On the Block In an act of audacious short-sightedness, Miami is offering its finest bayfront property to the highest bidder By Jose Luis Jiménez Miami: Civic Slut New Times has done a great public service by publishing Jose Luis Jiménez’s article “On the Block” (March 16), which accurately portrays the…
Never Too Small to Break the Rules Andrea Loring got tired of seeing private high schools recruit star basketball players. But she had no idea busting them would bring her such grief. By Robert Andrew Powell Never Too Small to GrouseRobert Andrew Powell’s article “Never Too Small to Break the…
Out with the Cuban Mafia!The letter from reader Rob Boyte was headlined, “You Wouldn’t Understand, It’s an Anglo Thing” (March 2). I want to say yes, we do understand. And it is not only an Anglo thing. Many Cuban Americans like me are also fed up with the “Cuban thing.”…
Forget literary allusions to magical realism, psychoanalyses of Fidel Castro, or policy studies assembled from the comforts of a plush Coral Gables office. If you really want to understand the arts world in Cuba, simply consult the lyrics of The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s theme song: “It’s just a jump…
Castro Clutches Free Weekly to Bosom, Shouts, ” Mi Amor!”Fidel Castro loves Miami New Times! First an article by Jacob Bernstein (“Fine Young Cannibals,” February 10) that seems like an unbiased account of the Elian case but is full of opinions about why the kid should be returned to Cuba…
I should admit at the outset that I, like most estranged Catholics, have nun issues. Still visible on my knuckles, though only faintly, are the scars left by Sister Rene, who used to whack me with a wooden ruler whenever I acted up during my days at St. Patrick’s Elementary…
Goon Over Miami Part 2 Clubland king Chris Paciello ain’t exactly a Mafia don. But it sure seemed he was headed that way. By Tristram Korten Chris Paciello, Presumed GuiltyI hope you don’t think you’re doing anybody any favors by publishing Tristram Korten’s second article on Chris Paciello (“Goon Over…
A taste of the Bronx hits Miami on Thursday, February 24, when Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band perform at the FIU Miami Film Festival’s jazz series at the Sheraton Biscayne Bay. The “Fort Apache” moniker is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the notorious 1981 film Fort Apache, the Bronx,…
The list of people exploiting Elian Gonzalez for personal gain is both long and distinguished. We have presidential candidates pandering for votes, politicians climbing all over one another for quality face time on television, lawyers and publicists claiming to work pro bono on a case they know is garnering their…
Screwing up the Center Years behind schedule and way over budget, the performing arts center is another Miami miracle By Jose Luis Jiménez One Performing Arts Center on Sourdough, Hold the ApplauseThe only benefit I got from Jose Luis Jiménez’s “Screwing Up the Center” (February 10) was learning that the…
The FIU Miami Film Festival unfolds this week at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts amid a novel dose of controversy. The subject of contention? Surprise, surprise — Cuban-exile politics. In a nutshell: Kids in Exile, a local filmmaking trio composed of Joe Cardona, Mario de Varona, and Michelle…
Last week the Florida Marlins organization rented a conference room at the Biscayne Bay Marriott Hotel and played host to an exclusive group of guests. As usual with such weekday functions (this one began February 3 at 1:00 p.m.), scheduling conflicts prevented some people from attending, but if everyone the…
Captains Outrageous The ugly truth behind Carnival’s glamorous billion-dollar cruise business By Kirk Nielsen, Tristram Korten, and Ted B. Kissell Carnival: Same Old Same OldThe “Captains Outrageous” articles by Kirk Nielsen, Tristram Korten, Ted B. Kissell, and Jim DeFede (February 3) were well done, but as usual nothing will be…
A New York City journalist in town to do his own now-requisite take on the Chris Paciello story remained unfazed by the case’s lurid allegations of Mafia racketeering, armed robbery, drug dealing double-crosses, and murder. No, what really shocked this seasoned writer was discovering firsthand that Paciello’s famed Liquid and…
Take Me Out to the … Parking Lot?Open spaces: check. Sewer runoff: check. Locked gate: check. Yep, this is indeed a Miami park!By Jacob Bernstein Going Once, Going Twice, Sold!Ginger Raspiller via the InternetJacob Bernstein’s article about Miami’s parks and open spaces was unbelievable (“Take Me Out to the …..
A few years ago I wrote a series of articles titled “Micky Arison Is a Greedy Corporate Pig” that decried Arison’s efforts to force the county to build a new waterfront arena for his basketball team, the Miami Heat. The headline was a takeoff on the best-selling book by comedian…
A Family Portrait,Meet Luis and José Cid, Elian Gonzalez’s Miami cousins, just a couple of good old-fashioned American criminalsBy Jim DeFede, Robert Andrew Powell, and Lissette Corsa, January 20, 2000 Elian: Crime-Free and Proud of It Paul E. Czekanski Miami In reference to “A Family Portrait” (January 20) by Jim…
“Of all the bands to come from Miami and end up on a movie soundtrack, you wouldn’t promptly think of us,” scoffs Tom Smith. Placing tongue firmly in cheek, he adds, “But talent rises to the top, babe!” Indeed. Smith and his current outfit, To Live and Shave in L.A.,…
Both on-site police and concertgoers agreed the strongest similarity between the original Woodstock and Phish’s 80,000-strong New Year’s Eve shindig was neither the music nor the mellow, retro-hippie visuals. It was the traffic. In an eerie replay of Woodstock’s opening scene of cars simply abandoned along the roadside, on Wednesday,…
These are heady days for the Diaz de la Portilla clan. Renier, youngest of the three brothers, is on the verge of winning a seat in the Florida legislature, resurrecting a political career that only two years ago seemed all but dead after a brief but tumultuous stint on the…
Forget boy bands, Woodstock violence, or the “Latin” craze. If you’re looking for an overarching theme throughout last year’s pop music, just one word comes to mind: bass. It was all about bass. Moment of clarity number one: Midsummer. Sitting in the back of a car with Miami’s flagship experimentalist…
Y2K DISASTER STRIKES MIAMI Thousands Feared Dead in Millennium Mishap By Thomas Mayrose Washington Post Staff Writer January 2, 2000 MIAMI — In the most tragic event of the new millennium, more than 2500 people were killed when an American Airlines jumbo jet crashed into a Miami concert arena during…
