACKED ON BOARD
ACT LIKE A GIANT SAIL

THAT CONSTANTLY PUSHES
THE SHIP OFF COURSE

AND CAUSES IT TO CRAB.

SO WHEN A VESSEL THIS SIZE
IS ON ITS WAY INTO MIAMI,

THERE’S VERY LITTLE ROOM
FOR ERROR.

IF JON DOESN’T KEEP IT RIGHT
IN THE CENTER OF THE CHANNEL,

IT CAN RUN AGROUND
IN A MATTER OF SECONDS.

IF THAT HAPPENS, THE CHANNEL
COULD CLOSE DOWN FOR WEEKS.

NO CRUISE SHIPS WOULD
BE ABLE TO COME OR GO,

AND PORT MIAMI, THE LARGEST
DRIVER OF FLORIDA’S ECONOMY,

WOULD GRIND TO A HALT.

GROUNDED SHIPS OFTEN LEAK FUEL,
AND A MAJOR LEAK HERE

COULD TURN THE SANDS
OF MIAMI BEACH

INTO AN ENVIRONMENTAL
DISASTER ZONE.

TODAY, IT TAKES JON 20 MINUTES
TO GET THE MAERSK SANA LINED UP

INSIDE THE NARROW SHIPPING LANE.

UNLIKE MOST MAJOR PORTS
IN AMERICA,

PORT MIAMI LIES RIGHT
NEXT TO THE CITY.

THOSE WHO LIVE HERE
ON FISHER ISLAND

ARE USED TO SEEING
THESE ENORMOUS VESSELS

GLIDING RIGHT PAST THEIR
WINDOWS, DAY AND NIGHT.

AN HOUR AFTER JON BOARDED,

IT’S TIME FOR ONE OF THE MOST
DANGEROUS PARTS OF HIS JOB:

LANDING THIS MASSIVE,
MOVING HUNK OF STEEL

GENTLY AT THE DOCK.

HE LIKES TO THINK OF HIS JOB

AS LIKE THAT OF
AN ORCHESTRAL CONDUCTOR.

HE CALLS EVERY SHOT IN
A CAREFULLY CHOREOGRAPHED DANCE

OF TUGBOATS, CREWS,
AND ENGINE THRUSTS.

DOCKING PROCEDURES
CAN BE DEADLY.

IN OTHER PORTS,
CONTAINER SHIPS LIKE THIS ONE

HAVE LANDED TOO FAST,
SLAMMED INTO THE CRANES,

AND CAUSED CONTAINERS FROM THE
SHIP TO CRASH ONTO THE DOCK.

BUT TODAY THE SANA
ARRIVES WITHOUT INCIDENT.

DOWN BELOW, LONGSHOREMEN
CATCH THE LINES

THAT WILL KEEP THIS SHIP
TETHERED TO THE PORT UNTIL DAWN.

WITH SO MANY SHIPS AND BOATERS
ON THE WATERS AROUND MIAMI,

IT’S NOT SURPRISING
THAT MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

KEEPS A HIGHLY TRAINED TEAM
OF FIRST RESPONDERS

RIGHT HERE AT THE PORT.

BUT WHEN THESE FIREFIGHTERS
GET A CALL,

THEY DON’T SLIDE DOWN POLES.

THEY RACE OUTSIDE ONTO
A WAITING FIRE BOAT INSTEAD.

THERE MAY BE BRIDGES
TO MOST OF THE ISLANDS

IN MIAMI AND MIAMI BEACH,

BUT IT’S OFTEN FASTER
FOR PARAMEDICS LIKE THESE

TO REACH INJURED PATIENTS
CLOSE TO THE SHORELINE BY BOAT.

IN 2016, THIS FIRE RESCUE UNIT
RESPONDED TO CLOSE TO 600 CALLS.

AS SOON AS A SICK PATIENT
IS BUNDLED ON THE GROUND,

THE MEDICS CALL IN AIR SUPPORT.

MIAMI-DADE FIRE RESCUE IS
THE PRIMARY MEDEVAC SERVICE

FOR THIS PART OF SOUTH FLORIDA.

THEY COVER EVERYTHING
FROM BOATING ACCIDENTS

TO GATOR BITES
IN THE EVERGLADES.

THE PROBLEM IS, MUCH OF MIAMI,
INCLUDING ITS ISLANDS,

IS DENSELY POPULATED,

AND SO FIRE RESCUE
CAN’T LAND JUST ANYWHERE.

TODAY, THE FASTEST WAY
TO GET THIS PATIENT

THE TREATMENT HE NEEDS

IS TO MEET THE AIR UNIT

ON ANOTHER ISLAND NEARBY
KNOWN AS VIRGINIA KEY,

WHERE THERE’S SPACE TO LAND.

