november 13
New Vision Florida/Brazil Festival: Bringing together artists from Brazil and Florida, the festival ends this weekend with two dance concerts at Miami Beach's Colony Theater and outdoor street performances on Lincoln Road. A highlight occurs tonight at 9:00 when Brazilian guitar virtuoso Baden Powell performs solo, in a rare U.S. appearance, at Coral Gables Congregational Church (3010 DeSoto Blvd.). The innovative Powell is known for his Afro-sambas and his work with one of the key figures in the bossa nova movement, Vinicius de Morais. Tickets cost $20 and $35. See "Calendar Listings" for more or call 324-4337. (NK)
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival: Just a few more days and the curtain comes down on the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. Over the weekend, catch The Winter Guest, starring Emma Thompson and her real-life mother Phyllida Law, or The Wings of the Dove, another Henry James novel-turned-movie, starring Helena Bonham Carter. Call 954-564-7373 or see "Calendar Listings" for a complete schedule. (NK)
Festival of Chefs: Chow down for charity at the Easter Seal Society of Dade County's Festival of Chefs tonight at 6:00 at NationsBank (100 SE Second Ave.). Talented chefs from restaurants around town, such as Crystal Cafe and the Mayfair Grill, will be serving up their house specialties and hoping their creations garner the award for best presentation or best-tasting from a panel of hungry local-celebrity judges. Once you've had your fill of food, you can benefit the programs and services provided by Easter Seals to children and adults with disabilities by bidding on travel packages at the not-so-silent auction. Tickets cost $50 in advance and $65 at the door. Call 325-0470 for more information. (NK)
friday
november 14
U2: U2's latest album PopMart hasn't exactly taken off like a chain of Kmarts; reviewers have been underwhelmed. But as far as stadium shows go, not too many bands pull it off like this one. Trying to outshine 1993's Zooropa tour, U2 packs a mega stage-and-sound show with a catalogue of tunes from more than ten albums. So even if their current album is a bit lame, it's just one part of many. The question is, do you want to pay $52.50 to see all the parts? (The cheaper seats have sold out.) If so, be at Pro Player Stadium (2269 NW 199th St.) at 8:00 p.m. Opening act is Smash Mouth. Call 623-6100. (LB)
New Vision Florida/Brazil Festival: See Thursday.
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival: See Thursday.
saturday
november 15
Tobacco Road's 85th Anniversary Party: In this city of constant change, leave it to barflies and music fanatics to keep something afloat for 85 years. After all, a good watering hole that's also a quality live-music venue is about as rare as an honest city official. Since 1912 there have been only a handful of each. To celebrate another year as Miami's oldest bar, the folks at Tobacco Road (626 S. Miami Ave.) are bringing in a classic party band, Little Feat, and zydeco player Terrance Simien, perhaps the hottest thing from Louisiana since Tabasco. They also have a strong showing of local players, with Iko-Iko, Raw B. Jae and the Liquid Funk, Al's Not Well, Amanda Green, Diane Ward, and Manchild. Showtime is 7:00 p.m. Tickets cost $13.50 in advance or $17.00 at the door. Call 374-1198. (LB)
Celia Cruz: The Queen of Salsa might have to take on a new title after this performance: the Queen of Shopping. Yes, Celia Cruz, the ebullient vocalist who has recorded more than 70 albums, is opening a shopping mall. Well, she's not really opening her own mall; she's performing at one that's been open for years and is getting a new identity. The mall formerly known as the Miracle Center (3301 Coral Way) has been transformed into Paseos, an interactive Spanish colonial-theme marketplace containing more than 100 international boutiques and 20 artists' studios. Fear not -- the Gap, the Limited, Victoria's Secret, and all those other national retailers remain, as well as the movie theater, gym, and T.G.I.Friday's. Cruz starts crooning at 8:00 p.m. on the mall's first level. Admission is free, and a big crowd is expected. If you don't make it inside, watch the action on two huge video screens outside. Call 444-8890. (NK)
Y-100 Wing Ding: For the past ten years radio station Y-100 and its morning DJ Footy have been throwing a huge one-day party to benefit Here's Help, a charity that combats drug abuse. The menu has always consisted of chicken wings from various South Florida restaurants and plenty of music from national acts. So many people attended last year's bash that the Wing Ding has now evolved into a two-day event. Today from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Hollywood's Young Circle Park (Federal Highway and Hollywood Boulevard), fill up on wings and a variety of foods, hang out with athletes and celebrities, and keep the kiddies busy with rides and activities. At 4:30 p.m. check out the musical acts, which include 3rd Party, 98 Degrees, Inner Circle, and Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. Tomorrow the festivities begin at 11:00 a.m. and run until 8:00 p.m. The music starts at 2:45 p.m. with Hanson, Nayib Estefan's band Funky Munky, Duncan Sheik, Diana King, and KC and the Sunshine Band. Tickets range from five to eight dollars. Call 774-9795. (NK)
New Vision Florida/Brazil Festival: See Thursday.
