Wednesday, October 10, 2018

An Ode to Miami's Mythical Cultural Scene


Apparently "there is no culture in Miami." I have heard this apocryphal declaration made by many a Miami-an and certainly by every import from the Northeast. And, while I agree that we are not as institutionally cultured as cities like New York with its world renown museums, galleries and theaters, we definitely have a cultural scene. You just need to know where to mine beneath our glittery exterior of EDM, bandage dresses and champagne showers for those raw cultural nuggets.

For starters, our highly diverse community is brimming with culture by its very nature. As our contributor Celeste points out, "This flavorful melting pot has been brewing for decades. From mass Cuban emigrations to organized crime in the 70s, these hardships still echo and manifest themselves in the flavors and sounds of the city." You can't escape it, but you can definitely bask in it at the Tower Theater with a Cuban film, at the Little Haiti Cultural Center on Caribbean Market Day, at Libreri Mapou during a book reading. One of the most memorable experiences I have had as a writer in the last five years was taking a fiction writing workshop at the Coral Gables Museum led by award-winning novelist Anjanette Delgado, known for her Miami-inspired latina themes...so don't tell me "there is no culture in Miami".

I will concede that our definition of culture is different from other cities. That said, Miami also offers culture in the traditional, high society sense. Earlier this summer I went with a friend to see the NuDeco Ensemble featuring Ben Folds at the Arsht Center, which was perhaps on the avant garde side of the spectrum but was: a) incredible and b) in the end, still an orchestra performance. This year my mom also treated my family to the classical Chinese dance performance, Shen Yun, at the Arsht Center. 

There is culture in Miami. One of the local cultural offerings that Celeste and I both love is the Miami City Ballet, which puts on top-notch performances throughout South Florida from Fall through Spring. If you're looking for an "in," a place to meet Miami culture, we recommend starting at the ballet because everyone loves it and we have a world class ballet company in our very own backyard. Don’t just take my word for it—see for yourself! Their 2018/19 season is getting ready to kick-off on Friday, October 19 with Company B(Make sure you say hi to Celeste who will also be in the audience!)

Celeste and I are hoping this blog will be your go-to resource on your quest to uncover Miami's mythical cultural scene. If you need inspiration, we regularly post about our cultural musings here and on the #ThankYouMiami Instagram. We also want to hear from you. How do you take advantage of culture in Miami?
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