Don’t You Recognize Blind Ambition When You See It? Free weekly snuggles up to ax-grinders: Could New Times go back to attacking real mismanagement and incompetence, or do you support anybody with a personal ambition and an ax to grind (“Sustained Objections,” February 19)? Is there a public defender’s office…
Kidd Cumbia, a.k.a. David Elizondo, is distracted. He’s trying to focus on the surprise success of A Toda Maquina (Full Force), the debut album from his group ATM. Yet he can’t help looking across the lobby of the Sofitel Hotel near Miami International Airport at a group of young men…
So Many Questions, So Few Answers When did she shoot? Why did she shoot? Where was the emotion? Did Denise Calvo participate in the murder of her husband? I asked myself that on the evening the crime occurred, when it was covered on television news. When I saw Kirk Nielsen’s…
“Havana Suite is sold out?” groused the crestfallen young woman bellying up to the Miami International Film Festival ticket counter. “Are you sure?” Standing nearby, Kulchur tried to offer some words of solace: Don’t worry, I’ve seen it and you’re not missing much. The woman stepped back to re-examine the…
Download This Only a techno-moron would say such a thing: I was appalled by the level of inaccuracy in Tristram Korten’s column “Deeply Digitally Divided” (February 5), in which he stated that the e-Equality computer technology center was “the only tech center in town with the resources to dramatically improve…
While it’s certainly true that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter, with Che Guevara that maxim has become downright surreal. Today the revolutionary icon’s writings are simultaneously admired by teenage Howard Dean volunteers in Burlington and Taliban leaders in the Afghan countryside; they are parsed for strategies by…
In Over Their Heads Let’s thank the volunteers serving on public boards, then show them the door: Tristram Korten’s fine column on the Public Health Trust audits (“An Embarrassment of Audits,” January 29) ought to be a lesson to this community on the consequences of placing public institutions in the…
Our Most Sincere Thanks for the Insult Miami’s Pilates professionals will appreciate an apology: I commend assistant calendar editor Juan Carlos Rodriguez on his article about Pilates and the Hub center (“Clearing Mind, Fixing Body,” January 22). The Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) is the international, not-for-profit professional association for the…
This week Universal Music Latino releases a compilation called Heavy Hitters: The Best of Spanish Hip-Hop. Who are these heavy hitters? Best-selling rappers like Big Pun, Fat Joe, and Tego Calderón? Up-and-coming rhymers like Don Dinero and Pitbull? Or old-school pioneers like Vico C, Kid Frost, Delinquent Habits, and Mellow…
Their hours may be different, but Miami’s leading political figures are looking an awful lot like nightclub owners these days. In the looming August race to succeed Alex Penelas as Miami-Dade mayor, no less than in the competitive world of clubland, lining up a steady stream of VIP appearances is…
Bash Us, Lash Us, Trash Us Just don’t bore us: One more time, hats off to Ronald Mangravite — a tough, uncompromising, insightful, passionate, unfailingly decent, and even-handed example of that most dreaded profession: theater criticism (“Aural Sex,” January 15). Even when he “reams” us theater folks, he does it…
“There are five different art fairs in South Florida now!” laughed Manhattan gallery owner Claire Oliver as a well-heeled crowd streamed past her exhibition space at last week’s Art Miami show. “That’s a lot of art for anyone to stay on top of.” Actually there are only three sprawling art…
In the Beginning Was the Word And the word was “awesome”: I just finished reading Rebecca Wakefield’s cover story “The Sociology of Suds” (January 8) and had to write to say that it was awesome. I wish there were more journalism being done like this. I thought it was brilliant…
I Know a Thing or Two about Beauty Pageants And this one is anything but beautiful: Thanks to Forrest Norman for his article about Mario Princigalli and his Miss Cuban-American pageant (“Tiara Squirm-a!” December 25). I competed in this year’s pageant and I had a terrible experience. My parents were…
To Shoot or Not To Shoot That isn’t a question unless you’re packing heat: Mario Barcia may or may not have known he was shooting at a police officer (based on the witnesses and circumstances, he probably didn’t), but what Steven Dudley’s article “A Shot in the Dark” (December 18)…
For progressives the jury is still out on Miami-Dade mayoral hopeful José Cancela. Is the Radio Unica president poised to take a much-needed, businesslike approach to overhauling county hall, à la Manny Diaz? Or is he simply Alex Penelas with a firmer handshake and a more convincing smile? Is Cancela…
FTAA: Thug That would be Chief John Timoney: There was so much righteous, justified, and articulate indignation over Miami’s handling of the FTAA ministerial meetings that I was hesitant to comment. But I want to congratulate New Times and reporters like Celeste Fraser Delgado for your coverage and dedication. If…
For the kinder, the Eighties are one long Cyndi Lauper video, all asymmetrical haircuts, striped leg warmers, and fun, fun, fun ’til daddy takes the DeLorean away. For those of us who actually lived through the decade, however, that imaginary nostalgia is leavened with a bit more ambivalence — a…
Mission Accomplished We cops prevented chaos and we’re proud of it: After reading New Times’s coverage of the FTAA protests, I wanted to add my view of the events. I was on the other side of the line — the side getting bottles of urine, golf balls, and rocks thrown…
At Long Last Art Believe it or not, Miami is more than crime and corruption: It is refreshing to see a New Times cover story that doesn’t involve corruption, murder, or local political nastiness. And so I enjoyed Rebecca Wakefield’s coverage of the belly-dance culture here in Miami (“In the…
Memo to Miuccia Prada: Your fall line is just as well suited to a downtown Miami riot scene as a night out in clubland. That was the lesson Kulchur drew after borrowing one of the designer’s military-style black sweaters and heading out to cover the recent Free Trade Area of…
Cops Gone Wild: Definitely Money Well Spent Let us praise the wisdom and vision of our leaders: Thanks to the foresight of our noble leaders, a terrible disaster was averted two weeks ago in downtown Miami. It is my understanding that extremely boisterous gangs of environmentalist tree-huggers, anti-trade rogues, and…
