Arts & Entertainment

While Jaquira Díaz’s debut memoir is called Ordinary Girls — a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Notable Selection and on handfuls of most-anticipated and most-read book lists — Díaz is clearly not your run-of-the-mill author. Recipient of a Whiting Award in Nonfiction and a Florida Book Awards Gold Medal (to name just two of her many honors), Díaz is an extraordinary writer who has penned an ode not only to herself, but to all Latinx LGBTQ survivors of shame, blame, violence, and erasure. Sandra Cisneros writes that Díaz is “a woman who has claimed her own voice, a writer who writes for those who have no voice, for the black and brown girls ‘who never saw themselves in books.'” Díaz makes them all visible against the backdrops of Miami and Puerto Rico, and we never want to stop seeing through her eyes.

Massachusetts native Julia Bhatt moved to Miami when she was just a wee thing, and she considers it her hometown — though it took her some time to warm up to her surroundings. But when the young singer-songwriter’s unadulterated disdain for the Magic City eventually blossomed into admiration, she hypnotized fans with “Miami,” a soulful ode to the 305. For the uninitiated, Bhatt’s powerful vocals send shockwaves stronger than that first sip of cafecito in the morning. When the city’s unforgiving heat and reckless drivers are getting you down, let Bhatt show you how to appreciate the kooky place we call home.

If there’s anyone who can attest to the shade of Dade, it’s the Magic City’s Ricardo Muñoz, aka Rick Moon. The singer-songwriter/producer’s sun-drenched bop “Magic Pity,” from his EP Electric Lunch, earned him a spot on New Times‘ list of the “20 Best Miami Songs of 2019.” But one thing apparent is about Moon’s MO, and that’s slinging catchy psych-pop tracks as if his life depended on it, regardless of his geographical location. A year after Electric Lunch‘s July 2019 release, the solo artist’s stellar EP continues to looms large as one of the city’s most memorable.

Hidden among an overwhelming row of Latin clubs and restaurants in Little Havana’s Calle Ocho, Bar Nancy offers a maritime-themed dive for spirits, music, and delicious food. The small stage sports an unforgettably large American flag that serves as a backdrop — in non-COVID times — for bands performing in styles that include reggae, folk, and jazz. The bar is currently open for a daily happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m., with grubs from the Cheese Stands Alone.

Unfortunately, there will be no 2020 edition of Rakastella, but that’s not going to stop us from waxing poetic about one of Miami’s most underrated music festivals. Every December, during Miami Art Week, throngs of partygoers skip out on the fairs and head to Virginia Key Beach Park for a sunset-to-sunrise party. The event, a collaboration of Life and Death, Innervisions, Secret Garden, PL0T, and Where Are My Keys, boasts a who’s who of underground dance acts like Dixon, DJ Tennis, Âme, DJ Harvey, Apparat, and Moscoman. But the best part of the festival is the intimate, almost shipwrecked experience it provides, feeling worlds away from the art-induced chaos happening on the other side of the Rickenbacker Causeway.

It wasn’t always easy to groove in the Grove. The DJs claimed Wynwood and downtown as their sovereign territories while areas like Coconut Grove had to wrap it up by 2 a.m., with few beats heard during the night. But gradually, the monthly DJ shindigs known as Coconut Groove began gaining traction, with deep electronic sounds at bars like Barracuda and the now-closed Tavern in the Grove. With their usual haunts shutting down during the pandemic, members of the Coconut Groove local collective — Juan Fonseca, Kike Roldan, Koranoir, Soto, and others — took to playing on the Internet for their happy-hour live-stream sets every Friday around 5 p.m. The Coconut Groove stream, which opts for a bare-bones aesthetic that lets the music do the talking, can be found on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch; viewers can expect to hear techno and house being spun by a DJ or two, usually somewhere deep in the Grove: a backyard, rooftop, or living room with a neon-blue “Show Me Love” fixture shining on the wall. The future is uncertain, but the music is set for every Friday.

There’s something about dance music that inspires fervent joy and togetherness — and if ever there was a year everyone needed to come together, it’s 2020. But with the shuttering of nightclubs at the beginning of the pandemic, one of Miami’s defining features — its nightlife — was extinguished overnight. Leave it to Club Space to come to the rescue with a continuous set of livestreams showcasing a cavalry of DJs behind the deck of its terrace. Danny Daze, DJ Tennis, Shiba San, and Marco Carola all took up the challenge of keeping the dance music alive as the world seemed to burn. While Space has since reopened — albeit with limited capacity and strict rules — the 11th Street stalwart continues to stream from time to time; indulge yourself at youtube.com/officialclubspace. Personally, we wouldn’t mind if every weekend set was broadcast going forward.

Life and Death Records wasn’t born in Miami, but its founder, Manfredi Romano (aka DJ Tennis), has called Miami home for several years. The record label has undeniably been influenced by the city, as evidenced by projects going back to label imprint Parachute’s release of Poorgrrrl’s Pitiparti EP in 2016. Life and Death also puts on the annual Rakastella party marathon at Virginia Key Beach Park every December, and it recently launched an online portal at lifeanddeath.us that includes exclusive music, artist interviews, podcasts, and more, highlighting talent abroad and right here in the 305.

North Miami’s Found Sound Records has what everyone wants from a record store: no frills, no judging, and a solid collection to dig through. Rafael “Ralph” Pichardo, born and raised in Miami, was tired of hauling heavy stacks of vinyl to record fairs, finally deciding to open a permanent store when a good deal popped up on a storefront rental. Found Sound opened in December 2019, and although it had to close for a few months because of city shutdowns, Pichardo says people are still coming out and shopping for music. Every Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m. at Found Sound, Pichardo (RAP79) streams a new episode of his radio show, Above the Clouds Radio.

