Letters from the Issue of May 19, 2005

The only glitch (if you want to call it that) I can recall was the guitar level at the beginning of the Juanes performance, which began quite loud. This was not caused by an equipment problem but by the guitar player himself, who had turned up the volume on his amplifier prior to the performance -- higher than it was during rehearsals.

Juan Turro

Hollywood

Answer: Ramon Cernuda is not a used-car dealer: I just read Kirk Nielsen's article "Fake Art, Real Money" (April 28) and I have two comments for the record. When Nielsen first contacted me, he said he was working on a story about forgeries in Cuban art, not a negative profile of a collector and dealer, Ramon Cernuda, for whom I have a great deal of respect.

Also my comment about obtaining second opinions (the used-car-salesman example) and my belief that issues of authenticity are best left to those in the noncommercial field of art were given as general remarks and not, as suggested in the article, meant to apply to Cernuda in particular.

Juan Martinez

Florida International University

Miami

May 14 the Society of Professional Journalists announced the winners of the 2004 Green Eyeshade Awards contest. For the past 55 years the contest has recognized the work of journalists from eleven states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.

Miami New Times was honored with five awards from among weekly and monthly publications. Tristram Korten won first place in the investigative-reporting category for his story about controversial Miami bail bondsman David Collins ("Devil or Angel," June 17, 2004). Brett Sokol won first place in criticism and second place in serious commentary based on a collection of his "Kulchur" columns. Kirk Nielsen won third place in the business-reporting category for "Cows to Cuba" (April 8, 2004). Contributing writer Bill Jensen, who is managing editor of the weekly Long Island Press, won first place in feature reporting for his story "Hardcore and Bleeding: Virtual Love and Actual Death in Miami" (May 20, 2004), an account of the unsolved murder of 27-year-old RJ Lockwood. Jensen's article was also named the best among all newspapers and magazines represented in the contest.