Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Two of the best film festivals in the US are the Miami International Film Festival
(
www.miamifilmfestival.com
), which is a showcase for Latin cinema (March), and the up-
and-coming Florida Film Festival (
www.floridafilmfestival.com
) in Orlando (April).
Music
As in all things, it's the mad diversity of Miami that makes its music so appealing. The
southbound path of American country and Southern rock, the northbound rhythms of the
Caribbean and Latin America, and the homegrown beats of Miami's African American
community get mixed into a musical crossroads of the Americas. Think about the sounds
the above influences produce, and you'll hear a certain thread: bouncy and percussive with
a tune you can always dance to.
The above sounds, rooted in the New World, are fighting against interlopers from a far
shore: Europeans and their waves of techno, house and EDM. They have brought a strong
club-music scene, best evidenced by the annual Winter Music Conference in March, which
brings thousands of DJs and producers to town. The gay community has traditionally been
a receptive audience for club music, and many club nights have crossover with gay parties.
Miami's heart and soul is Latin, and that goes for its music as well. Producers and artists
from across Latin America come here for high-quality studio facilities, the lure of global
distribution and the Billboard Latin Music Conference & Awards, held here each April.
The Magic City has been the cradle of stars such as Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin and
Albita, and a scan over the local airwaves always yields far more Spanish-language sta-
tions than English, playing a mix of salsa,
son
(an Afro-Cuban-Spanish mélange of music-
al styles), conga and reggaeton. A night out in La Covacha is a good intro to the scene.
Salsa is the most commonly heard word used to reference Latin music and dance. This
makes sense as it's a generic term developed in the mid-'60s and early '70s to pull all Lat-
in sounds under one umbrella name for gringos who couldn't recognize the subtle differen-
ces between beats. From the Spanish word for 'sauce,' salsa has its roots in Cuban culture
and has a sound that's enhanced by textures of jazz. Music that lends itself to salsa dancing
has four beats per bar of music.
One specific type of Cuban salsa is
son
- a sound popularized by the release of 1999's
Buena Vista Social Club
. It has roots in African and Spanish cultures and is quite melodic,
