Earlier than the highly effective voice of Armando Pérez Roura popularized the greeting “Aquí, Radio Mambí, la grande” (Right here is Radio Mambí, the nice one) and dominated the radio scene for Cubans in Miami, the exile group spent many years in search of prominence on air of their adopted metropolis.
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With out capital funds, however with expertise fromworking in entrance of and behind the microphone and cameras within the nation that was a pioneer of radio and tv in Latin America, the exiles’ first transfer was to purchase house on the English-language stations in Miami within the Nineteen Sixties. Then got herebusinessman Herb Levin, who determined to launch a station solely in Spanish, WQBA, La Cubanísima.
The on-air voices from these early days included Norman Díaz, a political commentator who at all times had Cuba on his lips; Juan Amador Rodríguez, who gained followers from his program in Cuba, “El Periódico del Aire”; and different standard personalitiescorresponding to actor Otto Sirgo.
“I used to be fascinated by the radio that the Cubans made. It was a Cuban radio, not a Hispanic one, and the principle subject was the dictatorship in Cuba,” recollects journalist and radio host Ricardo Brown, who was 10 years previous when he arrived from Cuba.
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Considerations just lately emerged about the way forward for Cuban radio and that two conservative Miami stations, Radio Mambí and WQBA, could also be silenced once they go from TelevisaUnivisión to Latino Media Community, which is led and financed by liberal-leaning businesspeople.
A radio that grew to become the voice of Miami
Brown remembers announcers and journalists corresponding to Agustín Tamargo, Pérez Roura, Jaime de Aldeaseca, Manolo Penabás and lawyer Luis Fernández Caubí, who may touch upon the political occasions of the second whereas addressing problems with historical past and tradition in depth.
“That they had a clean discuss, they usually have been very likable. On the radio they often sounded a bit offended, however once you met them in individual, they have been very good,” says Brown.
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“Miami radio is a sequel to the place all these folks got here from, from Cuba earlier than 1959,” says actor and broadcaster Omar Moynelo, noting they introduced expertise from Cuba and reinvented themselves in Miami.
They talked in regards to the Machadato, the regime of Gerardo Machado in Cuba, the identical manner they informed anecdotes about politicians and leaders of the revolution, whom they’d typically met in individual, says Moynelo, who hosts “Late, Late Night time de Mambí,” a comedypresent from 6 p.m. to eight p.m.
For the movie critic Alejandro Ríos, “the duo” of the late hosts Pérez Roura and Tamargo on Radio Mambí, whose hallmark was the phrase “Cuba first, Cuba afterwards and Cuba at all times,” was very attention-grabbing.
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“Tamargo had an unlimited tradition, he was a humanist, and Pérez Roura had a political, pragmatic and group tradition,” Ríos stated.
Pérez Roura was loyal to his crew on the station, one other media veteran, Roberto Rodríguez Tejera, recalled on his Actualidad Radio 1040 AM program, which he hosts with Brown within the mornings.
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“Pérez Roura saved García Sifredo on the air till the tip, after he had a stroke and you might hardly perceive what he was saying,” Tejera stated on his present, referring to journalist Armando García Sifredo, who earlier than his work as a number at Mambí, based the Patria newspaper and was one of many creators of the Nationwide School of Journalists of the Republic of Cuba in Exile.
Politics on Radio Mambí
José Luis García Pérez Antúnez, who was imprisoned in Cuba for 17 years for collaborating in a protest, factors out that the advantage of Radio Mambí and different Cuban stations is that they’ll “inform issues like they’re,” corresponding to check with the Cuban authorities as a “dictatorship.”
“We can’t try this elsewhere. These stations are the voice of the political prisoners, of the kinfolk of the political prisoners, areas that cowl the actions of the opposition, marches, rallies, actions like these, and above all, stations the place we will name Fidel, Raúl, Ortega and Maduro ‘dictators,’ ” Antúnez stated at a press convention for the Meeting of the Cuban Resistance, a coalition of organizations that on June 8 expressed concern that the change in possession may end in censorship of anti-communist views.
