Official uVu Blog

Thousands of Damas de Blanco March Down Calle Ocho

The Floridian Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White) met in Miami on March 25^th, in support of the Cuban Damas de Blanco, who last week were attacked by government security forces in Havana.

Las Damas de Blanco is an opposition movement in Cuba and Miami consisting of supporters, spouses, and relatives of jailed dissidents. The women protest the imprisonments by wearing white dresses and then silently walking through the streets dressed in white clothing. The color white is chosen to symbolize peace.

The Cuban Damas de Blanco met on March 17^th for a peaceful protest, as this month marks the seventh anniversary of the Black Spring event. This event marks the day the government imprisoned journalists, writers, and other political rebels they thought were a threat to the revolution. 53 of those “political rebels” are still imprisoned.

Shortly after their protests began, the Cuban Damas were heckled by Cuban government supporters and were then grabbed by the hair, and dragged onto buses and driven away from their protesting areas.

After receiving news of the violent government opposition to the Cuban Damas, tens of thousands of Miami Damas, including Cuban-born star Gloria Estefan, marched in silence and opposition, carrying gladioluses and flags down Calle Ocho.

 

Estefan said, “This is a big message to all of them that freedom is alive and we care for them, we love them.”

By Olenka Luna

 

 

 

VACC Camp 2010

Last year, the uVu team had the opportunity to spend some time with the staff, volunteers and of course, the campers at the Ventilator Assisted Camp run by some of the folks at the Miami Children's Hospital.

This year's camp begins setting up today, the volunteers have been prepping for several weeks and the schedule is place for visits to the pool, the beach and bowling to name just a few of the highlights for the week.

This isn't an ordinary camp experience but rather a remarkable week for everyone involved, including the siblings and parents of the campers, but at the heart of it all is the team of volunteers, including the team leaders.

uVu intends to work with the staff again this year and have them tell their stories as they go through the week.

You can meet the team leaders here and look for their video later on.

Arte America 2010

Being at Arte Americas in the Miami Beach Convention Center was quite a unique experience. It was like walking through a beautiful maze of white walls covered with unique artworks by artists from all over Latin America. This art fair, returning for its eighth installment, went on March 26^th - 29^th and showcased the latest trends in all forms of art.

 

Arte Americas included more than 40 galleries, representing more than 300 artists and masters. Because these artists came from around the world from such countries as Spain, Panama, Peru, and even the United States, the works of art were all very diverse and attracted a very diverse audience.

By Olenka Luna

Mural on earthquake in Haiti

The earthquake in Haiti has inspired many to express how they feel about the tragedy through art. Serafema Solokov and Susan Salvant are two of the many.

These two talented artists have created murals portraying victims of the earthquake. The murals went on display on March 1^st in the Southern College Regional Library in Pembroke Pines.

 

Solokov’s and Salvant’s murals are filled with vivid colors, emotions, and textures. The murals are comprised of different frames in which victims head shots are shown; many of whom are injured and crying out.

In Salvant’s mural you can also see newspaper clippings from local South Florida newspapers, such as the Miami Herald. Salvant particularly chose clips in which the word “Help” was used, trying to spread the message that Haiti needs us. 

 

These two murals were very impressive and emotionally invoking. The murals will remain on display until the end of April. If you get a chance to check them out, it is highly recommended you do so.

By Olenka Luna

Scenes from the DBFF

One of our favorite Vloggers, Cyndi Lenz, reports back from the Delray Beach Film Festival again.  You can see all of this year's clips along with her stories from last year on uVu, just click here.

Become fan on Facebook and join the conversation on life in South Florida.

Miami Today Newsmaker Profile - Joe Farcus

Ever walked into a cruise ship and felt that you stepped into a different world? That world might have been created by Joe Farcus, the architect who designs Carnival’s fleet.
Mr. Farcus has dedicated his three-decade career to designing cruise ships, leading the way for others in this ever-changing industry.
“In a way, we were forced to really write the book and we did and, you know, it took Carnival Cruise Lines, as the former president, Bob Dickinson, used to say, the bottom of the bottom feeders and made it into the powerhouse corporation that it is today that owns all these other brands besides Carnival Cruise Lines.”
Global cruise company Carnival Corp. owns Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Seabourn Cruise Line in North America, Costa Cruises in Italy, and other cruise ship brands in Germany, United Kingdom, Spain and Australia.