WITHIN SECONDS
THE PATIENT IS AIRBORNE

AND ON HIS WAY
TO A NEARBY HOSPITAL.

♪

THE BEST WAY TO UNDERSTAND
THE EPIC ROLE THAT WATER PLAYS

IN A DAY IN THE LIFE
OF THE CITY OF MIAMI

IS TO PEER DOWN ON THIS
SUN-SPLASHED METROPOLIS

FROM VERY HIGH ABOVE.

UP HERE IT’S CLEAR

THAT JUST ABOUT EVERY STRETCH OF
WATERFRONT IN AND AROUND MIAMI

HAS BEEN BUILT AND
SHAPED BY HUMANS.

BUT ALL THAT ENGINEERING
IS NOT ENOUGH

TO PROTECT AGAINST
THE SINGLE BIGGEST THREAT

TO THIS FLORIDA CITY:

THE SEA LEVELS THAT HAVE BEEN
CREEPING HIGHER AND HIGHER

EVERY YEAR.

MOST OF THE GROUND HERE IS LESS
THAN FIVE FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL,

AND SOME SCIENTISTS PREDICT
THAT MUCH OF MIAMI

COULD BE UNDERWATER
BY THE END OF THE 21st CENTURY.

BUT THE BIGGEST REASON
MIAMI RESIDENTS

HAVE A TOUGH FIGHT AHEAD

IS BECAUSE OF WHAT LIES
UNDER THE CITY’S STREETS.

MIAMI, AND MOST
OF FLORIDA ITSELF,

SIT ON A BED OF HIGHLY POROUS
LIMESTONE KNOWN AS KARST.

DURING HURRICANES
AND POWERFUL HIGH TIDES,

OCEAN WATER FINDS ITS WAY INTO
THE KARST, DEEP UNDERGROUND.

THEN, IT STARTS BUBBLING UP
IN MIAMI’S STREETS.

WALLS AROUND THE CITY AREN’T
ENOUGH TO KEEP THE WATER OUT.

AND IF THE SEA
CONTINUES TO RISE,

MIAMI BEACH COULD
BECOME A SANDBAR,

COVERED ENTIRELY BY WATER
AT EVERY HIGH TIDE.

BUT FOR NOW, THE DESIRE TO OWN
A PIECE OF MIAMI

IS STRONGER THAN EVER.

JUST ABOUT EVERY WATERFRONT LOT
HERE IS BUILT ON,

EVEN IF IT’S JUST A FEW FEET
ABOVE SEA LEVEL.

AND JUST LIKE THE SEA ITSELF,

THE PRICES FOR WATERFRONT
PROPERTY CONTINUE TO RISE.

IN 2005, JENNIFER LOPEZ SOLD
THIS HOUSE ON BISCAYNE BAY

FOR CLOSE TO $14 MILLION.

TEN YEARS LATER, IN 2015,
SINGER PHIL COLLINS BOUGHT IT

FOR MORE THAN DOUBLE THAT PRICE:
$33 MILLION.

EVEN EMPTY LOTS
WITH WATER ACCESS

ASK UNBELIEVABLE PRICES.

THESE PATCHES OF DIRT,
WITHOUT A HOUSE,

WERE RECENTLY ON THE MARKET
FOR MORE THAN $15 MILLION.

BUT IT’S EASY TO SPEND
24 HOURS IN MIAMI

WITHOUT HAVING TO THINK ABOUT

ALL THE LONG-TERM THREATS
OF RISING SEA LEVELS,

ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU’RE
OUT ON THE WATER ITSELF

OR UP IN THE AIR.

IT’S 2:32 P.M., AND A MIAMI-DADE
POLICE DEPARTMENT HELICOPTER

IS RESPONDING TO A CALL
THAT WOULD BE UNUSUAL

IN MOST MAJOR AMERICAN CITIES.

A SUBMERGED VEHICLE HAS BEEN
REPORTED IN A CANAL

SOUTH OF THE CITY.

THESE OFFICERS WILL TRY
AND SPOT THE CAR FROM THE AIR

AND HELP GUIDE IN
AN UNDERWATER RECOVERY TEAM

THAT’S JUST ARRIVED ON SITE.

THEIR FIRST PRIORITY IS TO FIND
OUT IF THERE ARE BODIES INSIDE.

IF YOU PEER DOWN ON MIAMI
FROM HIGH ABOVE,

YOU’LL SEE THAT HUNDREDS
OF MILES OF CANALS

CRISSCROSS MIAMI-DADE COUNTY.

THEY WERE BUILT STARTING
IN THE EARLY 1900s

TO DRAIN WATER AWAY
FROM THE EVERGLADES

AND TO STORE AND DELIVER IT
TO LOCAL FARMERS.