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Political points, more often than not vehemently expressed by program hosts and the general public, have beena mainstay of those stations, which haveaudiences that embody victims of totalitarian regimes, in keeping withexile leaders and politicians on the press convention Wednesday on the 2506 Brigade Museum.
“One of many explanation why we returned to Cuba was to combat for freedom of expression, and for us it is extremely necessary that on this nice nation respect for freedom that has price a lot effort is maintained,” stated Humberto Díaz Argüelles, who, as a younger man, landed in Cuba as a part of Brigade 2506.
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Alejandro Ríos factors out that the Miami stations, particularly Radio Mambí, which will be heard in Cuba, allowed Cubans on the island to seek out out what was occurring outdoors the nation, in occasions when social networks didn’t exist. With these stations, and particularly after the Mariel exodus, “the wall of water” that prevented contact between the exiles and the island step by step broke down.
With open microphone applications, which permit the general public to provide their opinion, the listeners of those stations may speak about whatupset themin regards to the scenario in Cuba.
Moynelo, who hosted the humorous program “La Timba de la Mañana” on Clásica 92, owned by SBS, says that listeners typically insulted “Fidel,” who was one of many characters whose voice was imitated by the late comic Eddy Calderón, his companion on this system.
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Neighborhood service on Miami radio
Though Spanish-language radio in Miami is rather more than Radio Mambí, its listeners fear that it’s going to disappear and recalledthegroup service it supplied.
Martha Flores and Marta Casañas, radio hosts who at the moment are deceased, are amongst these most remembered by the artists and promoters of tradition and artwork within the metropolis to whom they supplied time on their applications.
“Mambí and its journalists at all times appeared very constant to me,” says Ríos. “In group phrases it’s admirable. Martha Flores tried to unravel many issues.”
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“The Queen of the Night time,” as Flores was referred to as, would additionally mobilize her listeners to assist discover a misplaced canine and inform older adults the place to gather their pension.
“Radio Mambí is the home of artists. After we knocked on the doorways they opened them broad for us, with out query,” acknowledges artist Tania Martí, director of the nonprofit cultural group Martí Productions.
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Martí stated the station’s cultural and musical applications contributed to her training since she left Cuba for Spain at a really younger age. The applications helped her get to know composers corresponding to René Touzet, Juan Bruno Tarraza and Mario Fernández Porta.
Will Cuban radio come to an finish?
Though there’s uncertainty among the many public and the hosts of those stations in regards to the future, Moynelo factors out that it is a metropolis very appropriate for the radio, as a result of it is determined by the automotive, the place listeners tune in to be entertained and knowledgeable on the street.
Cuban radio faces a giant problem. A lot of its unique listeners are disappearing, and typically the youthful generations search info and leisure elsewhere.
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Ríos factors out that radio is a Twentieth-century medium that’s struggling to outlive, however at the least in Miami, with the fixed arrival of Cuban immigrants — U.S. officers anticipate 150,000 Cubans to reach this 12 months, The New York Instances reported — the stations are more likely to nonetheless have an viewers though it has decreased.
As René Anselmo, one of many founders of Univision, informed Ricardo Brown when the community was starting, there are lots of issues that Hispanic immigrants share and many who separate them.
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“But when there’s something that unites them, in addition to language, it’s the need to achieve this nation,” says Brown.
The media that perceive this motivation could have a transparent path on this “audiovisual Babylon,” as Moynelo calls the land of many accents that’s Miami.
Sarah Moreno cubre temas de negocios, entretenimiento y tendencias en el sur de la Florida. Se graduó de la Universidad de La Habana y de Florida Worldwide College.