If you’ve ever made it out to Honey at Las Rosas, one of Mango Hill Records’ legendary soul and funk parties, then you’ve had the pleasure of seeing one of the label’s star outfits, Jason Joshua and the Beholders, take flight. Frontman Jason Joshua’s high-energy, high-emotion showmanship conjures up the perennial romanticism of funk’s heyday as he commits wholeheartedly to each note and each longing falsetto. This year, the act delivered its long-awaited debut, Alegría y Tristeza, a chronicle of love and passion in the Beholders’ truest style. Recorded in Miami and mastered by Alex Abrash (Marvin Gaye, Fania All-Stars), the album is a feel-good ode to South Florida funk, meant to be blasted on the dance floor.

If someone had asked us in 1994 if Y100 would still be on the air in 2020, we couldn’t have said for sure. A lot has changed over the past few decades, but trusty Y100 — “Miami’s #1 Hit Music Station” — still stands at 100.7 on the FM dial. From Elvis Duran to Taylor Jukes to Drew to Frankie P, Y100 is still the soundtrack for trips to the mall, to a friend’s house, or just running around town. While other outlets from the same era have come and gone, Y100 remains one of Miami’s leading radio stations, finding success in its loyalty to the Top 40 format. You won’t find any niche stuff here, just the meat and potatoes of the music landscape. On The Y100 Streaming Report, a recent addition to the lineup that airs weekday nights at 8 p.m., Frankie P spotlights the top songs streaming locally.

Since 1996, Lucy Lopez has been a staple of Power 96.5 FM. Plucked straight out of college to work for Miami’s party station, the ever-popular Lopez hosts the Power 96 Morning Show from 6 to 10 a.m. every day. Many South Floridians wouldn’t think of waking up or driving to work in the morning without her cheery, infectious voice in the background. Music is an afterthought when it comes to what makes Lopez and the Morning Show practically a part of Miami itself; it’s the daily commentary on current events and community news, along with the entertaining jokes, bits and banter, that have kept listeners coming back for almost 25 years. Lucy Lopez is the Dwyane Wade of FM radio in these parts: Life in South Florida wouldn’t be the same without her.

Born and raised in Miami, FIU grad Nicole Perez joined Channel 10 in 2016 as a traffic reporter but now co-anchors the nightly news. In any other year, she would have been out in front, covering the biggest story of this generation. When it came to reporting on COVID-19, however, she found herself part of the story. Perez contracted the virus, along with her husband, Roy Ramos, also a Local 10 News reporter, back in July. Her recovery became a topic covered by Channel 10, helping to inform the public in a very real way just how serious the virus was. Her recent return to our living rooms reminded us just what we’d been missing while she was recovering. Smart, energetic and extremely well versed in what is happening in the South Florida community, Perez feels like a member of the family. We’re glad she’s back, doing what she does best: providing South Floridians with the best news coverage in the market.

Running down the latest stories surrounding the Miami Dolphins has never been the easiest task. Over the years, there have been a fair amount of non-football-related topics to dissect in addition to the regular team news. Adam Beasley, a longtime Dolphins columnist for the Miami Herald, has tracked each one with honesty, integrity, and, most important, a point of view that falls not far from the team’s fan base; he knows all the angles that fans want and need in order to stay informed. From breaking injury news to new roster additions and subtractions to coaching changes and social injustice-inspired player protests, Beasley’s coverage of the team is thorough. He’s truly the eyes and ears of Dolphins fans, both on the field and as far off the field as the job takes him — making him the cream of the crop at the Herald.

In his welcoming baritone voice, Mitchell Kaplan explores the human condition and societal woes of the written word during his weekly podcast, The Literary Life With Mitchell Kaplan, which debuted in 2018 and is now more than 100 episodes in. Kaplan, co-founder of the Miami Book Fair and owner of Books & Books, releases a new episode every Friday comprising a good-natured discussion with writers, authors, and anyone with a story to tell. Past episodes, available online, include a talk with Nicholas Griffin about his book detailing Miami in 1980, a year defined by riots, refugees, and cocaine; a recorded event with former Black Panther Albert Woodfox, who spent 43 years in solitary confinement for a crime he says he didn’t commit; and a discussion with author Megha Majumdar, who in her debut fictional novel, A Burning, teaches us to laugh and dream in a maddening world through the life of a Muslim girl in India.

When you think of Instagram, a 40-year-old basketball player probably isn’t the first thing you think of. And it isn’t likely that said player would be in contention for the best account on the social media platform. But this hasn’t exactly been the most normal of years, either, and if you’re looking for the most meaningful IG account, look no further than the one belonging to Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem. A glance at Haslem’s timeline will reveal everything from support for the Black Lives Matter movement to charity work in the Miami community to an overall positivity that is desperately needed right now. There’s no world where Udonis Haslem will “shut up and dribble,” and his Instagram is a perfect example of why we’re all better off with him fighting for what’s right instead.

Donzii, made up of Jenna Balfe (vox), Dennis Fuller (bass, drum machines), Miles Fortune Hancock (keyboards), Monroe Getz (drums), and Danny Heinze (guitar), has caused quite a stir since crashing onto the local music scene mid-decade. Bringing an undeniably South Floridian flair to the post-punk genre, the band’s output lands at the sweet spot between thoughtful experimentation and catchy no-wave tunes. Married couple and frontpeople Jenna Balfe and Dennis Fuller mine their performance-art practice to deliver bewitching sets, while the bandmembers’ shining personalities intertwine with their undeniable technical abilities. Donzii added another trophy to its mantel at the start of 2020, opening for New Order during a four-night residency at the Fillmore Miami Beach. After last year’s music video for “Luxury Condo Theme” and the release of the swampy “Burn” ahead of its forthcoming debut full-length, it’s clear that exciting things are in store for the unpredictable five-piece.