SOME OF THESE CANALS DRAIN
RIGHT INTO BISCAYNE BAY

TO HELP KEEP THE LAND
AND NEIGHBORHOODS AROUND THEM

AS DRY AS POSSIBLE.

BUT THESE WATERWAYS ARE ALSO

OCCASIONALLY USED
TO COMMIT INSURANCE FRAUD.

ON THE BANK OF THIS ONE,

THE UNDERWATER RECOVERY TEAM
IS FINALLY READY TO DIVE.

ONCE THEY ARE IN THE WATER,

POLICE OFFICERS ABOVE PROVIDE
EXTRA EYES IN THE SKY.

THESE CANALS ARE THE PERFECT
BREEDING GROUND FOR GATORS.

RECENTLY, A POLICE OFFICER
WITH THE RECOVERY TEAM

HAPPENED TO SPOT A 12-FOOT GATOR
TRACKING HIS COLLEAGUES

IN THE WATER.

THE ONLY CHOICE THEY HAD
WAS TO SHOOT THE GATOR DEAD.

IT TAKES JUST A FEW MINUTES
TO FIND THE VEHICLE.

IT’S A MINIVAN.

LUCKILY THE DRIVER’S NOT INSIDE.

EVERY YEAR, DOZENS OF VEHICLES
LIKE THESE

END UP IN MIAMI’S CANALS.

THEY ARE OFTEN ABANDONED
FOR INSURANCE FRAUD

OR DUMPED TO GET RID
OF EVIDENCE.

SOME HAVE EVEN BEEN
FOUND WITH CORPSES.

WITH THE DIVERS AND THE CAR
BACK ON LAND,

THE OFFICERS IN THE AIR UNIT
CAN HEAD BACK TO THE CITY

TO WAIT FOR THEIR NEXT CALL.

IT’S 2:45 P.M.,

AND OUT ON THE QUIET,
BLUE WATERS OFF MIAMI

ANOTHER GROUP OF DIVERS IS
GETTING READY TO EXPLORE

A UNIQUE SITE ON THE SEAFLOOR.

ABOUT 40 FEET DOWN
BENEATH THIS BOAT

LIES AN UNDERWATER CEMETERY

MORE THAN THREE MILES
OUT AT SEA.

IT’S CALLED
NEPTUNE MEMORIAL REEF.

THE MEMORIALS ARE MADE FROM THE
CREMATED REMAINS OF THE DEAD,

WHICH ARE MIXED WITH CONCRETE

AND FORMED INTO SHAPES
LIKE SHELLS AND STARFISH.

TODAY, A NEW MEMORIAL IS
READY TO BE LAID TO REST.

AFTER ALL THE OTHER DIVERS
ARE IN THE WATER,

JIM HUTSLER, WHO OVERSEES
THE MEMORIAL,

HOLDS THE 35-POUND STARFISH
TO HIS CHEST AND JUMPS IN.

IT’S JUST A SHORT DIVE
TO REACH THE BOTTOM.

♪

EVEN THOUGH IT MIGHT
LOOK LIKE ONE,

NEPTUNE MEMORIAL REEF IS NOT
AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RELIC

FROM THE PAST;

IT’S A NEWLY BUILT UNDERWATER
MAUSOLEUM FOR CREMATED REMAINS.

THE CRUMBLING RUINS ARE BASED
ON AN ARTIST’S IMAGININGS

OF WHAT THE LOST CITY OF
ATLANTIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE TODAY.

TO GET THE PERMITS
FOR THE PROJECT,

THE OWNERS HAD TO BUILD
THE REEF’S STRUCTURES

TO WITHSTAND
100-MILE-PER-HOUR HURRICANES.

NOW IT’S A POPULAR SITE
FOR RECREATIONAL DIVERS

AS WELL AS THE FAMILY MEMBERS OF
THOSE WHO ARE MEMORIALIZED HERE.

UNDERWATER, IT TAKES JIM
JUST 30 MINUTES

TO PLACE THE NEW MEMORIAL
AND ATTACH IT TO THE SEAFLOOR.

♪

BEFORE HE HEADS BACK
TO THE SURFACE,

HE’LL MARK THE SPOT
ON A MAP OF THE REEF

SO THE FAMILY OF THE DECEASED
CAN COME TO VISIT

ANYTIME THEY WANT.

♪

EVERY DAY, ON AVERAGE,

MORE THAN 42,000 VISITORS
FROM AROUND THE WORLD

DESCEND ON MIAMI.

WHEN THE SUN’S OUT,
THESE STRANGERS PACK IN

TO SHARE THE SUN AND SAND
OF MIAMI BEACH.

