By Anjanette Delgado There’s something about Miami. It welcomes you by not making too much of a fuss about you. “Oh, so there you are,” it seems to say. “Great. Dale, Chico. Te veo después y nos tomamos un café." And you know, it’s happy to see you. My favorite spot to welcome the day in all of Miami is not anywhere near the infamous SoBe of the tanned and gorgeous. It’s not on a boat gliding past tall downtown buildings on bayside waters.  It’s sitting on the sidewalk facing the huge, colorful, exhuberant sculpture at the entryway of the otherwise unremarkable Dadeland Metrorail Station in  South Miami. It´s fittingly called “Welcome”and stands amid the light gray concrete on mornings when my own bed wants nothing to do with me and, as my mother would say, “el que me fume, pierde el vicio.” And here´s the trick: you sit on the sidewalk in front of it with your newspaper and your strong, sugary, Cuban coffee… you look at it for awhile… and pretty soon you start to feel happy and… god forbid… optimistic. By then you’ll look a little crazy to couples walking by with their strollers or their dogs, so taking a few ...

By Yeni Alvarez Last Valentine’s Day, I had a tour de force culinary experience.  It started with an invitation to a popular restaurant I had heard of, but was afraid to try.  I’m speaking of Dining in the Dark at OPAQUE. Opaque’s mission is to engage all the senses in a pitch-black dining room, while eager guests are taken from one course to the next, softly guided by their respective blind or visually impaired servers. Let me start from the beginning.  We first walked in to the lounge area and were greeted by friendly staff, who reacted as if they knew something we didn’t when we announced it was our first time.  They knew we were in for a treat. We picked our meal in the dimly lit romantic lounge and waited for our server to guide us to our table.  Behind closed curtains we entered.  Hands on my guide’s shoulder we went, slowly making our way between pockets of fading conversations in a sea of darkness. The maze ended up in a comfortable corner near the entrance to the kitchen. At this point, our ears were still getting adjusted to the mumbling, as we picked up on various voices at the same time, being ...

By Alegre Ramos * You are pregnant…congratulations!  Like all moms, I’m sure you want to do everything possible to make sure that your baby is healthy, and going green during your pregnancy is a great way to ensure this.  Here are 6 green living tips that will make a big difference in your life and your pregnancy.  As of the writing of this article, I myself am almost 5-months pregnant and I feel great.  Hopefully my tips will help you feel great too and help ensure that your baby is as healthy and happy as possible! Eat green! You should be eating green both literally and figuratively.  Get as many organic, whole foods into your diet as possible (whole foods mean foods that are as close to their natural state as possible.)  Try and cut out any calories that are not filled with nutrients as they will not nourish the baby but WILL lead to excess weight gain.  Eating healthy is probably the single most important thing you ...

Via Metropolitan Opera ED Broadcast By Angela Rocco DeCarlo, copyright, 2010 There is one more opportunity to experience the thrill of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of George Bizet’s incendiary entertainment, “Carmen,” in a repeat broadcast to movie houses around the world, Wednesday, February 3, 2010, 6:30 p.m. local time. I saw the show in my neighborhood movie theater, Saturday, January 16, 2010, and would have sat through another performance immediately. This presentation is marvelously entertaining with behind-the-scenes interviews and other sidebars at the Metropolitan Opera house. “Carmen,” is one of a handful (others are “Tosca,” “Butterfly,” and “Traviata”) of perfect operas for those who have not yet seen an opera, but think they should. It has everything: iconic characters, memorable music and explosive passions. No novice will be disappointed in this show. Pity Georges Bizet, composer of this blockbuster opera, fourth on the opera “hit parade” of the 20 most performed.  He was hoping for success with the debut of  “Carmen” at the Opera Comique, Paris, March  3, 1875, but audiences were flummoxed by the departure from the usual shows at that venue and completely rejected the opera. It closed soon after opening and sadly Bizet died, at age 37, shortly thereafter, never knowing he ...

By Alegre Ramos Most people can quote the 3Rs: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, however, since becoming a mantra of the green movement twenty-plus years ago, much has been lost in their meaning.  In addition to being updated, the 3R’s needed to be expanded in order to make them more relevant to our modern life.  What follows is the Green and Greener 6R’s for green living in the modern day.  The most important thing to keep is mind is that the R’s, both the original version and ours, are hierarchical in their structure, meaning R1, reduce, has the MOST beneficial impact on the planet, and R6 has the “least.” R1: REDUCE: which means reduce use of raw materials and energy by reducing consumption. This is the step that has the most opportunity for reducing your footprint on the planet. In some ways it is the easiest step since it requires no action; however, it does require a mind shift when it comes to shopping. A good way to start on your path to reduced consumption is to give yourself a “consumer time-out” when you find something that you like but don't need. Don't buy the item right away. Instead, go home and give yourself ...