We’d like to say that Maureen Seaton is the Pushcart Prize- and Florida Book Awards Gold Medal-winning author of 23 books of poetry, but we’re not sure that’s accurate; it could be 24 or 25 by now. One of the most prolific and award-winning poets to ever grace Miami, Seaton, the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and Lambda Literary Award, has penned at least 13 solo books of poems and co-authored at least ten. A gracious collaborator and a generous educator at the University of Miami, Seaton is enormously admired by readers and colleagues alike for her insight and prescience, including in lines like these: “I’ve never thought to call the world sweet before./A nemesis can do that for you, make things taste different./Suddenly you’re a hero/ine./All this devastation — and you’re still standing in the middle of it.”

During the day, Anastasia Pavlinskaya is a producer at WPLG Local 10, but she really shines at night, when she’s delivering laughs as a moonlighting comedian. Although Miami’s stand-up comedy scene is small compared to that of New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago, Pavlinskaya stands out as one of its biggest champions. Take the pandemic, for instance: When everything was shut down, including her home venue, Villain Theater — where she’s director of stand-up — Pavlinskaya managed to keep the momentum going by hosting a weekly virtual open-mike night. But don’t sleep on her comedy chops, either: She’s funny AF. Mining her Russian-American background for laughs (she insists her parents aren’t spies), Pavlinskaya touches on the child-of-immigrants experience — something a lot of Miamians can relate to.

It’s been barely a year since the Miami Heat drafted Tyler Herro. The scouting reports showed Herro looking as clean-cut as his Wisconsin roots. But right from the get-go, the six-foot-five shooting guard has embodied Miami in human form like no other. From the outlandish clothing to the questionable hairstyles to the dating of Instagram celebutante Katya Elise Henry, the 20-year-old Herro is carrying all the glitz, glamour, and gossip that makes Miami alternately beloved and hated. But like the Magic City itself, Herro has thus far been able to back up his frivolities. Not only is he showing up at his day job, but he’s been killing it with a sweet-as-pastelito jump shot. Will he continue to excel while burning the candle at both ends — especially next year, when he hits legal drinking age? You’ll have to tune in to his social media accounts to find out.

Imagine being a nerdy kid growing up watching all the Star Wars movies and playing intergalactic games with your friends. Imagine showing up to the movie theaters early just to see the midnight premiere of Phantom Menace. Imagine collecting all sorts of comics, books, and figurines of well-known movie characters and spaceships. Now imagine being that same nerdy kid and growing up to write a book that’s officially part of the Star Wars universe and tells the origin story of arguably the most handsome pilot in the galaxy. Unless your name is Alex Segura, all that is just a fantasy. Miami native Segura had a childhood dream fulfilled when Poe Dameron: Free Fall was published by Disney LucasFilm Press in August. The 384-page novel tells the story of a young Dameron as he navigates the skies of growing up and ultimately becoming the hunk — er, rebel fighter — we meet in 2015’s The Force Awakens. Writing his first Star Wars book is not the only feat Segura has to celebrate, however: The current New York resident published the fifth and final installment of his popular Pete Fernandez mystery series, Miami Midnight, in late 2019, and his next noir crime story, Secret Identity, which follows a female protagonist as she moves from Miami to New York and gets involved in the comic book world, is expected to be released soon.

On a scale of Spicer to Scaramucci, Helen Aguirre Ferré is right up there with Kayleigh McEnany, only 30 years older and more experienced in the art of stonewallery. Earlier this year, as the coronavirus began ravaging Florida, Ferré — who at the time served as the main spokesperson for Governor Ron DeSantis — mounted attacks on local journalists simply trying to get a handle on how the virus was affecting everything from hospital-bed capacity to the state’s purposely broken unemployment system. When DeSantis denied Miami Herald reporter Mary Ellen Klas entry into a press conference at the State Capitol after she’d pressed for social-distancing measures, Ferré stood idly by and later defended the decision. Then, in April, Ferré physically removed the state surgeon general from a media briefing after he, in a moment of transparency, suggested that Floridians might have to practice social distancing for an entire year. And in May, she berated the Orlando Sentinel for an “alarmist” headline forecasting thousands of coronavirus deaths in Florida, which ended up occurring even earlier than predicted. Finally, in July, Ferré left her job with the governor and took over as the executive director of the Republican Party of Florida. Unfortunately for Miamians, that means we’re not quite done hearing from this hometown heckler.

Thanks to an appearance in Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s internet-breaking “WAP” video and the release of her mixtape, Wolf Pussy, Sukihana (real name Destiny Henderson) hit it big in 2020. Though the mother of three is a native of Wilmington, Delaware, who has also lived in Atlanta, Sukihana — AKA Suki, AKA Suki With the Good Coochie — has a sound that’s all about the 305, and her explicit mien likewise fits right in. “I’ve always been really confident and always been loud. I’m just a product of my environment, but now I feel like my environment is a product of me because I see a lot of women look up to me. I’ve helped a lot of people learn to love themselves and have confidence,” she told New Times earlier this year. A hood girl at heart, she’s far more than a nouveau-riche celebrity with an Instagram following nearing 1.5 million; she’s a driven mother who craves balance and fruition at her core. “When the cameras come on, that’s when Suki comes out,” she says. “But I have a very small circle, and I’m a very spiritual person. I try to keep my chakras aligned, try to stay away from negative energy, and I’m big on manifestation. That’s why everything I wrote down, I have.”