BUT THERE ARE BIG PARTS OF MIAMI
THAT MOST VISITORS NEVER SEE.

IF YOU SOAR THROUGH THE SKIES
NORTH OF DOWNTOWN,

YOU MIGHT CATCH SIGHT
OF THESE COLORFUL BUILDINGS.

THEY’RE NAMED LIBERTY SQUARE.

IN 2016,
AN ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING FILM

SUDDENLY SHINED A SPOTLIGHT
ON THIS HOUSING ESTATE

AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD
THAT SURROUNDS IT,

WHICH IS KNOWN AS LIBERTY CITY.

THE FILM, CALLED MOONLIGHT,
IS THE COMING-OF-AGE STORY

OF AN AFRICAN AMERICAN BOY
NAMED CHIRON

AS HE STRUGGLES WITH
HIS OWN SEXUAL IDENTITY

AND THE DRUGS, CRIME AND POVERTY

THAT HAVE LONG PLAGUED
THIS MIAMI NEIGHBORHOOD.

MOONLIGHT’S POWERFUL HUMAN STORY
RESONATED WITH AUDIENCES,

AND THE FILM WAS NOMINATED
FOR EIGHT ACADEMY AWARDS,

WINNING THREE,
INCLUDING BEST PICTURE.

BUT THE REAL-LIFE STORIES OF
THE FILM’S WRITER AND DIRECTOR

ARE A BIG PART OF WHAT
MADE MOONLIGHT SO POWERFUL.

DIRECTOR BARRY JENKINS AND
SCREENWRITER TARELL McCRANEY

GREW UP HERE IN LIBERTY CITY
IN THE 1980s.

THE TWO NEVER ACTUALLY MET
UNTIL THEY WERE ADULTS.

BUT LIKE IN THE MOVIE, JENKINS
AND McCRANEY STRUGGLED AS KIDS

WITH MANY OF THE SAME
CHALLENGES AS CHIRON,

AND BOTH WERE RAISED
BY SINGLE MOTHERS WHO HAD HIV.

WHEN THIS VAST HOUSING ESTATE
WAS BUILT IN THE 1930s,

IT WAS THE THRIVING HEART

OF MIAMI’S AFRICAN AMERICAN
COMMUNITY.

UP UNTIL THE 1960s,

AFRICAN AMERICANS
WEREN’T ACTUALLY

ALLOWED TO LIVE IN MIAMI BEACH

DUE TO THE CITY’S
SEGREGATION LAWS.

MANY OF LIBERTY SQUARE’S
EARLIEST RESIDENTS

EVENTUALLY MOVED OUT

TO BUY HOMES IN
THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOODS,

AND BY THE 1960s,
THE BUILDINGS OF LIBERTY SQUARE

HAD STARTED FALLING
INTO DISREPAIR.

LIKE MUCH OF MIAMI
IN THE 1970s AND ’80s,

THE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS SOON
PLAGUED BY DRUGS AND CRIME.

TO MAKE MOONLIGHT
FEEL AUTHENTIC,

JENKINS CAST RESIDENTS
FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD,

AND THE COLORFUL HOUSING BLOCKS
OF LIBERTY SQUARE

FEATURED PROMINENTLY
IN THE FILM.

NORTHWESTERN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
DOES, TOO.

JENKINS, LIKE THE CHARACTER
CHIRON, PLAYED FOOTBALL HERE.

ONE OF THE FILM’S
MOST MEMORABLE SCENES

WAS SHOT INSIDE
THIS NEARBY DINER.

♪

MOONLIGHT WAS THE FIRST FILM
MADE IN MIAMI

TO WIN BEST PICTURE
AT THE OSCARS.

TO HONOR ITS SUCCESS,
THE CITY OF MIAMI RENAMED

A SECTION OF
NORTHWEST 22nd AVENUE,

WHICH RUNS THROUGH LIBERTY CITY,
"MOONLIGHT WAY."

THERE ARE MANY CORNERS OF MIAMI
WITH RICH STORIES

THAT HAVE NOT YET BEEN TOLD.

BUT OVER ON SOUTH BEACH, ONE MAN
HAS BEEN TELLING THE SAME STORY

FOR THE PAST FOUR DECADES.

AND IT’S MADE HIM INTO
SOMETHING OF A MIAMI LEGEND.

♪

EVERY DAY SINCE JANUARY 1, 1975,

ROBERT RAVEN CRAFT
HAS MADE AN EIGHT-MILE RUN

ALONG MIAMI BEACH,
NO MATTER WHAT THE WEATHER.

IT ALL BEGAN AS A SIMPLE
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION

TO RUN EIGHT MILES EVERY DAY
FOR ONE YEAR.

