In the aftermath of the Latin Grammys debacle, an L.A. Times column pilloried Miami for delusions of grandeur about being the capital of Latin music and cast aspersions at homegrown Latin talent Gloria Estefan, Enrique Iglesias, and Jon Secada. Lord knows, I’ve cast plenty of the same aspersions myself, and…
To get a sense of Madonna’s cultural heft you didn’t have to look too hard at the audience gathered for her recent sold-out concert at Sunrise’s National Car Rental Center. Just a quick sideways glance would do. To Kulchur’s left was a squad of eighth-grade girls, erupting in squeals of…
Here, Sharkey, Sharkey Pretty baby wants some nice fishey fish, don’t you? I am a fifteen-year, NASD-certified diver and marine-research volunteer. After reading Juan Carlos Rodriguez’s article (“Swimming with the Sharks,” August 16) and several others about shark tours, I’ve decided to support a statewide ban on shark-feeding. Whether it’s…
“Here’s George W. Bush,” says Emilio Izquierdo as he draws a diagram. “Here are all his administrators,” he continues, running his finger down the page. “And here’s Emilio Estefan,” he concludes, placing the music mogul in a chain of command under the president. “But if Shakira says she hates the…
Maybe Sen. Bill Nelson spent too much time in space. After all, scientists believe that prolonged exposure to zero gravity can disturb a person’s cognitive abilities. That’s pretty much the only explanation I can find for Nelson’s comments last month regarding Florida’s governor’s race. Holding court in his office, the…
Miami’s Only Daily: Afloat in a Sea of Clueless ReadersNew skipper decent, honorable, gelatinous: While I have always considered the Miami Herald to be the enemy of the people of South Florida because its ivory-tower types care more about what’s good for the Herald than what’s good for the people,…
“The stars are wearing millions of dollars of diamonds,” comments Level nightclub owner Gerry Kelly, in a cadence as slinky as a catwalk. “The last time Sean Puffy Combs was in, he had $3.5 million worth of diamonds around his neck.” When asked who among the celebs frequenting the club…
Spunk Fan A role model for bureaucracy-busters everywhere: After reading Daniela Lamas’s article about Margaret Weedman (“21-Plus & Holding,” August 2), I’d say she sounds like the type of woman I hope to be one day. I admire that spunk and honesty, most especially when trying to deal with bureaucracies…
Once upon a time on the island of Borinquen there were two kinds of kids: cocolos and rockeros. Cocolos were working class and dark skinned, spoke Spanish exclusively, and listened only to salsa. Rockeros had more money, lighter skin, spoke English as fluently as Spanish, and listened only to rock…
Is Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs still cool? The answer to that question is more than just a matter of taste. It speaks to the future of hip-hop and specifically to the economic fortunes of Puff Daddy’s $300 million conglomerate, Bad Boy Entertainment. It may even determine whether we one day…
The Stepin Fetchit CoverIt’s never too late to be offensive: Call me oversensitive, but did Mitch Greenblatt’s cover illustration of Puff Daddy for Brett Sokol’s story (“All Puffed Up,” July 26) have to show him grinning like a blackface cartoon? Haven’t we been over this? Jennifer Uleman Miami Beach The…
Apparently I was not the only person to get a little delirious over the idea of exile queen Celia Cruz singing a duet with island dame Omara Portuondo at this year’s Latin Grammys. The ever-vigilant patriots of Vigilia Mambisa secured a videotape of Our Lady of the Buena Vista Social…
While he was still mayor of Homestead, Steve Shiver used the city’s Tallahassee lobbyist to help one of his friends with a petition for executive clemency that was pending before the governor and the Florida cabinet. Shiver’s pal, William Chaney, had been convicted in the mid-Eighties for conspiring to import…
“He has a problem because white people are starting to hate him,” Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs said last week, and although he was speaking about fellow crossover artist George W. Bush, he could just as accurately have been referring to his own public fortunes. Puffy’s headline-grabbing trial this past winter…
The Reading ReportFree weekly dissected, wacky schools administrator found amid entrails: I enjoyed Jacob Bernstein’s profile of state Rep. Carlos Lacasa (“The Carlos Lacasa File,” July 19). I was happy to have been instrumental in his first campaign for the statehouse, which was successful. Carlos is a forthright and aggressive…
The performance that reflected best on Miami at the Second Annual Latin Grammy Awards took place outside the American Airlines Arena, far from the red carpet. In a gesture proposed by Ramon Saul Sanchez of the exile group Movimiento Democracia, passionate opponents of the Castro regime stood silent, their mouths…
As a member of the Homestead City Council, and then later as mayor, Steve Shiver accepted three all-expense-paid trips from the Community Bank of Florida. Despite the apparent conflict created by the fact that Community Bank regularly does business with the city, Shiver last week defended the excursions. “I took…
Don’t Get Me Wrong; I Like ChildrenEspecially when they’re properly cooked: Oh, joy! Jen Karetnick is at it again. Not so long ago she was whining about a restaurant at the western end of Lincoln Road that failed to appropriately (i.e., exhaustively) coo and cuddle her toddlers. Now she’s complaining…
Driving across northern New Mexico, I fiddle with the truck radio, looking for just the right vacation soundtrack. I stumble across Johnny Cash’s cover of “Riders in the Sky,” a four-minute ghost story about the fate that awaits bad cowboys: “Cause they’ve got to ride forever on that range up…
Robert Nachlinger is angry. “I’ve invested sixteen years in this community,” he tells me. “I have a reputation that I built up, and Steve Shiver is trying to destroy it. I’ve worked too damn long to have Steve Shiver decide he is going to pick me as his scapegoat to…
Just Because You’re Paranoid Doesn’t Mean…Being black in the Deep South will do that to you: I want to commend New Times for articles that are always insightful. I read Susan Eastman’s story “Our Lady of the Projects” (July 5) and would especially like to commend her for such a…
I went to Egypt in search of music. Music that lives inside of dance. Music that inspires freedom and laughter. What I found was more surprising than I imagined. I’d heard of Whirling Dervishes that spin themselves into ecstasy. I wanted to see belly dancers who light up the stage…
