Caracas

Street Light Interference

Nada but Empanadas

Marlins Game : WBC :: Dog Poo : Kobe Beef

I counted three Venezuelan girls in bikini's that made me want to defect on the next plane to Caracas.

Los Amigos Invisibles

I counted three Venezuelan girls in bikini's that made me want to defect on the next plane to Caracas.

Aquiles Báez

I counted three Venezuelan girls in bikini's that made me want to defect on the next plane to Caracas.

Haven and Hell

As Chávez grabs more power, three Venezuelans who fled death threats find their struggles don't end with asylum.

War on Hugo Chávez

An outlaw and former spook takes on the Venezuelan dictator

Oscar D'León

An outlaw and former spook takes on the Venezuelan dictator

Trampling the Grid

CIFO's commission artists offer slaphappy taproots, martyrs, and more

The Fugitive

Patricia Poleo, a Venezuelan journalist and political activist, is accused of murder. She's in exile in Miami.

Never Forget You

The Americanization of the telenovela: in Spanish, in Miami

The Bueno Vino Social Club

Where the blood of the grapes runs freely and cheaply

Tripping Latino

Where the blood of the grapes runs freely and cheaply

President Mish-Mash

Yerba Buena releases a stunning debut of cross-cultural rhythms

BEST LOW-RENT BAR

Bikini Bar

Two to Tambo

Let's say Tambo is a nice Japanese-Peruvian-Miamian work in progress

To Hatch a Thief

Venezuela's financial crisis as seen through the eyes of a motley robbing crew

Maria Rivas

Café Negrito
Ashé Records

Opium Dream

A New Year's Reverie

Miami in the Meantime

With the future of their country in flux, Venezuelans are setting up shop, and opposing camps, in Florida

Have Cars, Will Travel

Why are all those South American cop cars parked off Le Jeune Road? Ask salesman Ricardo Callado.

Introducing Leah Kaire

image via myspace.com/leahkaireLeah Kaire is a local musician with a great back story who is doing cool shit. I met her over the weekend at a BBQ at Morningside Park where she was hanging out with my friend Matt. I e-mailed her some questions and here's what she had to say."Okay cool...My name is LE ... More >>

Get Caught in Charlotte's Web: Chef Elida Villaroel Dishes on Her New Bistro and the Beauty of Imperfection

Jackie SayetMarie Antoinette's gaze beholds the dining room. Behold, Villaroel's muse?​The question is not, is three Michelin star restaurant-experienced Chef Elida Villaroel ready for Coral Gables, but rather, is Coral Gables ready for her?Pensive and profound, yet uncomplicated.  Calculate ... More >>

Charlotte Bistro's Enchanting Web

Dinner here is simply an elegant, enjoyable experience.

Los Amigos Invisibles play downtown Miami's Kukaramakara this Sunday

Dinner here is simply an elegant, enjoyable experience.

Parks & Recreation Mines Comedy Gold out of Hugo Chavez's Ego

​Word on the street -- well, if the street you happen to be on is Calle Ocho -- is that Hollywood is full of a bunch of Hugo Chávez-loving socialists. Well, maybe you didn't see last night's Parks & Recreation on NBC, and judging from the ratings, we guess you probably didn't, which is a sham ... More >>

Head Spins: DJ Mednas, Miami's internationalist house man

​Word on the street -- well, if the street you happen to be on is Calle Ocho -- is that Hollywood is full of a bunch of Hugo Chávez-loving socialists. Well, maybe you didn't see last night's Parks & Recreation on NBC, and judging from the ratings, we guess you probably didn't, which is a sham ... More >>

Desorden Publico Comes To Miami, This Friday at La Covacha

​When most people think about Latin ska, chances are good that the first group that comes to mind is the legendary band from Buenos Aires, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. But there's another group that deserves just as much recognition hailing from a little town about 3,000 miles due northwest, known as ... More >>

Three Amigos, Plus Three More

​When most people think about Latin ska, chances are good that the first group that comes to mind is the legendary band from Buenos Aires, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. But there's another group that deserves just as much recognition hailing from a little town about 3,000 miles due northwest, known as ... More >>

Los Amigos Invisibles, at La Covacha Next Week

​First thing's first, it's important you all know one thing about the information contained within the following post. Today is my birthday! How does this relate to Los Amigos Invisibles? Well it doesn't. Unless, due to the residual effects of last night's celebration combined with the anxiousness ... More >>

Venezuela Murder Rate Has Quadrupled Under Hugo Chávez

One person is murdered every two hours in Venezuela, according to new statistics released by the independent Venezuelan Observatory of Violence.The murder rate in the South American country has more than quadrupled since Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999. There were 54 homicides per 100,000 people ... More >>

The Rolando Grooscors Sextet Plays the Van Dyke Tonight

​ Rolando Grooscors has worn the hats of producer, composer, and arranger, but is best known as an accomplished jazz guitarist. Impressively adequate in all these fields, he's twice received Latin Grammy nods and his latest album, Thankful, has garnered positive criticism and acclaim from notable ... More >>

Lingua Ex Machina

​ Rolando Grooscors has worn the hats of producer, composer, and arranger, but is best known as an accomplished jazz guitarist. Impressively adequate in all these fields, he's twice received Latin Grammy nods and his latest album, Thankful, has garnered positive criticism and acclaim from notable ... More >>

MP3 of the Day: Ultrachic - "Dentro de Ti"

​Ultrachic is a Miami band of Venezuelan ex-pats who rest at the crossroad of contemporary Venezuelan rock, uniting the golden age of acts like Sentimiento Muerto, Dermis Tatu, and Desorden Público with the newer crop of outfits like Zapato 3, Los Amigos Invisibles, and Caramelos de Cianuro. Actu ... More >>

