What is it about Sunday that makes reggae music the day’s ultimate soundtrack? The Sabbath has become the most important day of the week for roots and dancehall fans alike, with any number of radio programs and loungy nightclub evenings dedicated to bass-heavy Jamaican music. “As long as I can…

If you’ve ever watched the interpretive sequence set to Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” at the end of Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion and thought, I wish I could express myself through dance, here’s your opportunity. The Miami Contemporary Dance Company is offering a special summer course. At the…

Donna Halpern has earned her wings. As the founder of Fairy Tails, one of our favorite nonprofit, no-kill animal shelters, she is always caring for abandoned animals. Last year’s hurricane season tested her determination and endurance. Besides accommodating 23 dogs from New Orleans, Fairy Tails donated food and supplies to…

For a decade now, “serious jazz” public radio station 88.9 WDNA-FM has gifted the city with the Miami Jazz Film Festival, an increasingly impressive celluloid celebration of America’s greatest musical contribution and the characters who perform it. To celebrate this memorable milestone, this year’s fest will present a packed schedule…

Summer in Key West means three things: The clothing-optional policy at the Garden of Eden bar becomes more appealing, tourists and locals come together to combat the increased heat by way of copious mojitos, and everyone has a good time at the annual Key West Lobsterfest. The popular feast is…

Ever since Chris Parnell and Andy Samberg busted out that “Lazy Sunday” skit for Saturday Night Live, we’ve wondered what would be an appropriate Miami alternative. Getting bizzaked and watching The Chronicles of Narnia sounded like fun, but cupcakes, Mr. Pibb, and Red Vines just won’t satisfy our Sabbath cravings…

Anyone who has had to suffer the indignity of a lengthy security pat-down, or who has endured a screening of Tom Hanks’s immigration dramedy The Terminal, can tell you: Airports are no fun. But when life handed Paul Tei two back-to-back delayed flight experiences, he found the inspiration for Terminal…

The proprietors of Jake’s Bar tout their establishment as “a watering hole for grownups.” Indeed the plush corner pub comes across as the kind of highfalutin bar where a drink might cost well into the double digits. Despite the gleaming mahogany and dim lighting, the place still feels as welcoming…

Big Daddy Kane first tried to set the record straight in 1989, with “Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy.” Just last year, Memphis bass heads Three 6 Mafia attempted to reinforce that message, with the Academy Award-winning “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp.” Rather than trying to convince a skeptical audience about…

Moviemakers in America have it pretty good. Thanks to the First Amendment, directors and writers can make a subversive celluloid statement without it being banned by the government. Stricter regimes around the world have prevented the release of motion pictures over objections to political undercurrents, religious imagery, and sexual content,…

Flying over Haiti reveals the unmistakable effects of deforestation. The parched earth looks like an open wound. The lack of greenery is stark in comparison to other Caribbean islands. “Haiti used to be green. But people gotta eat, they gotta cook. So they cut down the trees to make charcoal,…

When prepared correctly, the Puerto Rican dish mofongo is a little sweet, a little salty, filling and decadent, and infused with the smoky succulence of bacon. The indigenous mishmash is so yummy it’s difficult to describe. The culinary delight makes a perfect title for the first full-length album by popular…

Wander through South Beach on any given Sunday afternoon, and you might feel as though you’ve stumbled into an anteroom of the Westminster Kennel Club. Pooches are everywhere, holding court at al fresco eateries and strutting jauntily into boutiques. Although most establishments on the Beach seem to have become pet-friendly…

You are sick of South Beach and over Coconut Grove. You don’t dig the Design District and are wary of Wynwood. Finally there is a new alternative on the Miami social scene. Take note, cool kids: South Miami is where it’s at. Every corner boasts a bar, each of which…

Of all the Wayans siblings (and there are many), Damon Wayans has become the most popular. He began creating iconic In Living Color characters alongside Keenan, Marlon, Shawn, and sister Kim. Damon found catchphrase fame as the ever-indignant Homey the Clown, a skit that will make its long-overdue transition to…

To historians, the Florida Moving Image Archive provides a vital, herky-jerky window to the past. To artists, it offers vibrant images that enhance bigger pictures. Barron Sherer, the archive’s curator, has combined the efforts of those who have made use of this invaluable resource in the Rewind/Fast Forward Film Festival,…

In the Twenties, more than half the cars on the road were electric. Then came the flashy, gas-powered Ford Model T and the first death of the electric car. In the controversial new documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?, filmmaker Chris Paine traces the rebirth and untimely second death of…

The sun hangs lower in the sky and the nights are warm and still, which makes this the ideal time of year for staging Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. But the FIU Theater group’s version is being produced for reasons beyond seasonal coincidence. “Philip Church, our director, looked at the…

Dr. James Johnson’s roots in Miami run as deep as those of the City Cemetery’s trees. His mother was born here in 1897, the year after Miami became an incorporated city. His parents lived in what was then Old South Miami, an area that has seen a tremendous cultural shift…

In South Beach, drag queens come in all shapes and sizes, but their style is basically uniform: tropical glamazon. In New York, the culture is more complicated. “We have West Village queens, East Village queens, Uptown queens … some are more Rocky Horror, some are traditional, then there’s imperial court…