“How does a rafter, exile, son of two hardworking Cubans dropped in the middle of a forbidden spot in the Caribbean with cigars and roosters grow up to revolutionize our culinary future?”
¡Alejandro Jamónton!
Straight outta Hialeah, Eddie Mujica dropped his own parody of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton” as it debuts on Disney+ this Fourth of July weekend, celebrating the creator of the iconic Cuban sandwich.
“I had the idea a few years ago and decided to take advantage of the quarantine to put this together,” Mujica told us from his home in Los Angeles, where he’s been living for the past five years. A graduate of Miami Springs Senior High School who grew up not far from Ñooo Que Barato, Mujica performed at the local improv theater “Just The Funny” before moving to Chicago, where he studied at The Second City and was hired for the touring company. He went to LA, after being selected for the 2016 CBS Diversity Showcase. His short film Dreamer was an Imagen Award finalist and named one of Vulture’s Best Comedy Videos of 2018.
Mujica, who grew up on Cuban sandwiches at Sarussi Cafeteria and Restaurant in Hialeah, returns to South Florida periodically to see relatives and get his fix of cubanos and Cuban culture. “I went to visit family here in December and went to La Cocina (the cocteleria at Stephens Deli). He’s glad to see a younger generation embracing their Cuban-ness, like Jenny Lorenzo, another Cuban American from Miami known for her icon Cuban characters. And he’s a fan of Martha of Miami’s Cuban-themed merchandise (her “Cuban Bred” t-shirt makes an appearance in his video.
Jamonton by Eddie Mujica
Unfortunately, Mujica didn’t have access to a Cuban sandwich on par with Sarussi or Versailles to use as a prop, he says. “Out here I went to a place to get sandwich for the video but it’s not the same,” he says.
Here’s hoping “Jamonton” will bring even more exposure to a pressed Cuban bread with cheese (make sure it’s Swiss) and ham thanks to a funny guy from La Ciudad Que Progresa.
Watch his video here.
