Knight Foundation

RELATED LINKS "Broadsides and craft brews at Miami Book Fair's 'The Swamp'" by Lisette Mendez on Knight blog, 10/31/14 "PBS to livestream, cover Miami Book Fair International" by Lisette Mendez on Knight blog, 11/10/14   Growing up poor in Miami Beach, I lived in two Miami’s at once. And though I am as Miami as any Jewish, Mariel Boatlift-Cuban, tattooed, book-obsessed, PTA-mom-of-two can be, I still feel like a slight outsider in my own city. Which is why I have a nagging preoccupation with not only the “Magic City,” but all of Florida – with the life of this place.  And why The Swamp at this year’s Miami International Book Fair. The metaphorical love child of Jimbo’s and the Delano Hotel (two Miami places that represent so much for me), the Swamp will be the place to experience Florida stories – and not just of the literary kind. In addition to author events, there will be music, spoken word performances, film screenings, and participatory fun like literary karaoke and bocce ball challenges. The walls will be painted by six of Miami’s most talented street artists, and we’ll finish off the eight days with a Big Night in Little Haiti-style concert featuring the band Lakou Mizik.

When Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" opened in 1904, it flopped. After a few months of careful revisions and intense rehearsals, Puccini nailed it. "Madama Butterfly" has since turned into one of the most performed operas in the world, and its impact on culture is almost incalculable. Madama...

"Winter Wolf and Shadow Wolf" from Really Large Numbers. Kind of like fireworks, Emerson Dorsch is finishing off its innovative programming, called “thisishappening,” with an explosion of happenings all this week. Writers, performers and visual artists from here and across the country will transform the outdoor...

Mario Ernesto Sanchez, founder and producing artistic director of Teatro Avante and the International Hispanic Theatre Festival of Miami, received the 2014 Legacy Award in Los Angeles, Sunday. The honor recognizes “outstanding individuals whose lifelong commitment to Latino Theater in the United States and Latin America will have a lasting impact on the field,” said Jose Luis Valenzuela, artistic director of the Latino Theater Company/LATC, in his letter to Sanchez informing him of the award. The presentation was part of the closing ceremonies of “Encuentro 2014,” a month-long gathering of Latin theater artists hosted by the Los Angeles Theatre Center in association with the Latina/o Theatre Commons. “Your work,” noted Valenzuela in his letter, “has had a profound influence on the development of Latino Theater both nationally and internationally.” Sanchez was honored alongside two other historic figures in Latino theater in the United States: Luis Valdez, founder and artistic director of El Teatro Campesino, a company founded in 1965, based in San Juan Bautista, Calif.; and Miriam Colon, founder and director of the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, created in 1967 and recently merged with Pregones Theater, another important Latino theater institution. For Sanchez, a seemingly unsinkable champion of theater in Miami, the award means “that we have done a lot but we have a lot more to do. That’s all it means. I’m humbled by it but at the same time I’m very proud. But I always feel we haven’t done enough. We still need to create more interest in the residents of Miami for theater; that’s what we are still lacking.” “Don’t misunderstand me, I’m happy we are getting this award and it belongs to everybody who has helped Teatro Avante and the International Hispanic Theatre Festival to survive, and that includes audiences and sponsors. But I have to be honest, I think there’s still a lot that needs to be done.”  

By Fernando González, Miami-based arts & culture writer Mario Ernesto Sanchez Mario Ernesto Sanchez, founder and producing artistic director of Teatro Avante and the International Hispanic Theatre Festival of Miami, received the 2014 Legacy Award in Los Angeles, Sunday. The honor recognizes “outstanding individuals whose lifelong...