J.J. Rendon is Latin America's Karl Rove

​Ultrachic is a Miami band of Venezuelan ex-pats who rest at the crossroad of contemporary Venezuelan rock, uniting the golden age of acts like Sentimiento Muerto, Dermis Tatu, and Desorden Público with the newer crop of outfits like Zapato 3, Los Amigos Invisibles, and Caramelos de Cianuro. Actu ... More >>

MP3: UltraChic* - "Labios de Diamante"

​Since I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, it gives me great pleasure and pride to see the work of UltraChic*, a band based out of Miami but hailing from my homeland. The group continues to soldier on with a rock and roll racket that pays plenty of respect to the bygone heroes of Venezuel ... More >>

In Chavez's Crime-Torn Venezuela, No More Front-Page Photos of Bullet-Riddled Corpses

One opposition paper reacted to the ban with a front-page "Censored" photo.​Last year, more than 16,000 Venezuelans were felled by bullets, bombs, knives and other violent instruments of crime -- but don't look for their grisly death photos on the front pages in Caracas. A Venezuelan court yesterd ... More >>

Los Amigos Invisibles Go Totally Gozadera at Grand Central

Los Amigos' Julio "Chulius" Briceño.​Call it disco. Call it acid jazz. Call it funk. Hell, call it gozadera, electroparranda, or a Venezuelan journey into space. Call it whatever you like, because when trying to stir up an adequate description of the Los Amigos Invisibles sound, any of the above ... More >>

Los Amigos Invisibles at Grand Central September 24

Los Amigos' Julio "Chulius" Briceño.​Call it disco. Call it acid jazz. Call it funk. Hell, call it gozadera, electroparranda, or a Venezuelan journey into space. Call it whatever you like, because when trying to stir up an adequate description of the Los Amigos Invisibles sound, any of the above ... More >>

Five Venezuelan Musical Acts We'd Gladly Deport Kat Stacks For

La Criolla tetona​Okay, it wasn't until my colleague Esther Park's blog about Ms. Kat Stacks arrest and possible deportation that I learned hip-hop's most hated bitch is Venezuelan. Needless to say, I was disappointed. Not only is the country presided over by one of history's dumbest assholes, ... More >>

Carlos Andres Perez Would Have Made a Better Venezuela

​So the last sane president of Venezuela died in Miami Saturday. Carlos Andres Perez was the probably the first Latin president to flex his muscles over oil, thus setting the stage for his one-time nemesis, the half wit Hugo Chavez, to take power. I interviewed Cap -- who was 88 at the time o ... More >>

Radioboxer Releases New Album Magic City Ruse April 1

"What? Is there something on my face?"​Every now and then, a really cool local band comes along and you say, "Holy crap! This band is pretty fuckin' cool." Less often, they get to count themselves among those lucky few who make it beyond their city's area code, transcending region and working be ... More >>

The fight to bury Venezuelan President CAP in Miami

"What? Is there something on my face?"​Every now and then, a really cool local band comes along and you say, "Holy crap! This band is pretty fuckin' cool." Less often, they get to count themselves among those lucky few who make it beyond their city's area code, transcending region and working be ... More >>

Hugo Chávez Calls Cuban Reforms 'Refreshing'

walksydneystreets.netRefreshing! Like Cuba's economic reforms​Over the past decade, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez has become the Cuban government's number one supporter. His oil subsidies help keep the embargoed island afloat and, in return, he welcomes Cuban doctors to Caracas's poor, inner-c ... More >>

Venezuelan Hip-Hoppers Cuarto Poder Kick Off US Tour Tonight at PAX

​When someone says Venezuela, you probably don't immediately think hip-hop. After all, the South American nation has long been knows for its salsa. Oh, and a strange, insane little dictatorial ferret who's more than just a little bit acquainted with Castro's backside.But don't tell Cuarto Poder th ... More >>

Caramelos de Cianuro on 20 Years in Punk, "La Casa," and Killing It Live

​Longevity is far more often the antithesis of punk rock than an adjective used to describe it. But Venezuelan rockers Caramelos de Cianuro don't subscribe to the usual rules. This band has been doing its thing for a very long time now, and it's been doing it well. The group first garnered attent ... More >>

Do Implant Bombs Mean Miami Is Now More Dangerous Than Mazar-i-Sharif?

Suspicious.​Miami has long been the unofficial fake boob capital of the country, probably the world (nice try, Caracas).Now, however, the Transportation Security Administration says that terrorists may be plotting suicide bombings using surgical implants.Suddenly our artificially enhanced paradise ... More >>

Caramelos de Cianuro at Grand Central July 15

Suspicious.​Miami has long been the unofficial fake boob capital of the country, probably the world (nice try, Caracas).Now, however, the Transportation Security Administration says that terrorists may be plotting suicide bombings using surgical implants.Suddenly our artificially enhanced paradise ... More >>

Eligio Cedeño: A banker battles Hugo Chavez

Suspicious.​Miami has long been the unofficial fake boob capital of the country, probably the world (nice try, Caracas).Now, however, the Transportation Security Administration says that terrorists may be plotting suicide bombings using surgical implants.Suddenly our artificially enhanced paradise ... More >>

Hugo Chavez Ships Mountains of Gold to Caracas as Panic Runs on Toilet Paper Begin

​Hugo Chavez has a new plan to save Venezuela's teetering national economy and it's, uh, shipping giant mountains of gold into Venezuela amid a procession of tanks so he can end the "dictatorship of the U.S. dollar" and possibly "offer President Obama a loan."So how did his grateful people react? ... More >>