If New York is the Big Apple, the whole of Florida is the big orange of the world, and Miami has become the navel of Anglo-Latin culture.

It is clear that - for Latinos - Miami is a city that attracts us a lot from a tourist point of view and even to invest in real estate and -also- as a bridge to migrate totally or partially. However, "Florida" today is more than that: it is the new economic-cultural beacon for the whole of America, and on a scale of which we are not yet aware.

While the West suffered economically much more than China from the pandemic (and now suffers much more from Russia's invasion of Ukraine), Florida is the exception.

Florida is already migrating from fourth to third place in volume of its economy in the United States, today behind California, Texas, New York, with an economy that far exceeds a GDP of US$ 1 trillion, capable of generating 500,000 jobs in a year and with an economic recovery almost 4 times higher than the US average; its strength has two differential pillars.

In addition to being the world's leading tourist destination with over 100 million tourists a year (making it the state with the most cash flow on the planet), Florida is also a world icon in aviation and aerospace technology industries and -as if that were not enough- its development in agriculture makes it a global leader. Few know that the production of medical technology in all its variants, biomedicine and the pharmaceutical industry have found a home in this state, where more than 46,000 health centres have been set up, large multinational companies manufacture all kinds of products for medical use and make it a world centre in the sector defined as "life sciences".

The financial services industry today is also one of the pillars of this new economic hub of the western world; Florida is the headquarter of insurance companies, global banks, consulting firms and of course the new developments of technology supported financial systems. Added to this economic diversity is Art Basel, Silicon Beach (driven by Francis Suarez), the start-up hub from events such as eMerge Americas, the content industry for on demand and a potential destination for any mega event, fair or major convention worldwide.

Is it a media boom or a solid Florida strategy? Politics distorts many primary analyses of this answer, since being a Republican stronghold, where its governor Ron Desantis has a serious chance of being the candidate for president in 2024, the sustained growth of this state is often tried to diminish because it is a clear example of a political line that gives very differential results.

The migration to Miami of Canadians, New Yorkers and Californians looking for an ideal climate, a better quality of life and lower taxes, added to the large migration of Argentines, Venezuelans and Colombians, has made real estate investment a major industry worldwide.

Both Orlando and Miami are constantly building entire areas, property and rentals are increasing their profitability year by year, and real estate development is another expanding industry of Western leadership.

While in Argentina, for example, a one-bedroom flat in the best areas of Cordoba Capital four years ago cost approximately US$ 80,000, and today it is less than US$ 55,000, in Miami a two-bedroom flat located on the long Collins Avenue, then valued at around US$ 160,000, today exceeds US$ 300,000. And this is not an isolated or biased example, it is a representation of the average situation in both markets.

It is not only Argentines who are investing more and more in Florida: the whole of America is doing so, and from Europe and Asia as well. Although it may seem exaggerated, Florida today is clearly a capital of international trade in goods and is the Europe/Africa/America air bridge.

In the bars of Brickell, proud of their new urban centres, the Miamians (also known in Spanglish as "mayamenses"), constantly say: "now in Florida things don't just happen, now things are decided".

This is why we will be in Miami every week and with a gradual increase in frequency, telling you everything that happens in one of the new iconic capitals of the Western world, because - besides the economic aspects - the great strength of Florida and especially of Miami is that it has become a new cultural polis, a fusion of many Latin and Anglo-Saxon cultures.

Author: Juan Maqueda co-created for InfoNegocios (Miami) with Marcelo Maurizio