MIAMI -- Manny and Alex could not have been more elated.

The two Mayors (Manny Diaz of Miami and Alex Penelas of Miami-Dade County,) were effusive the night of the Latin Grammys. So was Jorge Mas Santos, the Chairman of the Cuban American National Foundation. The event they had bargained for, begged for, had taken heat for, was a glittering success. The nationally televised event went without a hitch and the worry about protestors evaporated when it became apparent no Cuban singers or bands could get visas to enter the U.S. and participate in the event.

Local exiles had promised a 1,500 person protest if the Cubans were going to attend, perform and accept awards. The Cuban government’s jailing of 75 journalists, social activists, librarians, and dissidents had fired up the exile’s resolve. They were set to hit the streets. But, there were no Cubans artists so there was no meaningful protest.

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz wants the Latin Grammys to become a yearly event in Miami. He’s got the right argument. After all Miami is the Capital of the Latin Music World. Most music deals are cut here, and a good number of the recordings are produced in and around "The Magic City."

Yet there is a poison pill. This year’s Grammys went well, this after being yanked out of town two years ago due to fears that Cuban exiles would get too close to the show with their protests. The problem is the Miami Latin Grammys went on without the Cubans. The reality is eventually the Cuban singers and bands will get visas and they will show up ready to sing and accept awards. Then what?

This year's event was no true test of Miami's tolerance of free speech; there was nothing to protest.

"The Grammys without Cuban Music is like arroz con pollo without the pollo," says Max Lesnick who led the best-attended protest during the Grammys. Lesnick says it was a conspiracy between the State Department, Latin Grammy organizers, and local politicians in league with powerful exiles that delayed the visa process. Lesnick, who is detested by mainstream Cuban exiles because of what they consider his sympathy for the Cuban revolution, has a point. He is right-on about the event sans Cubans. It just does not ring true.

Several singers and bands won Latin Grammys at this years event and NBC6 has learned that Juan Formel, the leader of the popular Cuban group Los Van Vans tried to the last minute to make the award event. It was only the visa problem that kept the Cubans on the island. Otherwise they would have been here; there would have been a demonstration and who knows how that would have gone.

If "Mayor Manny" wants the Grammys to find a permanent home in the American Airlines Arena, he still has a mountain to climb. How does he convince the local exiles that eventually the Cubans will be part of the show, and that like it or not, as the host city in the U.S., where there is a guarantee of freedom of expression, Miami must have the show go on with protests that, if held, will not endanger the nationally televised show?

Maybe this year's Latin Grammys primed the pump. Miami did pull it off -- there was a good feeling. But it was a false feeling and competing cities like Atlanta, New York (and there is always L.A., which hosted the awards last year,) know it. They can promise no problems with the Cuba issue and they have already promised cold cash to subsidize the awards show.

The Miami Latin Grammys was a first positive step, but just that; a step. As long as the Cuba issue lurks in the background, "Mayor Manny" and "Mayor Alex" will be walking uphill with rocks in their shoes. They face another hard sell with the Latin Grammy organizers.

--Hank Tester

--Hank Tester often covers the Cuban Exile Community and the Florida Keys. He his heard three times a week on WFFG, Keys Talk Radio in Miami.