Yesterday, I gave three friends my tour of Miami. They liked my new car.
“But it doesn’t have a CD player,” I told them, “so I can’t play music appropriate to each neighborhood.”
“I can find any music you want,” Alex said from the back seat. “Just give me the name of the song – or the singer.”
“It’s good to travel with millennials,” said Patsy.
Our first stop was the Biltmore Hotel, approached, of course, down Columbus Avenue. Then we headed to the Venetian Pool which, unfortunately, was drained of water and being repaired. At Books & Books, we chatted with Mitchell Kaplan in the café. The calm before the storm. (Fire and Fury had yet to be delivered.)
After lunch at Versailles, I remembered about the music, and asked Alex to find Buena Vista Social Club. We sailed down Calle Ocho to the sounds of “Chan Chan,” followed by “Dos Gardenias Para Ti” (my two favorite songs, which are not together on the CD).
On the way to the Design District, Alex asked about the Brazilian singer I’d once played in the car when we were working together. Soon, Caetano Veloso’s “O Leaozinho” was filling our ears.
We parked on NE 41st Street, across the street from a fashion shoot. A child model was posing in vest and trousers, while a little girl waited in a silver dress.
Alex asked her sister Gabby to stand in front of the building to the side of the shoot. Its mustard yellow façade matched Gabby’s sweater. As Alex snapped the photo, the little girl applauded.
