Arts & Culture

Hialeah, stand up! It’s been almost 30 years since local hero Harry Wayne Casey shortened his moniker to KC and started pumping the disco jams. KC and the Sunshine Band put the Magic City on the map with tunes like “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty” and “Boogie Shoes.” Back…

It was the late Eighties when your high-top-faded, parachute-pants-rockin’ best friend popped a tape in the boombox and the sound that floated from the tinny speakers was both fresh and familiar. It fused Motown-ish harmonies with hip-hop beats and R&B grooves. You called it “bangin’,” but the real name for…

If you’re in a surly mood, we suggest you avoid Miracle Mile for the next few days, because thanks to the 10th annual Carnaval on the Mile, the place is going to be crawling with happy people. And believe us, it’s contagious. The actual festival happens tomorrow and Sunday, but…

A Pair of Nuts have been making a name for themselves around Miami for a minute now. The two comedians have measured their acclaim in standing ovations at the Miami Improv and by racking up clicks on YouTube for their snort-inducing videos “The Law Offices of Facmee & Diaz,” “Wink,”…

Throughout the nation, spring break has officially sprung, and in case you haven’t noticed, busloads and planefuls of fun-seeking college kids have landed on the island to our east that we call South Beach. And of course, not far behind them are the corporate sponsors — some trying to take…

The exploitation movie Reefer Madness (a.k.a. Tell Your Children) was released in 1936 to freak kiddies out about the dangers of marijuana, which, according to the film, included manslaughter, rape, suicide, and a certifiable descent into madness. More than 70 years down the line, almost everyone knows the only things…

To all the gun-toting video-game bad guys out there: Please stop standing next to exploding barrels. Seriously now. Of the hundreds of places you could squat and shoot, you and your henchman pals always camp beside the neon-orange canister with “Flammable!” painted on the side. Really, we don’t need your…

Singles bars have lost their luster. The nine-to-fivers just want to drone on about (A) their crummy bosses, (B) their crummy exes, or (C) how much better off they are without their crummy exes. Trying to have fun in those places is so exhausting it makes you wonder, When did…

The infusion of Latin traditions into Miami culture requires that upon entering Miami-Dade County, you trade in the rules you used to live by for a set saturated in Goya spices. Here coladas are piping-hot and sipped for breakfast instead of on-the-rocks and guzzled by the pitcher, and when you…

The steady stream of hot air emanating from local club promoters and county commissioners is usually enough to power the heftiest of sailboats. Although a cross-continental cold front is expected to blow in a strong gust originating from the Academy Awards — where the movie industry patted itself on its…

Tristan Spinski Click here to see a slide show of the cigar making process. Pablo Romay has been hunched over a pile of tobacco leaves for the last 25 years. The brown leaves, with their veins, oils, textures, and moisture levels, tell a botanical biography that Romay reads like braille…

Michelle F. Solomon The 15th Annual Winter Party Beach Party Sunday, March 2, 2008 Lummus Park (12th and Ocean Drive) Click here to see a slide show of the party. Better Than: A Tube Of Lube Dance, dance, dance. Drink, drink, drink. Now sashay. That was about the gist of…

Tristan Spinski Click here to see the motels on U.S. 1. Traveling north through and out of Miami on U.S. 1, I see aged motels sagging under the weight of “progress.” They weather and deteriorate, like the people that built them. They might have been painted to match the flowers…

TOP PICK — Marvin Gaye: Here, My Dear — Expanded Edition (Hip-O Select) Back in 1978, Marvin Gaye was going through a brutal divorce. His soon-to-be-ex-wife demanded royalties from the R&B legend’s next album. So he intentionally went into the studio and made the most uncommercial record of his career,…

Lost Odyssey wants to be Microsoft’s answer to Final Fantasy — not that that’s such a good idea. Like Star Wars, Final Fantasy survives as a power brand thanks to the shining stars of its past, rather than the overwrought installments of recent years. Final Fantasy XII — the most…

At first blush, the image of a scrawny young man dry-humping a plush Snoopy doll seems like an effort to shock. The model in the black-and-white large-scale photo is nude, his body shaven and rail-thin. His eyes are downcast and disinterested. His jutting collarbones are suggestive of the heroin chic…

Six 21st-Century Chinese Neo-Pop Artists: Once again, gallerist Virginia Miller has gained access to the as yet restricted, but lucrative, contemporary Chinese art market. The new group exhibition of two-dimensional media at ArtSpace features the work of six young artists based in China. Many of the works are unmistakably political…