Our Eccentric Uncle Fidel Yes, he has a thing for throwing people in prison, but he’s a lovable old codger: I know that many of my fellow gringos see Fidel Castro as an antiquated and irascible but basically harmless old coot — kind of like weird old uncle Hiram who…
José Cancela has stopped eating. He carefully places knife and fork across his barely touched salad and stares at Kulchur with a wounded expression. When he asked for a lunch meeting, this conversation inside the Beach’s Van Dyke Café was not what he had in mind. “I really thought we’d…
Coming to the FTAA? Welcome to the VFAM That would be the Violence-Free Area of Miami: Regarding Tristram Korten’s column “Meet Us in Miami” (September 11), on the protest activities planned for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) ministerial meetings in November, and the possibility of violence and…
Were the Latin Grammys fixed by President Bush? Based on State Department documents Kulchur has received, that would certainly appear to be the case. Call it an only-in-Miami moment, one in which 2004 presidential politics collided head-on with Cuban music. And Cuba’s musicians, who subsequently found themselves watching the Grammys…
It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a plea agreement from hell! It flew by you good folks so darn fast that you missed it, just like all the others. In his column “Closed Case, Open Questions” (September 4), Tristram Korten alluded to the former federal prosecutor who “spent more…
“Play it for me, Little Beaver!” Joss Stone breathlessly calls out in the middle of her new song “Super Duper Love.” It’s a command that hasn’t been heard on a record in nearly 30 years, but the stinging guitar notes sound just as fresh as the chugging, Southern-fried organ groove…
Desperately Seeking Stupid Gringos Tarnation, Jethro! You mean to tell me that Ricky Ricardo fella ain’t but some actor? Thanks to Celeste Fraser Delgado (“Feel the Latin Grammys,” August 28) we all know it was the Miami-based ad company Punto Ogilvy that came up with those pitifully lame “Feel the…
Hitting the campaign trail is an awful lot like marketing a pop star. Cult audiences, no matter how dedicated, are fine if all you’re after is cult hero status. But if you’re looking to rule the pop charts — or run for higher office — then crossing over to the…
New York Reader Befuddled Despite her efforts to understand, Miami makes no sense: Rebecca Wakefield’s story about public housing in Opa-locka (“Land Grab,” August 21) was very interesting, well written, and frightening — considering that major public funds are involved. And considering lobbyist Peter Bernal’s documented history of involvement with…
And they’re off! It may be more than a year away, but the 2004 election campaign is in full swing: swanky fundraisers, fist-pumping stump speeches, and that hallmark of American politics, the smoky backroom meeting. We’re not talking about 2004’s presidential aspirants, but instead a contest with just as much…
Of All the Gin Joints in All the Towns in All the World … … Mayor Diaz walks into ours: Good thing Rick’s Place was located in Casablanca and not Miami. Bogart’s establishment was hounded by Nazis. But in Miami, as Steven Dudley reported in “Sandwich and a Hooker” (August…
Celia: Race Does Matter Just look at the history of Cuba’s white elite: Kudos to Celeste Fraser Delgado for her article on Celia Cruz (“Over Her Dead Body,” July 24). I didn’t intend to write but was motivated to do so by the negative responses she received from Angelo Figueras…
I Will Not Be Destroyed Even though white media like you are out to get African-American men like me: I am not surprised that the white media would write a story on April 24 slamming the Miami-Dade Corrections Department’s internal-affairs bureau for alleged corruption in its investigations, then just three…
No Miracles, Just Hard Work Everyone did a great job at the NAACP event, including Rev. Willie Sims: Tristram Korten, in his column regarding the disciplinary action taken against Rev. Willie Sims of my staff (“Big Mouth, Big Trouble,” July 17), incorrectly implied that Reverend Sims was “miraculously” reinstated to…
Way to Plug Those Advertisers And congratulations on setting a new standard for insulting misogyny: A few days ago I had the misfortune to open New Times and read John Lombardi’s “High Anxiety” column headlined “Designa Vagina” (July 10). I’ve seen the ads for labial reduction placed in your paper…
If you’re trying to handicap the 2004 presidential election, forget about the marquee pundits and media analysts. Instead look to Saturday Night Live, whose writers have, if nothing else, at least managed to accurately capture the nation-at-large’s take on George W. Bush. There was the Scrabble-challenged Bush of the 2000…
Squawk: Millions for What? Parrot Jungle is just another scheme with a theme: Judging by other newspaper articles and descriptions from friends who have visited the new Parrot Jungle, Humberto Guida could not be more correct in his appraisal (“For the Birds,” July 10). I am truly sorry to learn…
“Let’s face it, 30 years ago, women didn’t think about their labias as much.” This is Dr. Sam Gershenbaum, board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon, whose state-of-the-art Aventura facility gleams brilliantly, like a day in Fiesole, Italy, or the engine housing of a new Maserati. Dr. Gershenbaum, in fact, is easily…
Freedom Tower: Fiction as Fact No secret deals, no hidden agendas, no disguises: After reading Kirk Nielsen’s second article on the attempt by Miami-Dade [Community] College to acquire the Freedom Tower, I feel compelled to set the record straight and provide some facts to supplement the two highly misleading pieces…
Don’t get Charlie Herman wrong. He doesn’t miss the gunfire or the backdrop of constant explosions. It’s just that after being a producer for ABC-TV’s World News Tonight in Baghdad, returning to his role as the network’s man in Miami is a bit, well, strange. Not that his prior foreign…
Political Animals I’ve Known and Loved And by the way, I’d be happy to draft a new campaign-finance law: A few comments about Brett Sokol’s “Kulchur” column on the never-ending subject of Don Peebles et al. (“Black and White and Dread All Over,” June 26). First of all, Florida desperately…
Like the swallows returning to Capistrano, or Manhattanites heading for the Hamptons, Miami Beach’s city hall also has a rhythm you can set your watch to. At some point during a lengthy Beach commission meeting, Commissioner Luis Garcia will begin bellowing epithets such as “Dictator!” and “Hugo Chavez!” at his…