MORE THAN 40 YEARS LATER,
HE’S STILL AT IT,

AND HE SAYS HE HASN’T MISSED
A DAY OR RUN SINCE.

HE EVEN RAN DURING
HURRICANE IRMA.

OVER THE YEARS, MORE THAN
2,500 OTHERS HAVE JOINED HIM,

ON WHAT’S KNOWN AS RAVEN RUN.

TODAY IS NO DIFFERENT.

EVERY AFTERNOON,
RAVEN AND A PACK OF HIS FANS

AND FELLOW JOGGERS HEAD SOUTH
TOWARDS THE END OF MIAMI BEACH.

ALL ALONG HIS ROUTE,
LOCALS COME UP TO GREET HIM

AS THEY CELEBRATE RAVEN’S MORE
THAN FOUR-DECADE ACHIEVEMENT

AND CAN-DO SPIRIT.

RAVEN HAS MADE HIS DAILY RUNS

DURING SOME OF THE MOST COLORFUL
PERIODS IN MIAMI’S HISTORY.

ONE OF THEM WAS THE 1990s.

THAT’S WHEN SOUTH BEACH
EXPERIENCED A MAJOR REVIVAL

AFTER ITS DECLINE DURING
THE DRUGS AND CRIME WAVE

OF THE ’70s AND ’80s.

BY 1992, ONE FAMILIAR FACE
HERE ALONG OCEAN DRIVE

WAS ITALIAN FASHION DESIGNER
GIANNI VERSACE.

HE PURCHASED THIS
MEDITERRANEAN-STYLE VILLA,

JUST A FEW FEET FROM THE BEACH,

AND THEN EXPANDED THE HOUSE
WITH LAVISH POOLS, GARDENS,

AND EVEN HIS OWN OBSERVATORY
ON THE ROOF.

HE WAS FREQUENTLY SPOTTED
ON HIS MORNING WALKS

TO AND FROM
THE NEARBY NEWS CAFE,

WHERE HE OFTEN WENT TO READ
THE PAPER OVER BREAKFAST.

BUT IT WAS DURING HIS RETURN
HOME FROM THE CAFE ONE MORNING

THAT VERSACE WAS SHOT DEAD
ON THE STEPS OF HIS HOUSE

ON JULY 15, 1997.

HIS ASSASSIN, A SERIAL KILLER,
COMMITTED SUICIDE

A FEW DAYS LATER
ON A MIAMI HOUSEBOAT.

EVER SINCE,
THE STEPS OF CASA VERSACE

HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE MOST
VISITED SITES IN MIAMI.

♪

IT’S 3:00 P.M. IN LITTLE HAVANA,
JUST WEST OF DOWNTOWN.

THAT’S THE TIME WHEN
SMALL CROWDS START TO GATHER

AT STREETSIDE WINDOWS
LIKE THIS ONE.

THEY COME FOR WHAT’S CALLED
A CAFÉCITO, OR CUBAN COFFEE.

MIAMI’S LITTLE HAVANA IS
WELL KNOWN FOR THESE TINY CAFES

AND THEIR VERY STRONG ESPRESSOS.

♪

AS SOON AS FIDEL CASTRO CAME
TO POWER IN CUBA IN 1959,

CUBAN EXILES STARTED
ARRIVING IN MIAMI.

TO PROCESS THESE NEW ARRIVALS,

THE U.S. GOVERNMENT USED
THIS FORMER NEWSPAPER BUILDING

AS A POINT OF ENTRY,

AND IT SOON CAME TO BE KNOWN
AS THE FREEDOM TOWER.

BUT THE LARGEST NUMBER OF CUBANS
ARRIVED IN MIAMI IN 1980,

DURING WHAT’S KNOWN
AS THE MARIEL BOAT LIFT.

♪

ON APRIL 20, 1980, FIDEL CASTRO
SUDDENLY ANNOUNCED

HE WAS OPENING UP
THE PORT OF MARIEL, NEAR HAVANA,

FOR ANY CUBAN WHO WANTED
TO LEAVE BY BOAT.

IN THE DAYS AND MONTHS
THAT FOLLOWED,

1,700 VESSELS OF ALL SHAPES,
SIZES AND CONDITIONS

MADE THEIR WAY ACROSS
THE FLORIDA STRAIT

AS PART OF A MASS EXODUS
OF 125,000 CUBANS.

SOME LANDED IN KEY WEST,
BUT MANY WENT STRAIGHT TO MIAMI.

MOST OF THE NEW ARRIVALS
JOINED EARLIER CUBAN IMMIGRANTS

WEST OF DOWNTOWN

IN A NEIGHBORHOOD KNOWN
AS LITTLE HAVANA.

