Swelter

A cubanissima reception afterwards at the Hotel Inter-Continental Miami, fried steaks, dancing, guests along the order of designer Tessi Garcia (sister of Andy) and Elly Levy of Yuca restaurant. Publicist and co-promoter Aida Levitan looking relieved, the Latin social press in a feeding frenzy, tiger-print-jumpsuit woman tricking up and putting on airs. Richard Perez-Feria, of Miami Mensual and proof Marketing, accompanied by partner Ruth Beers, discussing their new clients -- Israeli fashion coordinator Leah Marks and PRO-Miami, the young professional support group at Cedars Medical Center Foundation -- as well as a chance encounter with Andy Garcia at Office Depot. Entertaining enough, but naturally, there always has to be a better party operating in a parallel universe. In this case, a slightly more intimate reception in the hotel's Le Pavillon Club, functioning at the crashable level. Lots of champagne, Cachao chatting with fans, Andy talking of his new movie about the old Havana days, The Lost City: "It's going great. We're looking for a distributor now. It should be coming out by autumn."

For some reason, none of the usual irate stewing over not being invited to the A-party. Getting older, maybe a little deeper, slightly conscious of how hopelessly stupid and elusive Andy Warhol's dream gathering really is: "The ultimate party -- the one you're really dying to get into -- is the one where the worst person who's going to be there is you.