Enrique Encinosa is a big man with a big personality and big credentials. As the host of El Mundo al Día, a weekday evening global affairs and news show on WWFE La Poderosa, Encinosa is smooth and congenial while rehashing the problems plaguing Venezuela's economy or analyzing the latest development out of Havana's palacio presidencial. But underneath that warm-coffee demeanor is an intellectual heavyweight, noted historian, and one of Miami's most ardent anticastristas. Encinosa was born in Havana. After moving to the U.S. as a teenager, he became a preeminent boxing expert and then wrote Cuban political histories like Cuba: The Unfinished Revolution and the smash hit Escambray: The Forgotten War. In his decades-long media career, he's often been criticized for his feisty ideology — political enemies have said he condones anti-Castro terrorism — but in Miami, on Spanish-language radio, that all just adds up to more street cred.

lapoderosa.com

Readers' choice: Enrique Santos

Like the city itself, sports radio listeners in Miami are a dizzyingly diverse crowd. That's why it's so rare that a sports radio host in this town can hold everyone's attention, from fútbol-mad Colombians in Kendall to football-crazed bros in Davie. Yet Josh Friedman of 790 AM the Ticket somehow does just that. Friedman balances a vast knowledge of sports with an uncanny ability to rebut callers' and his cohost's opinions on the fly. His 7-to-10 p.m. show daily on the Ticket with his equally splendid cohost, Chris Wittyngham, has perfected the art of giving listeners spicy-hot takes on the day's big stories leavened with a few lighthearted diversions. Friedman is equally at ease telling the story of a 1970s Cubs player he saw play in person as recounting a Twitter firestorm from earlier that afternoon. He whips up the best meat-and-potatoes sports program in town, so it's no wonder his listeners always leave happily satisfied.

twitter.com/friedo1043

Readers' choice: Dan Le Batard

You're looking to throw a party in Miami but need lots of space — tons of it, in fact. And it needs to be centrally located and a blank canvas for the vision in your head. The answer is Soho Studios in Wynwood, a 70,000-square-foot compound that can hold almost any type of event, from major festivals like III Points to intimate Ketel One-fueled Basel parties. The venue has also hosted art fairs, fashion shows, galas, and productions. It has three major indoor spaces, a large area called Armory Studio, and two outdoor areas that add more square footage — weather permitting, of course. And with its location in a not-so-gentrified area of Wynwood, Soho Studios gives you a feel for the neighborhood before Big Bus Tours came rolling down NW Second Avenue. Soho Studios doesn't post its rates publicly, but you can call for a walkthrough and estimate. With Wynwood as hot as ever, Soho seems to be benefiting immensely from its zip code. In other words, events are happening there all the time. Better call ahead if you want your party in this sprawling space.

Miami's diverse selection of art houses has turned thousands of viewers on to the indie film experience in recent years. But perhaps no theater is as adept at getting audiences to eat their small-release vegetables — which are delicious, of course, if you'll only give them a taste — as the Bill Cosford Cinema at the University of Miami. The auditorium-style space has a legion of film-buff supporters, sure. But it also draws more casual theatergoers through buzzworthy wide releases such as American Sniper and The Interview. Once they're in the door, those viewers are then exposed to a world of film options they've never encountered at the cineplex: foreign features, U.S.-made independent films, and movies that rack up awards on the film festival circuit but never quite reach the national consciousness. The frat bros and party girls of UM may not be converted immediately into miniature Pauline Kaels, but hey, every bit helps.

Readers' choice: O Cinema

Where in Miami can you pull a double feature, watching the latest Marvel blockbuster and subtitled foreign film back to back? And what's the only major movie theater that serves both Miami Beach and Miami? Don't worry — they're not trick questions designed to ruin your chances at this month's local pub quiz. The answer is simple, actually: Regal South Beach Stadium 18, at the west end of Lincoln Road Mall. As things to do get increasingly expensive in South Beach, Regal remains a true constant that for $12.50, you can still catch major Hollywood productions, indie releases, and soon-to-be arthouse classics. Regal also has plenty of amenities, including 3D capabilities, IMAX, and digital projection — though Hollywood is still debating whether the last is actually an improvement. Don't tell Tarantino!

