Arts & Culture

Despite the great weather and verdant scenery, Miami is about to become a slightly less awesome city. The rising indie rock band Awesome New Republic is moving to New York in search of greener musical pastures. “There’s a huge pool of amazing musicians available to us there. We’re recording a…

Vegetarians planning to attend this year’s Florida Keys Chili Cookoff should probably bring a picnic basket. According to the International Chili Society’s regulations, beans and pasta are not allowed in this spicy stew contest. For carnivores, today’s event will offer piquant gastronomic delights. Professional chefs will compete in a separate…

It can be a royal mishap to jimmy a word in edgewise while flapping gums with a bigwig collector waxing thunderstruck over a young painter. After allowing him to catch his breath, we convinced Miami art maverick Dennis Scholl to fill us in on The Manhattan Project — opening tonight…

In the era of plantations, African slaves were given paltry provisions of cornmeal, molasses, beans, and meat. To supplement these meager rations, some slaves tended their own gardens, harvesting vegetables and medicinal herbs by moonlight. To celebrate Black History Month, the Center for Emerging Art will showcase Avant Garden: An…

Although the original celebration began in Spain and Portugal, the elaborate Carnaval de Barranquilla was brought to Colombia by the Spanish during the mid Eighteenth Century. And over the past five years, Carnaval has found a fresh party ground in Miami. Tonight, inside La Covacha, some of Colombia’s top entertainers…

Boxing is such a hot ticket that fans have to pay real money to watch it — on television. Pugilism is one sport that takes on new dimensions in the live setting: The pop of the gloves hitting bone, the slap sound of leather on skin, the sweat — and…

Ernesto Perez-Carillo, Jr.’s memories of Cuba are steeped in smoke and stained with tobacco. “I left when I was seven. I was so impressed by my dad’s tobacco farms; we used to go there every weekend. His factory was one of the best-known in Cuba,” Perez-Carillo reminisces. Today he proudly…

Miami’s club scene is not for everyone. Sure there’s diverse music, flowing alcohol, enviously attractive people, and lavish VIP areas. But what about those who have outgrown the morning-after symptoms of a night on the town? Waking up with cigarette hair and a sore throat can take its toll, even…

Although incest is not generally a wildly funny topic, the Village Voice described Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize winning play How I Learned to Drive as “the sweetest and most forgiving play ever written about child abuse.” The young and pretty Li’l Bit grows closer to Uncle Peck (ewww!) during the…

Florists’ carts are overflowing with bundles of red roses; Hallmark stores are stocked with oversize cards and pink teddy bears; and almost every song on the radio is a shout out to a special someone. Yes, Valentine’s Day is here, bringing with it the crushing weight of romantic expectation. Married,…

Kaye Gibbons has lived the novelist’s dream. Twenty years ago her debut novel, Ellen Foster, took the literary world by storm, winning her numerous prizes, French knighthood, and praise from the likes of Eudora Welty. Gibbons is only 46 years old, but she has already published seven best selling novels,…

You have been on only two dates with your new special friend and now you are faced with the sappy holiday for lovers. Forgo the plush pink bears, overpriced roses, and ulcer inducing dinner by candlelight in favor of a relaxing outdoor stroll through a field of flowers. During the…

Valentines are not always dressed in gold, smothered in dark chocolate, or packaged in crinkly paper. Happiness is also found in a pat on the head or in an open invitation to a warm lap. And though this is not the champagne room at a strip club, the Open Your…

Brazilian artist Vik Muniz is a heck of a prankster whose works are as apt to tickle the ribs as they are to zap the noggin with their provocative nature. Muniz has garnered international kudos with his astounding photographs, images he creates with bizarre materials, including dirt, plastic toys, junk,…

Fans of NPR’s Morning Edition have heard the fascinating — and often tear jerking — interviews with everyday Joes recorded through the StoryCorps project. Now you, too, have the opportunity to document the oral histories of colorful characters in your life, as long as the StoryCorps MobileBooth is in town…

Documentarians do the homework, make the connections, and capture those precious, fleeting moments so you can be whisked away to exotic locations or introduced to folks you would probably never approach on your own, without even leaving your seat. If just the word documentary makes you snore, you obviously haven’t…

Mario Betto is one of the good guys. A few years ago, the high end stylist started Hairstylists for Humanity, offering free haircuts to the homeless. The organization now serves thousands, improving their self esteem and chances of gaining employment. But the cosmopolitan Betto — Italian born, Zimbabwe bred, proficient…

Every fighting game needs a hook to stand out: Mortal Kombat has gore, Soul Calibur has weapons, Def Jam has hip-hop stars. And Dead or Alive? It has boobies. The DOA series — developed by Tecmo — made its name with a cast of fighters who look like pinups and…