The Texas Longhorns continued their recruiting hot streak on Sunday, adding a commitment at a position of need with the addition of Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna running back Derrek Cooper over the Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, Miami Hurricanes, and Ohio State Buckeyes.
BREAKING: Elite 2026 RB Derrek Cooper has Committed to Texas, he tells me for @rivals
The 6’2 210 RB from Fort Lauderdale, FL chose the Longhorns over Miami & Georgia
Cooper was long considered to be a Miami lean coming out of the summer visit season with the hometown Hurricanes looking to add their second five-star player in the class. However, with the Longhorns’ high-profile misses on KJ Edwards and Ezavier Crowell, position coach Chad Scott and the recruiting staff turned up the heat on the elite back to fill one of the major holes in the recruiting class.
The No. 29 player in the country and the No. 2 player in Florida, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Cooper pledges to Texas without yet taking his official visit to Austin, instead opting for an unofficial visit in April and plans to trip to the Forty Acres during the fall. That may prove beneficial later in the cycle, affording Texas the ability to formally host him in Austin closer to Early Signing Day, as teams try to flip him.
At 6’1, 205 pounds, Cooper is a unique mix of power and speed, qualifying for the state track finals in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes as a sophomore. While the Horns are recruiting him as a running back, he has played both ways in both of his varsity seasons, rushing for 905 yards and 13 touchdowns while also chipping in 46 tackles and four sacks to lead Chaminade-Madonna to a 1A state championship as a junior.
Cooper becomes commitment No. 21 for Texas and the fifth top-50 player of the cycle for the Longhorns, six spots ahead of John Turntine, in what is rapidly becoming another elite class for Texas.
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The Florida product moves the Longhorns to No. 5 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings with the fewest committed players in that group. Cooper also joins quarterback Dia Bell and defensive lineman James Johnson as top-10 players from the Sunshine State to choose the Longhorns, further establishing the Longhorns’ recruiting inroads there.
Film analysis (by Daniel Seahorn):
Cooper is a big, physical back at his listed 6’1, 205 pounds. He is a true three-phase player at the high school level, being the bell-cow running back offensively, while also being featured as a hybrid linebacker/safety defender and a key cog on special teams with multiple blocked punts on tape.
Cooper is a no-nonsense type of runner, as he isn’t the type who is going to waste motion behind the line of scrimmage. He gets downhill in a hurry and wants to get north and south without a bunch of lateral movement. Possesses a good burst when he sticks his foot in the ground and runs very hard and tough behind his pads. Will run through arm tackles regularly and has the shiftiness and quickness to make second and third-level defenders miss in space. Possesses the ability to BYOB (be your own blocker) when things go south in the backfield. Cooper is the type of back that is tough to bring down by one defender, as he is a very stubborn runner and will push a pile of defenders down the field.
Cooper has good, reliable hands out of the backfield as a receiver on tape and shows the ability to take short passes for large chunks of yardage. He possesses the speed on tape where he can punish bad angles and rip off explosive plays.
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I love Cooper’s overall makeup because I think his toughness and willingness as a defender complement his running style as a back. He isn’t going to shy away from contact, and he is going to make you earn it anytime he touches the ball. Only carried the ball 124 times in 2024 and averaged 9.3 yards per carry, so there is still plenty of tread left on the tires as a runner. Has the ability to be a bell-cow back at the next level or be the thunder to someone’s lightning.
MIAMI — James Williams, Joaquim Smith, and Michael Rube Flurencio were at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center early Friday morning, records show.
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Corrections booked them on Thursday morning, and they faced charges in separate cases with the Miami Police Department, records show.
Their arrests on Wednesday were during a police “sweep” in the Overtown, Model City, and Little Haiti neighborhoods, according to Officer Michael Vega.
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Operation Sweep Detectives arrested James Williams, right, Michael Rubel Florencio, center, and Joaquim Smith, on Wednesday in Miami. Corrections booked them on Thursday and they remained behind bars on Friday morning.
