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Traveling exhibit highlights Spaniard’s long history of settling in Tampa

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Published  March 24, 2025 5:13pm EDT
Hillsborough County
FOX 13 News

New exhibit highlights Spanish immigrants in Tampa

FOX 13’s Lloyd Sowers reports on a new exhibit at the Tampa Bay History Center highlighting the long history of Spanish immigrants settling in Tampa.

The Brief

    • The Tampa Bay History Center is hosting an exhibit highlighting Tampa’s long history of Spanish immigrants coming to Tampa.
    • The exhibit is called ‘Invisible Immigrants: Spaniards in the U.S. 1868 to 1945.’
    • The exhibit runs through August 3 in downtown Tampa.

TAMPA, Fla. - People are seeing the familiar faces of their ancestors in an exhibit at the Tampa Bay History Center. 

FOX 13 came face-to-face with a childhood photo of Ida Carreno Martinez, the mother of former Florida Governor and Tampa native Bob Martinez. 

People viewing the ‘Invisible Immigrants: Spaniards in the U.S. 1868 to 1945' exhibit at the Tampa Bay History Center.

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It's part of a traveling exhibit called ‘Invisible Immigrants: Spaniards in the U.S. 1868 to 1945.’ 

The backstory:

"The Spaniards who came to Tampa almost exclusively came for the cigar industry," says historian Rodney Kite-Powell of the Tampa Bay History Center.

READ: Commemorative cigar pays homage to Tampa Smokers, marks beginning of baseball season

There's a photo of hundreds of Cuban cigar workers meeting to plan a strike against the largely Spaniard-owned and managed industry.  

Part of the ‘Invisible Immigrants: Spaniards in the U.S. 1868 to 1945' exhibit at the Tampa Bay History Center.

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What they're saying:

Tampa native Martha Casanueva Fernandez, 87, who was born in Ybor City, grew up among a unique mix of ethnicities in Tampa. 

"Sicilians, Spaniards, Cubans, Germans and Jews," Fernandez said as she held up a finger for each ethnic group in Tampa.

Part of the ‘Invisible Immigrants: Spaniards in the U.S. 1868 to 1945' exhibit at the Tampa Bay History Center.

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Martha's mom was Cuban, and her dad was Spanish. His parents had immigrated to Cuba. 

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"I'm a Spanish salad," Fernandez said when asked. 

Big picture view:

Kite-Powell spoke about how the late Tampa historian Tony Pizzo described Tampa’s mix of ethnicities during the cigar days. 

Part of the ‘Invisible Immigrants: Spaniards in the U.S. 1868 to 1945' exhibit at the Tampa Bay History Center.

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"He said rather than calling Tampa a melting pot, think of it as paella. If you take one of those elements out, the paella is not as good," said Kite-Powell. 

The exhibit runs through August 3 at the Tampa Bay History Center on Water Street in downtown Tampa.

The Source: FOX 13's Lloyd Sowers collected the information in this story.

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