♪

MANY GOT THEIR FIRST TASTE OF
AMERICAN CULTURE AND LANGUAGE

BY WATCHING HOLLYWOOD MOVIES

HERE INSIDE MIAMI’S
HISTORIC TOWER THEATER.

MIAMIANS OF CUBAN DESCENT STILL
GATHER EVERY DAY AT DOMINO PARK

TO MEET OLD FRIENDS
OVER GAMES OF DOMINOS.

♪

TODAY, MORE THAN 30%
OF MIAMI’S POPULATION

CONSIDERS THEMSELVES
TO BE OF CUBAN ORIGIN.

BUT MIAMI HAD TIES TO CUBA
LONG BEFORE CASTRO’S REVOLUTION.

AND ONE OF THOSE TIES

HAPPENS TO HAVE BEEN
A FLOCK OF PINK FLAMINGOS.

IN THE 1930s, A WEALTHY
DEVELOPER NAMED JOSEPH WIDENER

BOUGHT A FORMER
DOG RACING TRACK,

WHICH NOW LIES NORTH
OF LITTLE HAVANA.

HE TRANSFORMED IT
INTO A RACECOURSE FOR HORSES

WITH A NEW LUXURIOUS CLUBHOUSE.

IT WAS KNOWN AS
THE MIAMI JOCKEY CLUB.

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRACK,

WIDENER INSTALLED
ELABORATE GARDENS

AND IMPORTED 14 PINK FLAMINGOS
FROM CUBA

TO WANDER THE GROUNDS
AND AWE THE SPECTATORS.

BUT AFTER ARRIVING HERE,

THE BIRDS FLAPPED THEIR WINGS
AND FLEW AWAY,

SOME SAY BACK TO CUBA.

WIDENER SHIPPED OVER
A SECOND FLOCK

A FEW YEARS LATER IN 1934,

BUT THIS TIME, HE PINIONED THEIR
WINGS SO THEY COULDN’T FLY.

HIALEAH PARK HAS BEEN KNOWN FOR
ITS PINK FLAMINGOS EVER SINCE.

BUT THE SIGHT OF THESE BIRDS
IN FLORIDA

IS NOT AS EXOTIC
AS IT USED TO BE.

THESE DAYS, THERE ARE
NEW COLORFUL SIGHTS IN MIAMI,

AND THEY LIE IN AN OLD
INDUSTRIAL NEIGHBORHOOD DOWNTOWN

KNOWN AS WYNWOOD.

ARTISTS STARTED MOVING
TO EMPTY WAREHOUSES HERE

IN THE LATE 1980s

AFTER GETTING PUSHED OUT
OF OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS

BY RISING RENTS.

IN THE MID-2000s A LOCAL
DEVELOPER NAMED TONY GOLDMAN

BEGAN BUYING UP BUILDINGS HERE

WITH A VISION OF TURNING WYNWOOD
INTO A GIANT ARTS DISTRICT.

TO SPUR THINGS ALONG,
HE STARTED WYNWOOD WALLS,

WHERE ARTISTS COULD USE
THE ENTIRE FACADES OF BUILDINGS

TO CREATE LARGE-SCALE MURALS.

SOON, JUST ABOUT ANY WALL IN
WYNWOOD WAS A POTENTIAL CANVAS

FOR ARTISTS IN MIAMI
AND FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

TODAY, THERE ARE HUNDREDS
OF MURALS ALL ACROSS WYNWOOD.

THERE ARE EVEN WORKS OF ART
THAT AREN’T MEANT TO BE SEEN

FROM THE GROUND, LIKE THIS ONE,
BY ARTIST RANDY BURMAN.

THESE WORDS COME FROM A POEM

WRITTEN BY
AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENT

IN MIAMI’S LIBERTY CITY
NEIGHBORHOOD.

HER NAME IS NIEEMA MARSHALL.

BURMAN PAINTED WORDS
FROM HER POEM HERE

SO PASSENGERS ARRIVING
AT MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

COULD PEER DOWN AND BE INSPIRED
BY MARSHALL’S WORK.

♪

EVERYDAY IN MIAMI, STARTING
AT 4:00 P.M., LIKE CLOCKWORK,

A LONG LINE OF CRUISE SHIPS,
LOADED WITH NEW PASSENGERS,

HEAD OUT TO SEA.

MIAMI HAS BEEN CALLED
THE BUSIEST CRUISE SHIP PORT

IN THE WORLD.

FROM HERE, THEY HEAD TO
THE BAHAMAS AND THE CARIBBEAN.

TOMORROW MORNING,
PASSENGERS ON THIS SHIP,

THE NORWEGIAN SKY,
WILL WAKE UP IN HAVANA, CUBA.