Miami detectives approached Williams, 33, and two other men after seeing them in a dark street on Wednesday night in the Overtown neighborhood.
Williams, a convicted felon, raised his arms, and when a detective asked if he was armed, he surrendered a stolen Glock 27, according to detectives.
The operation was in response to “a troubling increase” in shootings and homicides, according to Officer Michael Vega, who did not define the increase.
Smith, who was carrying a PSA Dagger pistol, was in a Mercedes-Benz with dark-tinted windows in Overtown, according to a detective’s report.
Smith, 27, of Miami Gardens, had marijuana in his pocket, and 35.4 grams stored in plastic baggies in the Mercedes-Benz, according to detectives.
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Rubel Florencio was in another Mercedes-Benz with dark-tinted windows in Little Haiti with about 180 pills of Oxycodone, according to a police report.
Rubel Florencio, 28, of Hialeah, was “visibly nervous as his chest was rising and falling rapidly, and his hands were trembling,” according to a detective.
MPD Police officers arrested Dominick Martin, left, and Zakia Joseph, right, on Wednesday in Miami over pending warrants in unrelated cases.
Vega, a spokesman for the police department, listed the arrests of Zakia Joseph, 27, of Miramar, and Dominick Martin, 36, who is homeless, over pending warrants in unrelated cases as part of the operation.
According to Vega, the five arrests were part of the operation involving the department’s crime gun intelligence detail, the gang unit, and the FBI violent gang task force.
Williams faced charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, grand theft of a firearm, and carrying a concealed firearm.
Smith faced charges of possession of marijuana with intent to sell while armed, possession of marijuana near a school, and openly carrying a weapon.
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Rubel Florencio faced a charge of trafficking Oxycodone.
Detectives asked anyone with information about these or other cases to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 to remain anonymous.
Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.
If you’ve ever wanted to spray graffiti without the mess, or the arrest, Superblue Miami has you covered. Its latest exhibit is merging street art with tech. Deco took a trip down to the interactive art playground to find out more.
Graffiti is getting a temporary glow-up at Superblue Miami.
Superblue Miami Guest 1: “It was amazing, I’ve never experienced something like this.”
Thanks to its newest exhibit “Temporary Graffiti.”
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Steve Velasquez: “‘Temporary Graffiti is an interactive artwork created by post digital art group Random International. They are a London-based group, and they’ve essentially created a way for our guests to create temporary designs with ultraviolet light on canvases.”
Here, you’re not just staring at the art, you’re creating it. So how does it work?
Steve Velasquez: “Think a traditional based spray can. There is a custom-made microcomputer inside of this spray can, and it allows light to pour out. This light is leaving behind an almost glow-in-the-dark design on photoreactive canvases.”
Just a stroke of a spray can, and you can leave your mark on the art world.
Steve Velasquez: “A lot of times, people will come and they’ll just start designing. They’ll put like a smiley face, they’ll put a bird, sometimes they’ll just write their name.”
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But blink, and it’s gone.
Steve Velasquez: “The design is so temporary. Let’s say you don’t like it. you know, you kind of move on, you give it like 10, 15 minutes, it’ll disappear.”
Anyone can be a graffiti artist, too — no skills required.
Superblue Miami Guest 2: “I’m not to good at it. it’s just for fun. “
Steve Velasquez: “It’s for all ages. We see people from children to adults all come in, have a great time, and sometimes come out shocked at what they are able to creatively design.”
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And while the art you make is temporary, the exhibit is not.
Steve Velasquez: “For Superblue, ‘Temporary Graffiti’ is a semi-permanent situation, meaning that at the moment, there is no clear end time or closure date for this piece, So at the moment, you can just enjoy for as long as it’s here.”
“Temporary Graffiti” is included with your general admission ticket to Superblue Miami.
FOR MORE INFO: Superblue Miami 1101 NW 23rd St. Miami, FL 33127 superblue.com
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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