Although Maya Ragsdale is relatively new to town, the Harvard-trained attorney has already become one of the loudest voices in the fight to reform Miami’s criminal-court system. A former Miami-Dade public defender, Ragsdale is driven by a passion for the people she used to represent: poor, mostly Black defendants who have historically been railroaded by the U.S. penal system. Although no longer a participant in that system, Ragsdale has continued her advocacy as a so-called movement lawyer involved in organizing efforts with local groups. Working with the Dream Defenders, she helped start the Free the Block campaign, which seeks to end pretrial detention and the use of cash bail. And when the coronavirus reared its ugly head in March, Ragsdale was one of the first activists to sound the alarm about the inmates in Miami-Dade’s jails, who — as she predicted — began contracting COVID-19 at alarming levels. Starting in April, she helped represent them in a lawsuit against Miami-Dade’s corrections department, interviewing dozens of incarcerated people and their families to document unhygienic, inhumane, and even life-threatening conditions inside the Metro West Detention Center. “The people inside are vulnerable,” she said during an April Zoom call, “and it’s on us to protect them, because Corrections won’t.”

Feeding South Florida continues to step up big time. Last year alone, the organization — covering Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties, it’s the largest food bank in South Florida — distributed 51.5 million meals to more than 700,000 individuals, including 240,000 children and 110,000 older adults. And this was all before COVID-19 and its ugly self settled in. Since that time, the nonprofit has seen a 600 percent increase in demand, with approximately one in five individuals experiencing food insecurity as a result of the pandemic. Amid this influx, Feeding South Florida continues to deliver, distributing tens of millions of meals since mid-March. Where everyday scenarios and,now, a pandemic have left people hungry, Feeding South Florida is the true fuel that keeps them going.

People are suckers for a good dose of nostalgia and memories of simpler times. The ’90s and early ’00s were much, much simpler times. In 2019, when politician Alexander “Alex” Penelas announced he was running for mayor of Miami-Dade County in 2020, ears everywhere perked up with excitement. Was it not just yesterday that it was 1996, and a young, very charismatic Penelas was elected as county mayor? His second and final term as mayor, from 2000 to 2004, felt like mere weeks ago. Alas, it’s been 15 years since the Hialeah native was in the spotlight, and we didn’t realize just how much we’d missed him. Even though Penelas had served two terms as county mayor, he was eligible to run again because in 2007 the county changed to a “strong mayor” form of government, so he was essentially running for a new gig. Unfortunately, in true 2020 fashion, all good things must come to an end. Although the community will always love Penelas and cherish the eight wonderful years we had together, residents of Miami-Dade County weren’t ready to jump back into the old relationship. After the August 18, 2020, primary election, Penelas conceded. Here’s hoping this short-lived comeback isn’t the last time we hear from the once-golden boy of Miami politics.

Bars are closed, pool parties canceled. Clubs may not fully reopen until 2021. Thanks to COVID-19, if you’re not a dating-apps kind of dude and want to meet single women, you’re going to have to make like your forefathers and head for the beach. The sands of South Beach have been both disappointingly (to Dr. Fauci) and pleasantly (to single guys on the prowl) packed. Anyone daring to brave the crowds is probably enough of a risk-taker to meet someone new in this dangerous time. But be cautious out there, Romeo: While having three dimensions might make you stand out in this brave new world of Zoom, if you don’t want to scare women off, you should definitely abide by the six-feet rule. In bygone eras, getting too close to a sunbathing stranger could get you labeled as a mere creep; now you’ll be considered a bona fide menace.

A lot can be said about a man who knows how to pick out ripe produce, am I right? And even if finding love at the supermarket wasn’t your original plan, with bars shuttered and social events canceled, the pickings are slim, my dears. Not to fret: In addition to affordable avocados and that devilishly addicting speculoos cookie butter, Trader Joe’s South Beach is a bountiful hunting ground for single men — single men who like to cook. So get dolled up, strap on your most fashionable facemask, and hit the aisles for a chance at love. If it doesn’t work out, there’s always a silver lining in the stockpile of Trader Joe’s ever-so affordable $2.99 wine.

K&K is the perfect breeding ground for the aspiring pool shark: the 15 well-kept, comfortably spaced Diamond Professional tables mean that you never wait too long for your session and you don’t have to solve a complex physics problem merely to take a shot. (Oh, the joy of never again having to deal with the slightly slanted, beer-damaged felt at your local watering hole!) As an officially sanctioned American Poolplayers Association venue, K&K hosts billiards tournaments, but it’s as hospitable to beginners as it is to the well-practiced looking to elevate their game. K&K doesn’t serve hard liquor — a concession to our government bureaucracy that allows patrons 18 years old and up to play pool here — but there’s a wide selection of craft beers and wine on offer for those who require some liquid courage. The food menu consists of bar-and-grill classics, including tacos, bourbon sliders, and stacked salads, which means you might never want to leave. The tables rent for $12 per hour for the nine-footers and $10 per hour for the seven-footers. Open daily.

Where many festivals had to shut down their operations down this year, Outshine Film Festival offered not just one but two 2020 festivals for audiences to enjoy. With screenings (both virtual and drive-in) of dozens of queer films that included such gems as Dry Wind, Ask Any Buddy, The Strong Ones, and Eté 85 (Summer of 85), Outshine has been a shimmering reminder that there are still ways to enjoy a film festival without sitting in a packed theater.

All jokes about Lin-Manuel Miranda aside, the arrival of Hamilton at the Adrienne Arsht Center this spring was a huge moment in the history of live theater in the Magic City. It elevated our cred as Broadway-blockbuster hub thanks to the Arsht Center’s increasingly popular Broadway in Miami series, and the political nature of the story couldn’t have come to the swing state of Florida in a more pertinent year. There’s no matching the electric energy of the original Broadway production, but the touring Hamilton company did an impressively solid job throughout the run. Although that run was shortened by the coronavirus in mid-March, attendance was still heavy as stay-at-home orders loomed at the onset of the pandemic.

