It isn’t easy to put so much into one year, but if you don’t like it, just call it fake news; therefore, here we go:
Music: Monty Alexander’s top quality performance at SMDCAC covered Bob Marley and Frank Sinatra. Big crowd, great vibe, beautiful personality. In their Little Havana Social Club series, MDC Live Arts presented Timbalive at the Koubek last March. Dan Siegler’s haunting live piano, violin and trumpet sounds during Pam Tanowitz and Sho Shigematsu’s dynamic, collaborative dance and stagecraft in Once With Me, — Once Without Me; Kendrick Lamar and Chance the Rapper concerts; Alexander Abreu y Havana D’ Primera at Brickell’s Havana 1957
Kid’s Music: Let Me Love You, Black Beatles, 24K Magic, Treat You Better, Heathens, Closer
Film: Jewish Film Festival: Glories of Tango set primarily in Buenos Aires, Argentina, tells of an 85 year-old patient at a pathetic public hospital being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. A young psychiatrist realizes that only tango holds clues and cure.
Miami Film Festival: Our Last Tango: Argentina’s most famous tango dancers, Maria Nieves Rego and Juan Carlos Copes, in a creative documentary; Mia Madre: An Italian director barely copes with her mother’s terminal illness while working on a new movie with an electric John Turturro, portraying an American actor; The Beatles: Eight Days a Week allowed all those who grew up with the Beatles to re-live the mid-60’s screaming and listen to the music freshly thanks to director Ron Howard; Mountains May Depart: China changing rapidly; Moonlight
Food: Zoom Bloomz and the Midtown Garden Center Taco Truck on NE 1st Avenue; Zak the Baker’s additional opening down the street from the Bakery; Glass & Vine’s lovely patio; the Golden Rule; Wynwood Yard and its grand, something for everyone + brilliantly/progressively evolving organic garden; Lucali; years of La Sandwicherie
Drink: Broken Shaker; Happy Wine 8th Street; Oasis Raspados and their Vodka Pops; the Anderson; Boxelder; the Wood
Brewers Being Local and Cool: Wynwood’s La Rubia; J Wakefield’s El Jefe; Concrete Beach’s Stiltsville Pils; Lincoln’s Beard’s P. Swayze
Coffee: Panther in Wynwood; Panther Sunset Harbor; Pasion del Cielo Dadeland; A La Folie
Books: The Underground Railroad, Swing Time, Autumn, The Sellout, The Vegetarian
Bookstore: Books & Books period.
Art: Art Basel: there is nothing better than several hours in the Convention Center; Scope: Antonio Colombo Milan; Jaq Chartier, William Baczek, and Jose Arellano, Jr. plus Sparrow’s Deli; Pulse; one room at NADA; the Faena Forum; UNTITLED: Galerie DIX9 and Nemanja Nikolić; the RAW Project’s part two at Wynwood’s Eneida M. Hartner elementary school
Architecture/Design: Alan Faena, Ximena Caminos, Rem Koolhaas, OMA, and Juan Gatti
Online Reading: Nothing beats the Miami New Times; Olee Fowler on Eater; Jennifer Agress on Thrillist; Paper Mag on Art
Shopping: Nadeau and Surabaya in the Bird Road Arts District;
Lobbies/Facades: Edition; Standard; Betsy; Delano, National; Raleigh; Cadet; Casa Faena; the Hall; Freehand
Parks: We need help. Clean up Matheson Hammock like South Pointe Park; finish the Ludlum Trail; work the Underline