♪

BY 7:00 P.M. THE WATERWAYS
OF MIAMI START TO GET QUIET.

BUT THIS IS WHEN LONGSHOREMEN
HERE AT THE PORT

ARE JUST GEARING UP
FOR ANOTHER BUSY NIGHT AHEAD.

ONE OF THEM IS DERRICK DANSBY.

HE STARTS HIS SHIFT

WITH A RIDE UP ONE OF THE PORT’S
TOWERING GANTRY CRANES.

SOARING 262 FEET
ABOVE THE WATER,

THESE ARE SOME OF THE TALLEST
CRANES IN THE WORLD,

WHICH IS ONE REASON
DERRICK TAKES AN ELEVATOR

TO GET TO THE TOP.

BY 7:15 P.M. HE’S READY
FOR HIS FIRST PICK:

A PAIR OF 20-FOOT CONTAINERS
FROM THE MAERSK SANA.

IT’S ONE OF MORE THAN
200 CONTAINERS ON THIS SHIP

THAT ARE DESTINED
FOR PORT MIAMI.

TO STAY ON SCHEDULE,

DERRICK WILL HAVE TO PICK UP
A NEW CONTAINER

ROUGHLY EVERY TWO MINUTES

AND DROP IT ONTO
A WAITING TRAILER

FOR THE NEXT STAGE
OF ITS JOURNEY.

IT’S GOING TO BE A LONG
NIGHTSHIFT FOR DERRICK,

AS HE AND HIS FELLOW
LONGSHOREMEN

RACE TO UNLOAD AND THEN RELOAD
THIS SHIP BY DAWN.

♪

WHEN A DAY IN MIAMI BEGINS
ITS TRANSITION TO NIGHT,

THERE’S NOTHING LIKE GLIDING
ACROSS THE NOW-EMPTY WATERS

OF THIS SOUTHERN METROPOLIS.

AS THE LAST RAYS OF THE SUN
FADE TO THE WEST,

BIRDS FLOCK TO BISCAYNE BAY.

♪

THIS IS THE TIME THAT
THE DAZZLING SPECTACLE OF NIGHT

IN MIAMI BEACH
STARTS TO COME ALIVE.

THE MOST COLORFUL LIGHTS

LINE THE CITY’S
LEGENDARY OCEAN DRIVE.

BUILT IN THE 1930s,
THE COLONY HOTEL HAS WEATHERED

THE MANY BOOMS AND BUSTS
OF MIAMI BEACH.

AND THAT’S WHY
IT’S NEON BLUE LETTERS

ARE SOME OF THE MOST ICONIC,
HERE ALONG SOUTH BEACH.

NEARBY, A STEADY STREAM
OF CLUB-GOERS

ARRIVE AT
THE FONTAINEBLEAU HOTEL.

THEY’RE HERE TO TRY AND GET
PAST THE ROPES AT LIV NIGHTCLUB,

ONE OF THE HIGHEST GROSSING
CLUBS IN THE WORLD.

CELEBRITIES, INCLUDING JAY-Z,

HAVE REPORTEDLY RUN UP
CHAMPAGNE TABS AT LIV

IN THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
OF DOLLARS.

AFTER DARK, FROM ABOVE,

IT CAN SEEM LIKE
THERE’S A PARTY GOING ON

EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK
IN MIAMI BEACH.

EVEN PARKING GARAGES
ARE LIT UP LIKE CLUBS,

INCLUDING THIS ONE AT
5th STREET AND COLLINS AVENUE.

BUT THERE’S NO EXPLOSION OF
COLOR, SOUND AND LIGHT IN MIAMI

THAT COMPARES TO THIS:

THE MAIN STAGE AT
THE ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL.

IF THERE’S ONE PLACE IN AMERICA

THAT GIVES LAS VEGAS A RUN FOR
ITS MONEY AT NIGHT, IT’S MIAMI.

EVERY YEAR, MORE THAN 150,000
PEOPLE FLOCK TO THIS CELEBRATION

OF ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC.

♪

THEY ALSO COME TO EXPERIENCE
THE RAW ENERGY

OF ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL

LIGHTING AND PYROTECHNIC
DISPLAYS ON EARTH.

♪

BUT MIAMI’S COLORFUL LIGHTS
DON’T JUST COME

FROM ONCE-A-YEAR PARTIES
LIKE THIS ONE.

THEY ALSO COME FROM
HARD-FOUGHT GAMES OF SOCCER

THAT ARE PLAYED BY LOCALS
EVERY NIGHT.

THESE TWO ROOFTOP SOCCER FIELDS
WERE THE BRAINCHILD

OF TEOFILO CUBILLAS, WHOSE
FATHER WITH THE SAME NAME

WAS A STAR SOCCER PLAYER
IN PERU.

