South Florida congressional leaders Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Kendrick Meek sure know how to live the good life when they are on the campaign trail. According to campaign financial disclosure forms filed with the Federal Elections Commission, the federal legislators spent big bucks entertaining staff and supporters at some of the…
Yesterday Banana Republican filled you in on the folks who made a buck ensuring Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, as well as Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, held onto their congressional seats. Today we look at the people who made a chunk of change on the failed campaigns of Democratic losers Joe Garcia, Raul…
It’s All About the Gay Issue Likes it: In response to Bob Norman’s November 13 piece in Riptide, “Fear of the Queer,” I’m an independent swing voter who went for Obama this year. I am white, straight, highly educated, married, family-oriented, and have a few gay friends who are couples…
While some people lament turntablism is a dying art, it has recently received a major boost via the nimble fingers of D.C.-based DJ Enferno. During summer and fall, the 2003 USA DMC champion has rocked crowds numbering into the tens of thousands across Europe and the States, hitting the front…
With the election season wrapped up, Banana Republican sifted through federal campaign financial reports, including those of Barack Obama and John McCain, to see who got paid. We begin with the companies that made money working for Mario Diaz-Balart, Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the three Cuban American Republicans who…
There’s something about the early music of Yo Majesty that will always have a soft spot in my heart. Back when this Tampa-based duo used to be a trio, Shunda K, Jwl B, and Shon B, were my favorite female MCs of 2007. They were butch, black, badass rappers who…
The mainstream media is starting to go through Dubya-induced withdrawal. How else can anyone explain why Sarah Palin, the VP candidate on the losing team, is still making headline news? Let’s face it the hokey ex-Guv from Texas provided us with endless fodder these past eight years that we’re scrambling…
Jeff McInnis: The Marsha Brady of Top Chef. Way to go Jeff McInnis! It only took a few minutes into last night’s season premiere of Top Chef to show us you are complete douche when you stated, “As far as my looks go, I always get a server or food…
Kimbo Didn’t Dive He fell: Bob Norman’s November 6 story, “Kimbo’s Slide,” is total bullshit. Why would Kimbo throw the fight? The guy was trying to build a rep for himself. He wouldn’t have taken a dive like that. These stories came out after Mike Tyson got knocked out by…
Melissa, a blonde in her late forties who looks like she’s been bitch-slapped by the sun, kneels in a pair of tight Swarovski crystal-studded jeans on a shiny dance floor. As a neon green disco light slices across her nipped (then tucked, Botoxed, and chemically peeled) face, she seductively tugs…
Surrounded by architectural plans and metaphysical tracts, Dharma, drummer and founder of the local band OrganicArma, can seem like he was beamed down from the mother ship. Everything about him is asymmetrical, pared down, and consciously futuristic. His stick-straight jet-black hair is long on one side and suddenly disappears, hedge-trimmer-style,…
Salman Rushdie will be in town to close up the Miami Book Fair, but his ex-wife Padma Lakshmi will be on television across the nation tonight hosting the season premier of “Top Chef: New York.” We’ve already introduced you to contestant Jeff McInnis, dubbed “hot chef of our dreams” in…
One of the daunting challenges facing President-elect Barack Obama is fixing the public school system where George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act has failed miserably, especially in Miami-Dade where some historically Black schools are in danger of being shut down. Our new Commander-In-Chief would be wise to heed…
So here’s a really cool music video that describes my Tuesday night almost perfectly. Middleweight hip-hop champ MURS is in town tonight playing a show at Churchill’s Pub and anybody that’s never seen the West Coast veteran live should consider going. He’s an indie hip-hop legend in the vein of…
The Real McBama McCain is no tool like that Hawaiian kid: In response to Gus Garcia-Roberts’s October 30 story “Faux-bama!”: Barack Obama is like a wind-up doll — devoid of any sense of humor — and more important, devoid of experience. The only thing he is good for is running…
So this week’s Throwback Tuesdays falls on the most important election in American history. There’s no reason not to kick it off with a video that captures the way a lot of Americans are feeling this morning. Today is truly a historic day, and it can be an even more…
Hey, politics doesn’t have to be soooooo serious. In fact politics is a spectacle, according to local performance artist Natasha Tsakos. And I wholeheartedly agree. Tsakos has put together The Palin Show — an avant-garde cabaret-style production she is presenting tonight at Dream nightclub at 1035 Washington Ave., Miami Beach…
As the most important election in the 21st Century draws to a close, Banana Republican took a gander at the top campaign contributors in the congressional races pitting Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart against Raul Martinez and Joe Garcia, respectively. So far the Republican siblings have out-raised their Democratic challengers by…
In April, Bravo announced Miami Social, a reality show, excuse us, “docu-series” that follows five young South Beach-based professionals. Earlier this month, there was some chatter that the thing might not even air. Funny, though, how the show continues to film around town. Funny that apparently Bravo has already aired…
The Brothers Are Grim Lincoln shoulda stayed home: I read with great interest Francisco Alvarado’s October 23 story “Dead Weight,” regarding the Diaz-Balart brothers. I am of Cuban descent and very proud of my heritage, but I differ greatly with the brothers’ position on immigration, whether it be Cuban or…
ZOMG you guys! Kiki, the Miami contestant on Paris Hilton’s My New BFF, is totally kicking ass on the show, y’all. And her quasi Paris-obsessive ways might take her all the way to the end. So on last night’s episode, Paris wanted to know who, like, totally knew everything about…
For four years a certain segment of America (probably the fake America) gathered around the teevee, turned into Bravo on Wednesday, and watched Hiedi Klum bark “Your challenge is to make a three piece swimsuit collection using only days old pizza and floam inspired by a comic book character I’m…
