In Miami's melting pot, multicultural Thanksgiving traditions rule

Why it matters: Miami is a community of immigrants, and the diversity of our traditions highlights how families pay respect to their homelands while taking part in U.S. holidays.

• Learning about each other's traditions makes us a better city and serves as a reminder of the meaning of Thanksgiving — to spend time with loved ones and eat, no matter what the food might be.

We asked some neighbors how their communities celebrate Thanksgiving:

Carlos Frías, new host of "Sundial" on WLRN and former food editor for the Miami Herald, said growing up in a Cuban-American family meant turkey took a backseat to pork during his Thanksgiving dinners.

• And the turkey would be seasoned like the roast-pork dish lechon, with mojo and onions and island spices. Some families cooked their turkey in the same caja China roasting box that they'd use for roasting pigs.
• Cornbread and mac and cheese were replaced with yuca and rice dishes like arroz congris or arroz mojo.

What they’re saying: "To me, only in Miami can you find turkeys made in a caja China," Frias said, calling it the "perfect confluence of Latin American and American culture."

• Frias, the son of Cuban exiles, said Thanksgiving dinners always felt like a warmup for Noche Buena (Christmas Eve), another celebration of pork.
• "Thanksgiving was an opportunity to eat pork twice," he said.

Francois Alexandre, Haitian-born co-founder of the community empowerment group Konscious Kontraktors, didn't grow up celebrating Thanksgiving at home because he was raised a Jehovah's Witness — but he'd go over to his friend's house for Turkey Day dinner.

• His typical Thanksgiving dinner features American staples like turkey, cornbread, collard greens and mac and cheese, with a Haitian twist.
• The turkey was seasoned with a Haitian Epis marinade; the mac and cheese was baked and came with ham or turkey, vegetables and lots of cheese.
• Haitian sides like the mushroom-rice dish diri ak djon djon and pen patat, or sweet potato pudding, mixed in with the American classics.
• For dessert, you'd pair fluffy, homemade pound cake with alcohol-infused Haitian eggnog called kremas.

What they're saying: Alexandre, who said he's been on a diet and losing weight, joked that he doesn't know if he is strong enough to resist all the temptations on the Thanksgiving table.

• "I don't know how I'm going to hold on to that come Thursday," he said of the diet.

Of note: Through Konscious Kontraktors, Alexandre distributed turkeys and other food staples in Little Haiti last weekend and is planning a Christmas toy and food drive, and a hot meal distribution Dec. 23.

Gabriel Groisman, a former mayor of Bal Harbour and an attorney, tells Axios that his Thanksgiving meals look a lot like his other family meals — and they both revolve around the Argentine asado barbecue.

• Turkey is an "obligatory" participant in Thanksgiving dinners, Groisman says. It was the only part of the meal his mother would buy instead of making herself.
• His Argentine family always cooks up a full asado with steaks, chorizo and chimichurri for Thanksgiving.
• Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows had a place on the Thanksgiving table, too.

What they're saying: "We have the turkey. Nobody touches it," Groisman said.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Gabriel Groisman does not celebrate Christmas because he is Jewish. We apologize to Groisman and deeply regret the error.