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival: See Thursday.
sunday
november 16
Cinema Vortex: Silent-film siren Lillian Gish stars in Victor Sjsstrsm's The Wind, released in 1928, one of the last and greatest soundless movies. Gish portrays Letty Mason, a young woman from Virginia. She moves out West to live with her cousin, who becomes jealous when her husband pays too much attention to Letty. So Letty moves out and marries an abrasive man she despises; violence, rape, and general unpleasantness ensue. The action culminates in a stunning desert storm that unfortunately cannot be heard. But at the Alliance Cinema (927 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach) today at noon, something will be in the air when the duo known as Musique Plastique brings the film to life with a live score. No pipe organs here; just their self-described "musique concrete." Admission costs four dollars. Call 531-8504. (NK)
Miami Book Fair International: Evenings with ... Series: As part of this year's book fair, Miami-Dade Community College presents a series of lectures at the Wolfson Campus Auditorium (300 NE Second Ave.). Tonight's presentation is "An Evening with Stephen Jay Gould: Questioning the Millennium." A professor of zoology and geology at Harvard, Gould is also a best-selling writer of science books comprehensible to the lay public. Tomorrow the series continues with James McBride, author of The Color of Water, about growing up in Harlem the son of a white mother and black father. Tuesday brings Erica Jong, author of Fear of Flying and her latest, Inventing Memory. On Wednesday Cornel West, one of America's leading intellectuals and a proponent of improved relations between blacks and Jews, discusses Restoring Hope: Conversations on the Future of Black America. Thursday features historian Arthur Schlesinger and a panel of journalists, military experts, and veterans for "The Bay of Pigs Re-Examined." And on Friday Jackie Robinson's widow Rachel Robinson and author Arnod Rampersad discuss Rampersad's new biography of the baseball hero. All events are free and open to the public, and all start at 8:00 p.m. Also this week, in the Wolfson Gallery, get an idea of Cuba's history through striking photos of its diverse buildings in the exhibition "Cuba: 400 Years of Architectural Heritage." Call 237-3258 for more information. (JO)
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival: See Thursday.
Y-100 Wing Ding:: See Saturday.
monday
november 17
Semana de Cine Espanol: Spanish-speaking cineastes can celebrate an entire week of lisping dialogue, intelligent drama, surreal fantasy, flamenco soundtracks, sweeping landscapes, understated humor, and assorted love tangles during the Semana de Cine Espanol at the Colony Theater (1040 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach), presented by the Miami Centro Cultural Espanol. The series starts tonight with director Imanol Uribe's 1996 film Bwana, in which a taxi driver confronts his racist views when he mistakenly assumes an African immigrant is out to harm his family. Tomorrow a Gypsy waiter hopes to triumph as a flamenco dancer in Alma Gitana (1995), directed by Chus Gutierrez. The rest of the week promises levity, more romantic imbroglios, a road trip, and a plague of insects! Most movies start at 6:00 p.m., except for a couple that screen at 8:30. Tickets cost $6.00 for each flick or $30.00 for the entire series. For more on Spanish cinema, check the current display of books, posters, and memorabilia from silent movies to the present at the Centro Cultural Espanol (800 Douglas Rd., Coral Gables). Call 448-9677. (JC)
Miami Book Fair International: Evenings with ... Series: See Sunday.
tuesday
november 18
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin: Imagine embarking on a concert tour at age 51. No, this is not a reference to dinosaur rock stars who have been riding the gravy train way too much lately. This 51-year-old is the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. Although the orchestra has changed conductors and its name (the latest is in honor of German reunification) a few times over the years, it has maintained high standards and a stellar reputation. Pianist extraordinaire Vladimir Ashkenazy, who assumed duties as conductor in 1989, will lead the orchestra in a program of Mahler's Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor. Finnish pianist Olli Mustonen joins in during Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 1. Showtime is 8:00 p.m. at Dade County Auditorium (2901 W. Flagler St.). Tickets range from $20 to $70. Call 532-3491. (NK)
Edouard Duval-Carrie: Painter Edouard Duval-Carrie's The Landing is a Miami classic, depicting a posse of fabulous Vodou gods sashaying onshore near the Julia Tuttle Causeway, backed by the phosphorescent night skyline. Duval-Carrie is at his best in this delightful painting, treating a deadly serious sociopolitical subject with humor while poignantly revealing spiritual strength. Extravagant portraits of single Vodou spirits in rustic icon-encrusted frames and sculpture are also included in the artist's exhibition of new work through December 6 at Quintana Gallery (3200 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Coral Gables). Call 444-6331. (JC)
Miami Book Fair International: Evenings with... Series: See Sunday.
Semana de Cine Espanol: See Monday.
wednesday
november 19
Don Giovanni: Tonight the Florida Grand Opera takes you to Hell and back with its season-opener, Mozart's Don Giovanni. Whoever said opera is boring has never seen this one. Don Juan and damnation are the operative words here, as the statue of a dead man accepts a libertine's invitation to dinner. Written in 1787, this action-packed musical is sure to give a slight thrill to any woman who has ever felt wronged by a man. In this case, the unrepentant, irresistible Lothario gets his comeuppance. He goes to Hell, and we get to watch. Kelly Anderson plays the cad, and Christine Brewer makes her debut as the innocent Anna. Leif Bjaland conducts the orchestra. The excitement begins at 8:00 p.m. at Dade County Auditorium (2901 W. Flagler St.). Other performances take place November 22, 25, 28, and 30. Tickets range from $18 to $125. Call 854-7890. (NK)
Miami Book Fair International: Evenings with ... Series: See Sunday.
Semana de Cine Espanol: See Monday.
Edouard Duval-Carrie: See Tuesday.