Readers' choice: Cinepolis Coconut Grove

Born in Guatemala and raised in Miami, Oscar Isaac is the movie star the Magic City has been waiting for. Early in his career, Isaac had a few turns on television, and like seemingly every aspiring actor, he did an episode of Law and Order. But it was his stunning, soulful turn as the title character in the Coen Brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis that earned Isaac bona fide star status. Set in 1960s Greenwich Village, Inside Llewyn Davis tells the story of a struggling folk singer. Davis is deeply unlikable — selfish, self-centered, and rude — but in the hands of Isaac, he's a layered character whose flaws make him human. It's not surprising that Isaac was nominated for a Golden Globe for his nuanced portrayal. Isaac followed up his star-making turn with A Most Violent Year, proving he has a knack for complex roles. But if his first notable films were all about establishing his acting cred, the next are about turning the actor into a marquee name. Next up for Isaac are three big-budget action flicks. He's set to star as X-wing pilot Poe Dameron in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the currently untitled Star Wars: Episode VIII. Isaac will also join another powerful franchise when he plays a villain in 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse. Whatever Isaac is up to next, we'll be watching. Frankly, we can't keep our eyes off him. Call us, Oscar!

twitter.com/realoscarisaac

What's a high-profile chef to do when he flames out on the West Coast? Return to his Miami roots and rediscover the food he loves. That's the premise of Chef, Jon Favreau's 2014 film that shows off both sides of Miami — the high-end resorts and beaches where tourists flock, and the cozy mainland haunts where locals gather. Chef Casper's food truck (played by real-life Miami food truck Jefe's Original Fish Taco and Burger) makes stops in front of the Fontainebleau and along Ocean Drive, serving up Cuban sandwiches to the swarming masses. But the chef really gets his groove back at Little Havana nightclub Hoy Como Ayer, alongside Sofia Vergara shimmying to its house Cuban band. Casper ultimately leaves Miami to embark on a cross-country road trip with his food truck to return to Los Angeles to prove himself. But he brings Miami's food along with him for the ride, telling audiences worldwide what South Florida locals have known for decades: Can't nobody resist a fresh-pressed cubano.

facebook.com/ChefTheFilm

If you've never seen an episode of Jane the Virgin, it might be easy to write the show off. Airing on the CW, it's an adaptation of a Venezuelan telenovela that tells the story of an optimistic, religious Latina living in Miami who — oops! — is accidentally artificially inseminated during a routine gynecological exam. But once you've swallowed the show's ridiculous premise, you're free to enjoy the things that make it truly great entertainment. Its charming cast of characters ranges from the down-to-earth and relatable, like Jane herself, to the wonderfully wacky, like her biological father Rogelio, a self-centered telenovela star. Its unique storytelling style uses onscreen text and voice-over narration unlike anything else on television. And most important, especially for Miami audiences, it's a respectful portrayal of Hispanic culture. "[Jane the Virgin] represents a culture that wants to see themselves as heroes," star Gina Rodriguez explained in her emotional Emmy Award acceptance speech. Beneath the show's over-the-top exterior lies a unique, exciting, and complex world packed with plenty of heart — like Miami itself.

cwtv.com/shows/jane-the-virgin

Miami's Adrienne Arsht Center was graced by a slew of impressive traveling Broadway hits this season, from Wicked to Sister Act and Newsies, but none was as raucously, purely entertaining as The Book of Mormon, a religious satire created by the guys behind South Park. Though the musical's overarching story chronicled the experience of a pair of missionaries spreading the good news in a war-stricken Uganda, it managed to make light of some very questionable themes, from baby rape to genital mutilation and AIDS, with enough profanity to offend even the raunchiest of potty-mouthed Miamians. But all of that four-letter magic came packaged within enough musical stylings to earn the show nine Grammys in its original NYC run. While touring companies often pale in comparison to the Broadway original, Miami didn't see any appreciable drop-off. David Larsen as the slowly unraveling Elder Price gave as compelling a portrayal as it was knee-slappingly hilarious.

Playwrights, directors, and actors spend countless hours researching, writing, rewriting, memorizing, staging, and emotionally preparing for work that strives for perfection. With so many variables in play, perfection is seldom realized, as most theater professionals will admit. But when it is, audiences are left breathless and shaken, reaching for handkerchiefs and superlatives to describe an experience that words can't do justice. That was the case with Mothers and Sons, the crown jewel of GableStage's season. Set around a surprise visit from a gay widow's mother-in-law, who still hasn't accepted her son's passing from AIDS, Terrence McNally's play exhibited a profound understanding of gay-straight relations in the 21st Century, riding rapidly shifting tides with an empathetic eye for those left behind. Angie Radosh's performance humanized intolerance with the truth and complexity of a master craftsman; Michael McKeever channeled the soul of the modern gay man with both patience and quivering, righteous indignation; and Jeremiah Musgrove flawlessly embodied McKeever's younger boyfriend, representing a healthy generation removed from Stonewall. Director Joseph Adler put all the pieces together for an unforgettable, mind-opening work of art.