When Cuban exile Manuel Capo landed on Cozumel 26 years ago aboard a 24-foot wooden fishing boat, he swore to his two sons that he would rebuild his family's furniture business and name it after the boat.
Thirty days later, the three men hopped a fence at the Mexico-Arizona border, made their way to Miami and started delivering furniture for $60 a week for Manuel's brother. Within four months they had rented a small shop on Calle Ocho and begun making formica furniture. Within a year, the trio moved to a 5,000-square-foot shop down the street, opened their own store and landed a $10,000 loan guarantee from the Small Business Administration. The first item they bought with the money was a 7-by-3-foot neon sign spelling El Dorado. It has since become a symbol of Cuban resiliance and enterprise along Miami's famous Calle Ocho. More...