THEY LIE ON TOP OF A PARKING
GARAGE AT 444 BRICKELL AVENUE.

IN SOUTH AMERICA,

SOCCER FIELDS ON THE ROOFS
OF BUILDINGS ARE NOTHING NEW,

SINCE THERE’S NOT ENOUGH
OPEN SPACE LEFT

IN CITIES LIKE LIMA AND RIO
TO BUILD FIELDS ON THE GROUND.

AFTER OPENING THESE TWO PITCHES
MORE THAN 13 YEARS AGO,

THEY’VE BEEN A BIG HIT
WITH OFFICE WORKERS

WHO COME TO PLAY A GAME OR TWO
BEFORE HEADING HOME.

AND THEY ARE USUALLY PACKED
UNTIL 2:00 A.M.

WITH PLAYERS WHO WORK
THE SECOND SHIFT AT RESTAURANTS

AND ALL KINDS OF OTHER JOBS
ACROSS MIAMI.

BUT NOT EVERYONE IN MIAMI HAS
TIME TO PLAY SOCCER AT NIGHT.

ESPECIALLY NOT DERRICK DANSBY;

HE’S NOW HALFWAY THROUGH
HIS EIGHT-HOUR SHIFT IN A CRANE

HIGH ABOVE PORT MIAMI.

ON THE GROUND,

MANAGER EDDIE FLUKER KEEPS TRACK
OF ALL THREE CRANE OPERATORS

TO MAKE SURE THEY STAY
ON SCHEDULE AND STAY SAFE.

UP ABOVE, DERRICK SHUTTLES
BACK AND FORTH OVER THE SHIP

HUNDREDS OF TIMES.

UNLOADING AND RELOADING
AN ENORMOUS VESSEL

LIKE THE MAERSK SANA IS
A MAD RACE AGAINST TIME.

AND IF CRANE OPERATORS
LOSE CONCENTRATION

EVEN FOR A FEW SECONDS,

THEY COULD MAKE A FATAL MISTAKE;

DROP CONTAINERS WITH MILLIONS
OF DOLLARS OF CARGO,

OR INJURE AND EVEN CRUSH
THEIR FELLOW LONGSHOREMEN

WORKING ON THE GROUND.

♪

BUT WHEN DERRICK DOES
GET A MOMENT TO PAUSE,

HE HAS ONE OF THE MOST
SPECTACULAR NIGHTTIME VIEWS

OF THE CITY HE CALLS HOME.

AND AROUND HIM ARE
WORKERS AND MACHINES

THAT KEEP FLORIDA’S ECONOMY
RUNNING 24/7.

BY 7:00 A.M., THE 300 NEW
CONTAINERS ON THE MAERSK SANA

HAVE BEEN LOADED ON BOARD,

AND THE GIANT GANTRY CRANES HAVE
FINALLY COME TO A STANDSTILL.

IT’S TIME FOR THIS MEGA SHIP
TO HEAD ON

TO ITS NEXT PORT OF CALL.

THE PROBLEM IS, IT’S FACING
THE WRONG DIRECTION

AND NEEDS TO BE
COMPLETELY FLIPPED AROUND

BEFORE IT CAN LEAVE.

MIAMI PILOT JON NITKIN IS
ALREADY UP ON THE BRIDGE.

ONE OF THE MOST CAPTIVATING
SIGHTS IN MIAMI FROM ABOVE

IS WATCHING GIANT VESSELS,

INCLUDING CONTAINER SHIPS
AND CRUISE LINERS,

MAKE THEIR 180-DEGREE TURNS

SO THEY CAN HEAD OUT TO SEA,
BOW FIRST.

TURNING THESE MORE THAN
1,000-FOOT-LONG VESSELS

TAKES ABOUT 20 MINUTES, BUT
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND SKILL.

FINALLY THIS SHIP IS LINED UP
WITH THE CHANNEL

AND READY TO GO.

♪

WHEN YOU SPEND A DAY
IN THE SKIES OVER MIAMI,

YOU UNDERSTAND THE UNIQUE WORK
IT TAKES DAY AND NIGHT,

TO KEEP THIS FLORIDA METROPOLIS
RUNNING 24/7.

BUT YOU ALSO DISCOVER
THAT MIAMI IS MUCH MORE

THAN ITS SUNLIT BEACHES,

MUCH BIGGER THAN
JUST A SINGLE CITY,

AND WITH MANY MORE STORIES
THAN YOU COULD EVER TELL

IN JUST ONE DAY.

BUT THAT’S ALWAYS BEEN TRUE

ON THE COLORFUL, FASCINATING

AND ALWAYS SURPRISING
LANDS AND WATERS OF MIAMI.

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