Miami International Fashion Week 2010

After finally making it to the Miami International Fashion Week press conference at The Shops at Midtown Miami on March 18^th, 2010, the press conference included the typical, boring introductions, photo ops, and hand shaking galore.  However, the fun was about to begin.  At about 8 p.m., swimwear showcase organizers finally began the long awaited showcase, which featured a lot of skin, to say the least.  Depending on how objective I need to be (and this is a blog post so I don’t need to be,) the showcase was borderline porn but hey, I’m not complaining.  However, just two designers presented their, um, work and showcase organizers quickly wrapped up.  In between showcases, I had the privilege of interviewing Miami swimwear designer Fabiano DeMoraes and ‘Mad Men’ actor Vincent De Paul.  Over an hour later, the Miami Style Showcase finally kicked off (not at 9 p.m. as scheduled) and featured the student and emerging designer competition finalists and the Miami Style prelude.  It was during this showcase that I fell in love with one of the designers (or her work at least.)  Her name is Prashantsudha.  Whether it was the music in the background, the models, her designs (go figure) or a combination of all three, there was something about this designer and her work that mesmerized me as well as other people in attendance.  All of the collections were just a reminder of how important, intricate, creative, artistic, sexy and diverse (to say the least) fashion can sometimes be.

Danny Carratala

Public schools: Funding challenges and solutions

Danny Carratala, uVu intern, went to Miami Today and the Miami Parking Authority’s “Our Public Schools: The Funding Challenges and Solutions” round table discussion at The Gusman Center for the Performing Arts on March 17, 2010.  

"I was at the theater to watch panelists discuss the current state of Miami-Dade County Public Schools and the grade the schools are making.  Not to mention where the school system is headed.  The panelists included Bank of America vice president Maria C. Alonso, the Education Fund president Linda Lecht, Miami Dade College president Dr. Eduardo J. Padron, Step Up for Students president Doug Tuthill and Miami-Dade County Public Schools superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho.  The panelists covered the gamut and tackled subjects ranging from funding to the FCAT.  As a former third grade teacher, it was difficult to hear about where Florida schools rank when compared to the rest of the country.  It was a toss up between number 49 and number 50, ridiculous.  It was even more difficult to hear about the amount of money the federal government gives (or fails to give) each Kindergarten through 12^th grade student every year.  That figure was somewhere in the six-thousand dollar range.  Even more disheartening was the comparison of public schools to prisons; a comparison that wouldn’t have had any merit years ago but is especially true in today’s economic climate considering budget cuts and dropout rates.  In the end, it seemed as if a lot of today’s school system problems were discussed but solutions are long ways away."

By Danny Carratala

Public Schools: Funding Challenge

Miami Today and the Miami Parking Authority presented "Our Public Schools: The Funding Challenges and Solutions"

The panel was held on March 17 at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts and was moderated by Michael Lewis, publisher of Miami Today The panel included:

Maria C. Alonso, vice president, Bank of America, and chair-elect. Greater Miami CHamber of Commerce

Linda Lecht, president, The education Fund

Dr. Eduardo Padron, president, Miami Dade College

Doug Tuthill, president, Step Up for Students

Alberto M. Carvalho, superintendent, Miami-Dade County Public Schools

Watch the Roundtable here

King of Soca: Machel Montano at Revolution

Revolution Live was the place to be for all soca lovers on March 20th, 2010. Machel Montano took the stage with his usual energy and made the crowd jump, dance, wine and scream for more.

Jamaican singer Shaggy, Miami artist Casely and more joined him on stage to perform some of his hit songs such as Winning season and Sweat.

The venue was packed with a diverse crowd, including Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union.

Montano performed his songs from the old school soca to the 2010 tune. The King of Soca was absent from the Trinidad Carnival scene this year, but is fans were happy to catch up on the jump up and winning on Saturday night.

From Toro, to Jumbie, and many more..the venue finally cleared out around 4 am when a exhausted but happy crowd went home.

Without a doubt, Machel Montano knows how to work a crowd. Watch for yourself by clicking here

There are 12 videos from the concert in total on uVu. Type Machel in the search and enjoy.