Gallerist David Castillo has been in the art biz longer than most TikTok users have been alive. The prominent collector has a natural eye for talent and can see potential brewing in an artist. The Cuban-American Castillo is no stranger to the immigrant tale, which might explain his penchant for showcasing artists who tell stories of identity through their work. A recent exhibition highlighted the work of artist Vaughn Spann, who through his “Marked Man” series tells what it’s like to be a Black man in America. The paintings’ “X” motif represents a figure standing with his hands raised and feet wide apart — a stance ordered by police when they want to search someone. Spann’s work was on view at the gallery during Miami Art Week 2019 and was also displayed at Castillo’s booth at Art Basel Miami Beach. Castillo moved his gallery from its former home in Miami Beach to the Design District in early 2020. Could the move inward indicate a forthcoming change in the art world? Possibly — but regardless of where the David Castillo Gallery is located, the art it houses will remain top-tier.

Artist and activist VantaBlack (Chire Regans) memorializes the loss of Black lives through portraits drawn with white pencil on black paper. In 2016, she launched her practice alongside the Black Lives Matter movement after witnessing a string of gun violence among Black youth in Miami-Dade County. Since then, she’s created hundreds of portraits of Black victims nationwide through her “Memorial Portrait Project” series, which now includes portraits of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Most recently, Regans has shared the stories of victims on a larger scale with her “Say Their Names” mural project, a public art piece that honors those lost to gun violence, police brutality, hate crimes, and domestic violence. The mural is located on the western wall of the historic Bakehouse Art Complex and serves as a community space for reflection and conversation. The text-based mural includes over 250 names of victims and “Say Their Names” in Haitian Creole, Spanish and English, all painted by Regans and a team of volunteers. In October, Oolite Arts presented Regans with its 2020 Social Justice Award, which honors artists “who have made a commitment to working for equality in their daily lives and artistic practice.”

The work of Adam Vargas, aka Atomik, is not only all over Miami, but all over the world: The artist’s signature grinning orange character adorns walls from Chile to Germany to Thailand. According to his online bio, the idea for the smiling citrus stemmed from the destruction of the Orange Bowl in 2008. As familiar as Atomik’s art is to Miamians, the design has changed some over the years: The original styling looked a lot like the King Orange logo…so much so that the artist was eventually asked to cease and desist. The current iteration — a smile that takes up nearly half the piece, Pac-Man-style irises, and bold orange and green colors — includes a chipped tooth, a nice Tarantino-like touch. (The artist himself sports an imperfect set of choppers.) The pandemic hasn’t slowed the Miami native down — “It’s easier for me to paint because there aren’t as many people on the street,” he says — nor have a growing family or a move to Cutler Bay. Says the graphic artist, who’s been painting for 24 years: “I’m not going to stop, no matter where I’m at.”

Who knew that one of the most popular things to watch this year would be an underwater camera streaming live from an urban coral reef near PortMiami? Launched in February by Coral Morphologic, a duo made up of marine biologist Colin Foord and musician Jared McKay, Coral City Camera provides a 24/7 window into the manmade reef, where an entire aquatic neighborhood has formed. Stuck-at-home people watching on YouTube fell in love with quirky recurring characters like Oval the tail-less doctorfish and Ramón, a yellowtail parrotfish, both of which became so beloved that they got their own lines of merch. Dedicated fans, of which there are many from around the world, keep up a running conversation on YouTube, and the camera’s Instagram account has over 12,000 followers. The site has also become an educational tool and a case study for scientists observing how the corals are thriving in an urban setting. The project manages to combine art, science, and environmental awareness in a way that few are able to. But because every silver lining must have its cloud, the camera is now in jeopardy owing to a proposed expansion at the port. Its loss would not only be felt deeply by its fans but would threaten the future of the reef itself, no to mention the creatures that have come to call it home.

Miami has an enviable number of art museums, but did you know that it also has a wealth of private art collections open to the public? At the top of the list is the Rubell Museum, whose collection would make world-class art institutions green with envy. Work by the likes of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cindy Sherman, Andy Warhol, Barbara Kruger, and Charles Ray can all be found here — assuming it’s not out on loan for an exhibition somewhere. Recently, the collection left its longtime home in Wynwood for a new, 100,000-square-foot campus in Allapattah. Built out to museum standards, it offers 53,000 square feet of gallery space for the display of the Rubells’ permanent collection as well as curated special exhibitions. The Rubell Museum is currently open Wednesday through Sunday while adhering to CDC guidelines, with facemasks required and visitor capacity limited; admission is $10 to $15.

The pandemic has left people feeling disconnected in various ways. Disconnected from their friends and family, disconnected from the world, and disconnected from their history. In a word: unmoored. That’s why places like the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU are more important than ever. The museum’s mission is to tell the story of Miami’s Jewish history, and that comes through in its exhibits as well as its location. Visitors to the museum, which is housed in what was once a set of synagogues in Miami Beach, will feel an immediate connection to its religious roots. The permanent “MOSAIC: Jewish Life in Florida” exhibit comprises a winding tapestry of Miami’s Jewish movers and shakers from the past 200 years while also shining a light on pioneer families and the immigrant experience. People you may not have known were Jewish or even connected to Miami are all enshrined here in a series of pictures that present a gestalt of the city’s history. The exhibit is getting a facelift, so expect an even grander display once the museum (currently closed because of the pandemic) is back up and running. JMOF also hosts traveling exhibitions, which in 2018 famously included a collection of paintings by Tennessee Williams. During its closure, the museum has continued to present virtual programming, accessible on its website.

In the midst of a global pandemic and all the road bumps that came with it, the Coral Gables Art Cinema was the first local arthouse to reopen its doors. In addition to avirtual screening room, Gables Cinema has been offering in-person screenings of the kind of programming they’re known for, from classics like Meet Me in St. Louis and Hausu to new releases like Let Him Go, Martin Eden, and On the Rocks. Plus, the theater’s new seat-selection system and reduced capacity make for quite the refreshing update in the COVID era, allowing patrons to navigate how far they can safely sit from others while also enjoying the feeling of being back at the theater with an audience.

