At the Arts & Business Council of Miami‘s annual Serving the Arts Luncheon last Tuesday, trial lawyer and keynote speaker Lewis S. Eidson made the case that “arts mean business.” Among all the facts and figures about how the arts create jobs and revitalize neighborhoods, what stuck out for me was Eidson’s contention that three shows at the Arsht this season brought more folks to South Florida than did last year’s Super Bowl — and that more people attended museums across the nation last year than attended live sporting events. The logic may be a little slippery (probably not so many people watched museums as watched the NFL on television), but I like the team spirit. Go, arts! You can beat sports! Yes, you can!

Keeping with the sporting spirit, the match-up to watch this weekend is Lucrecia vs. Carlos Varela. For one night only, at the Arsht Center, the Cuban chanteuse presents a nostalgia-soaked show of pre-revolutionary standards like “The Peanut Vendor,” “Guantanamera,” and “Siboney.” At exactly the same time, in the opposite corner of downtown Miami (or as the boosters would have it dwntwn), at the Gusman, Cuban troubadour Carlos Varela offers a show equally soaked in nostalgia for those who ever believed in the ideals of revolutionary Cuba — or who ever felt bad about finding out there was nothing left to believe in. Though all those dreams may be dashed, Cuban music from all eras endures.

Lucrecia performs at 8pm, May 15 at the Knight Concert Hall, Adrienne Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami; Tickets cost $45 – $85; www.arshtcenter.org; 305-949-6722.

Carlos Varela performs at 8pm, May 15 at the Gusman Center, 174 E. Flagler Street, Miami; Tickets cost $35 – $100; www.ticketmaster.com; 800-745-3000.