The Parade Has Passed Her By

All of which has a familiar Auld Lang Syne to it. From the beginning Celia Touzet and the news media referred to Fiesta by the Bay as a Times Square-style celebration with a tropical flavor. For nine years Fiesta-goers danced to continuous live music. They were even treated to a giant orange, Miami's version of the big apple that drops to usher in the new year at Times Square, which gradually lit up during a fifteen-minute countdown to midnight. A colorful display of fireworks usually followed.

Although she resents having to cancel her pet project this year, the Cuban-born Touzet flatly refuses to accept defeat. Maybe she'll move the party to a different location next year, she muses. "Fiesta by the Bay won't die," Touzet vows. "It will take a little vacation in 1991 and return in 1992.