Anyone who has witnessed Keisha Rae Witherspoon’s stunning 13-minute directorial debut, T, knows exactly why she is our choice this year for “Best Film Director.” Her playful, experimental short — a futuristic faux documentary that follows three grieving participants in the annual T Ball, a fictional Liberty City event where people who lost a loved one assemble to model R.I.P. T-shirts and costumes to honor their dead — has toured a number of festivals and even won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at Berlinale this year. It’s the kind of debut that highlights the filmmaker’s visionary eye and her ability to offer the audience an intimate portrait in a short period of time. That’s not all. Witherspoon was the inaugural recipient of the Lynn Shelton “Of a Certain Age” grant this year, the final iteration of her film 1968 < 2018 > 2068 is set for its virtual premiere this winter, and she’s already working on an untitled feature she describes as “a post-alien-abduction black sci-fi drama set in Opa-locka.” We can’t wait to see what’s next.

All hail the drive-in theater! In an era when going to the cinema might result in your death, drive-ins are a veritable lifesaver. And if you think the trend is tacky or dated, you clearly haven’t been to the Swap Shop & Thunderbird Drive-In Theater in Fort Lauderdale. Throughout the pandemic, the drive-in has been providing us with a cinematic experience we can enjoy from our very own vehicles, not via glaring LED screens but with actual projectors. Not only do you not have to endure pesky teens texting and old folks answering calls from their grandkids, but you can control the audio from your car radio while enjoying any number of new releases (or the occasional classic) at the sweet, sweet price of $7 per person ($2 per kid 11 or younger; kids under 4 get in free). Even when you’re watching a new movie, catching a movie at the Swap Shop feels like a timeless experience.

At the end of Harmony Korine’s 2019 vaudeville comedy The Beach Bum, a reporter asks Moondog, the titular bum played by Matthew McConaughey, for his secret to life. “I like to have fun, man,” Moondog answers. “It’s why I like boats, I like the water, I like the sunshine, I like beautiful women, a lot. Man, I get all these things going — man, they’re all turning me on. My wires are connecting upstairs and I start to hear music in my head, you know?” Against the backdrop of Miami, Hollywood, and the Florida Keys, freewheelin’ poet Moondog bounces from boat to boat and woman to woman in what can only be described as a stoner fairytale. Life comes at him fast, leading to his eviction from a waterfront mansion in Miami and sending him to a homeless encampment underneath the Julia Tuttle, a short stint in county jail, and up to one of Broward’s dime-a-dozen addiction-recovery homes. But through it all, Moondog remains buoyant, treating it all as just another adventure. The Sunshine State is his playground, and landmarks including the Miami Marine Stadium, the Hollywood Broadwalk, and Key West’s Schooner Wharf bar become all the more beautiful through the lens of cinematographer Benoît Debie, who splendidly depicts Florida just as it is: a sunny place for shady people. Moondog, a most lovable deadbeat, savors every minute of it. “This life gig’s a fucking rodeo,” he says, “and I’m gonna suck the nectar out of it and fuck it raw-dog till the wheels come off.”

Everyone in Miami knows and loves Walter Mercado (1932–2019), the extraordinary astrologist and television personality who helped us all become a little more spiritually aware. Kareem Tabsch, Cristina Constantini, and Alex Fumero’s delightful documentary, Mucho, Mucho Amor, titled after his perfect catchphrase — “Sobre todo, mucho, mucho amor” — shows what an icon Mercado was from start to finish. Beyond getting to hear him talk about his life and sensibilities in his own words, the film also lovingly highlights his impact on Hispanic and queer communities, culminating with History Miami’s tribute to him.

The Miami City Ballet is one of the top-ranked ballet companies in the nation, but connecting with its home city remains a priority — just look at its reimagined A Midsummer Night’s Dream set in the waters of South Florida (there’s even a dancing manatee). This year, with theaters and studios shuttered, the company had to find new ways to bring the arts to its community, and it rose to the challenge. MCB experimented with virtual classes, launched an emergency fund to help support its artistic staff through uncertain times, and premiered a new piece honoring medical professionals and essential workers, choreographed entirely via Zoom. It also took up residence at a pop-up location on Lincoln Road so audiences could watch the dancers train through the window. This month, MCB performs The Nutcracker outdoors in Downtown Doral Park, so audiences can safely enjoy the holiday tradition.

This was to be a triumphant tenth-anniversary season for Zoetic Stage. The theater company, whose productions are presented at the Adrienne Arsht Center, has spent the last decade putting on intriguing and enjoyable productions for South Florida audiences. But like most arts groups that bring people together, Zoetic had to hit the pause button in 2020. Let’s hope the vaccine arrives soon, because the plays now pushed back to 2021 seem especially enticing to Miamians. Hannah Benitez’s Gringolandia tells the story of a family of Cuban exiles returning to their homeland to collect an old heirloom. And Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, by Alexis Scheer, has this tempting tagline: “Four teenage girls gather in a Miami tree house to summon the ghost of Pablo Escobar.” Here’s to you, Zoetic, and the next ten years.

Director Victoria Collado knows Cuba. In the past year, the Miami native has directed two local stage productions, both of which dealt with the Cuban experience. Collado reprised her role as director when Vanessa García’s The Amparo Experience was revived and expanded from a short 20-minute set to a full-length immersive theater experience in mid-2019. The production ran for eight extremely successful months in an event space in downtown Miami. Then, in early 2020, Collado worked with some of her Amparo actors again in playwright Michael León’s Colony Theater debut, The Cubans. One show told the story of the Cuban experience from the perspective of the older generation, who dealt firsthand with their island being overtaken by Communist rule, while the other shone a light on what it’s like growing up Cuban-American and living with parents who fled their country in search of a better life. Two uniquely Cuban stories, one powerhouse Cuban-American director.

