BY MICHAEL VASQUEZ

 Thousands of Cuban exiles cast ballots Sunday in an election that had absolutely no political impact on the island but carried great nostalgic significance for Miami's
 Cuban-American community.

 In the crowded hallways of Miami Senior High School, participants in this year's Cuban Municipalities in Exile election sipped Cafe Bustelo and munched on pasteles while picking candidates.

 Voters elected presidents, vice presidents and other officials to run ``city halls'' in exile that make up the membership of the municipalities group known in Spanish as
 Municipios de Cuba en el Exilio. Nearly three-quarters of the 126 municipalities that existed before Fidel Castro seized power in 1959 are represented.

 Created in 1962, the municipios help members -- mostly former residents of the provinces -- keep their memories alive.

 At first, there were five or six municipios, created by old friends from the same town. By 1963, there were about 20 municipios. Today, there are dozens in the
 organization.

 ``We will keep fighting until Cuba is a free nation,'' said Consalacion del Norte president Jesus Herrera, 62.

 Despite the fiery rhetoric, Herrera and the other elected officials spend most of their time focused on social and cultural gatherings, not politics.
 
 

                                    © 2002