Scope Miami Beach is one of the few art fairs during Miami Art Week to set up a tent right on the sands of South Beach. Just off Eighth Street and Ocean Drive, a makeshift runway ushers you to the main entrance of the enormous white tent, whose mazelike interior is filled with a seemingly endless display of contemporary art by local and international artists. Among the most memorable works in 2019 were the audio art sculptures by Miami artist Alex Yanes. Known for his colorful wooden pieces, Yanes created a fully immersive installation starring a large speaker disguised as a fanged, snake-like creature wearing a crown. Guest DJs hooked up their turntables to the speaker for a truly arty party.

Kunst is the kind of drag artist we deserve more of. Ending last year with a number of protests through Miami’s most gentrified communities, lambasting those with power in the art world who exploit their workers, Kunst presents a version of drag that is incredibly political in a refreshing way (though the museum that censored them might argue against that). Whether via their colorful Instagram feed (@kunsten_dunst) or their inventive live performances, Kunst provides us with a glimpse into a world of drag that isn’t just death drops and pop songs, gleefully harnessing queerness as a weapon. It’s as much about burning (or flushing) flags as it is about making a mockery of everything — even art itself.

Octopussy Lounge started as an event at the North Miami bar affectionately known as the Club in 2018 before turning into a series of pop-ups. The party is the brainchild of Discosexo and Ar Kedabar, who sought to give queer people a space to be themselves in a city that’s still lacking in dedicated LGBTQ+ spaces. It also put burlesque, striptease, and pole dancing at the forefront of its events as a way to “express queer sex worker joy and artistry.” At the onset of the pandemic, Octopussy took to Zoom to titillate audiences with Sexotheque, a virtual strip club. For a fee, viewers tune in and watch performers tease them from afar, with tipping encouraged via Cash App at $octopusssylounge.

Look, a lot of people don’t consider Gramps a gay bar, but queer people flock to it from all around the globe for a reason: It’s one of the most chill and accepting places to be, and it hosts a number of queer events throughout the year. It’s the spot where DJ Hottpants brings you nonstop bangers while you dance until the early morning with Double Stubble. It’s the kind of place where drag queens not only bring you back-to-back shows, but host bingo nights, challenging the audience with trivia and getting straight people to enjoy a night of Drag Race. It’s a bar that offers great drinks and lets you enjoy a delicious slice of pizza while you flirt with a stranger. And it has been the home to Wigwood — where some folks can proudly say they’ve strut their stuff in a jockstrap while standing next to Gloria Estefan — since its inception. Queer folks love Gramps because it’s the kind of home that accepts us no matter how we show up, even if it’s our first time dressing up or going out on a date.

Carlos Gueits goes to the Miami Springs Golf & Country Club every Friday, but even though he sits within swinging distance of the links, he’s not a golfer. He’s there for two things: meatloaf and a good song. That’s because, despite its name, the country club isn’t exclusive to members of the golf club: Anyone is welcome, and anyone can enjoy karaoke night at Hole 19 Scratch Kitchen + Bar, which is located at the entrance to the golf course. Pre-pandemic, every Friday was karaoke night at Hole 19, and locals from every social rung would get together to belt out classic favorites. The indoor dining area, where the karaoke equipment is normally set up, creates an intimate space for audience members to cheer on first-timers, pros, and moms over-enjoying their girls’ night out. As a bonus, the kitchen and bar’s gourmet-level food and drinks set Hole 19 far above the average sports bar. Once the county allows music above speaking level again, karaoke will be back, so don’t be shy. Observes Gueits: “It doesn’t matter how bad you are — people will applaud you even more and be supportive.”

Remember what it was like to dance with other people? Not just with family members in your living room, using your phone speakers, but at an actual club, with real speakers and a DJ? That might seem like a million years ago, but once upon a time, Miami’s hot-hot nightclub and dance club scene attracted visitors from around the world. One spot that was definitely popping off pre-COVID was ATV Records in Wynwood, the spiritual successor to the much-beloved Electric Pickle. After the Pickle closed, ATV Records rose from its ashes as a combo record store and dance club, hawking vinyl by day and transforming into the site of intimate pachangas by night. The sound system at ATV is unmatched in the city, and the iconic UFO disco ball lets visitors know that we like to get weird here. Whereas some other clubs can be sprawling, mosh-pit-like affairs, the 150-person ATV allows for a more condensed experience, the better to hear some of Miami’s best music and take in the nighttime energy. ATV has recently reopened with limited capacity; what are you waiting for?

The beats of Richie Hell are paved with the best influences. Since arriving in Miami in 2015 from his native Argentina, Hell has spun his chill yet infectious tunes all over town. His newest album, The Gumbo Limbo Experiment, released this year, includes some of his best work to date. It’s a musical love child of ’60s Latin psychedelic purveyors like Os Mutantes and ’90s UK ravers like Primal Scream.If neither of those references rings a bell, you’re in for a treat. Songs like “Amazonia” will take you to foreign lands, shaking your hips the entire way, while “Revelations” transposes soul into more modern production. Hell’s wife, the artist Francisca Oyhanarte, provides the album’s visuals and must-see music videos. During a June concert streamed live from the North Beach Bandshell, Oyhanarte’s crazy animation and the especially groove-filled set made us excited for what dance floors will look like when Richie Hell can perform in front of a live audience again.

A native of Italy, DJ Tennis (Manfredi Romano) moved to Miami in 2013, and has been wowing the city’s dance floors ever since. He can easily put you into a dancing frenzy via slap-your-face bass lines or embrace you in a daze of atmospheric melodies, but he’s most rewarding when flipping through sound waves. Romano’s label, Life and Death, which turned ten this year, has hosted numerous parties in Miami. A favorite is Rakastella, an electronic-music festival the label co-founded in 2017. During lockdown, however, DJ Tennis has played live-stream sets for Club Space Miami and on the roof of the Collins Avenue Soho Beach House for Secret Project, a music fest based in Los Angeles; he also played a set at the Huis De Voorst Estate in the Netherlands in collaboration with the Dutch event’s organizers, Audio Obscura. In recent months, he’s returned to Europe to play in the flesh as shows slowly come back. Some say he’s techno, others say house; some might even suggest disco. In reality, though, DJ Tennis plays in the spirit of a wild stallion too odd to be tamed — and his genre-blending sets prove it. A good DJ makes us happy, but a great DJ keeps us guessing. Care to wager where Tennis lands?

While not exactly a secret, this Little Havana speakeasy, situated above Taquerias el Mexicano restaurant, manages to make you feel like you’ve stumbled into a hidden adventure as you make your way up a narrow stairway and into a Mexican candy store full of hanging piñatas, sugar skulls, and assorted dulces coated in chili powder. Behind a false wall, you’ll find a dimly lit room accented by velvet curtains, repurposed church doors, stained glass, and traditional décor inspired by Mexico’s rich cultural heritage. Opened by Zack Bush, Ben Bush and Bill Fuller, the team that restored Calle Ocho’s Ball & Chain restaurant, Los Altos boasts a killer cocktail menu heavy on mezcal and tequila. Pre-COVID, the space would easily transform into a sweaty dance floor on weekend nights. These days, it has been ingeniously rearranged into more of a cocktail-lounge setup, and guests can book a table on weekend nights. New lead bartender Ray Guzman has added new cocktails, like the “Canta Rico,” a tequila-and-citrus blend inspired by a drink from Jalisco; and the “TLC” (Tamarind, Love and Chile), a mix of scotch, bourbon, tamarind, and habanero peppers.

We’re Miami, and Latin culture is in our blood. Whether you’re actually from Latin America or the cold reaches of the Northeast, when you’re in the Magic City, you’re feeling the rumba beat everywhere you go. It’s the foundation of Latin music, and no homegrown act brings it better than the Florida International University Latin Jazz Ensemble. Miami distinguishes itself as a center for musical fusion, with musicians from around the world staying on its sun-kissed shores and playing in its famous nightclubs — and the musicians at FIU have steeped themselves in that tradition. Started 25 years ago by the late composer, professor and Grammy nominee Michael Orta, the jazz ensemble is made up of music students performing on instruments that perfectly illustrate Miami’s melting-pot identity, including trumpets, trombones, congas, timbales and shakers. The big band performs twice an academic semester, with concerts that highlight the improvisational nature of contemporary jazz and the rich sounds of the Latin instruments. While most live music takes a back seat to the pandemic, the group plans to concentrate on studio recordings until they can return to the stage.

Prolific Miami MC Serum has quietly put together a quality, six-album-deep catalogue on his Bandcamp page. His Serum Brainstorm TV YouTube channel reveals the MC’s talents in the artistic realm, as well, with everything from real-life video to anime to footage from classic movies like Nosferatu playing alongside his dope songs. But it’s Serum’s newest release with DJ Heron that will make old-school hip-hop fans put their hands in the air and wave them like they just don’t care. Heron & Serum was released in the middle of summer with little fanfare, but if there’s any justice in the world, its fifteen tracks will become legend. Bursting with energy and creativity, Serum displays his trademark verbal dexterity on the album, dropping elevated vocabulary over fantastic beats and samples mixed and scratched by Heron. Supah emcee, indeed.

It might be cliché to say that desperate times make for great music. But it became a truism with the release of David Lyn’s new single, “Can’t Breathe.” Pushed by the heartbreaking footage of the murder of George Floyd and his own prejudicial dealings with the police, Lyn went into the studio filled with anxiety. But just as the civil rights movement of the ’60s resulted in a vault of inspired music, so the Black Lives Matter protests brought about a powerful response from Lyn. The Miami Lakes native’s song is soul-wrenching, its biting lyrics sung with a fierce urgency, calling for change. The accompanying black-and-white video takes things to another level, showing Lyn having the life choked out of him as he belts out his song.

Baby City Club, consisting of Puerto Rico-raised brothers June Summer and Augie Pink, continues to make waves in the rising Latin trap genre. In late 2019, the siblings successfully released their debut EP, Modo Club, and have since put out fresh material, as well as a music video for the single “Clásico,” which finds Summer and Pink poolside in matching yellow overalls, singing the catchy Spanish love song over trap beats. Taking notes from Bad Bunny, the brothers let their colorful, bright personalities shine through the music to create an identity and connect with their audience.

Miami artist Tama Gucci recently moved to New York after signing with B4, Remote Control Records’ incubator imprint, but the singer still exemplifies the moreish sonic agility and hard-hitting sounds of Miami’s DIY club scene. Beyond his viral remix of Blueface’s “Thotiana,” Gucci has carved out a unique place for himself in the music world, weaving teen-pop motifs, R&B melodies, and trance beats into tracks meant to be blasted in clubs and bedrooms alike. This year, the artist followed the single “I Let You” (ft. X-Coast) with “Crazy About Me,” the latter accompanied by a stripped-down yet magnetic video directed by Michael Morales and Rodrigo Alvarez. Fusing hard-hitting electronic beats with aqueous, emotive vocals, Gucci proves that smart production and dynamic song-crafting can still create some serious waves in the world of pop music.

Blending chillwave, indie pop, and electronic, Kris Alvarez clearly has a knack for melodies. And just when you think you know what to expect from his “Firstworld” moniker, he releases a track like “With You” on French-Japanese record label Kitsuné Musique, a song that, oddly enough, seems inspired by the French touch of Stardust’s “Music Sounds Better With You.” Beyond his own work, Alvarez has also been helping local acts polish up their work as a producer. Most recently, he took over the production duties for Monterrey, helping the band churn out two singles, “Terrarium” and “New Light.” But whether he’s producing music for himself or others, Alvarez is someone you’ll want to watch out for in the next few years.