FILMGATE, Downtown’s Media Center, offers classes, festivals, talks, everything to create and enjoy movies, especially the short film variety. — I attended FILGATE’s Short Documentaries Festival at Silverspot Cinema — Downtown’s movie paradise. Six short films were presented, and the winner was… The purpose, one suspects, is not really winning but surrendering to the irresistible urge to tell a story. …

The well-loved security guard at Bayfront Park passed last week. Members of the community reached out to inform me and ask to write a few lines to honor him for all his dedication to Downtown residents. I think the best way to honor Mr. Alvarez is reproducing a note we did in 2019. — “Francisco Alvarez is Bayfront Guardian Angel,” said Amal Solh Kabbani. “He is here every day of the week and on holidays from sunup to past sundown, making sure that our park is always in the best possible state to welcome all the residents.” Intrigued, I went looking for him. …

People report incidents involving dirt bikes and ATVs taking over the streets, driving chaotically and endangering pedestrians and motorists with impunity. — An Edgewater neighbor recently reported having been harassed by a gang on dirt bikes and ATVs. She requested anonymity — a legitimate concern for her safety. They surrounded her car and started banging on the windows and kicking the car’s doors. When she managed to drive off, they chased her…

The transition from childhood to full citizenship begins! — We all know a young friend or relative who graduated from college this spring. Many of us drove down to the University of Miami, Florida International University or Miami Dade College to witness the culmination of four turbulent years of study — given the disruption caused by the Pandemic. …

One of my favorite places is the New York Public Library, Fifth Avenue and 42nd St. This last visit took me through my personal history, US history, and the world of ideas. — A number of my books were born here, specifically in the Rare Books and Manuscripts and Archives Divisions. And the New York Public Library (NYPL) became a protagonist as well. How could it not? It has beauty, history, mystery, lovers, enemies, and verse, prose, and hieroglyphics in all languages. …

The PAMM exhibition features iconic artworks that catapulted Marisol onto the New York art scene in the 1960s. Through September 2022. Aurea Veras contributed. — The exhibition not only offers a glimpse into Marisol and Warhol’s close bond as friends and artistic collaborators but chronicles the development of their careers over an eight-year span from 1960–1968, while highlighting their influence on each other, their parallel rises to success, and their savvy navigation of the highly…

The young homeless man lives in Maurice Ferre Park, near the Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), a favorite spot for the increasing long-term homeless population. — He crossed Biscayne Boulevard heading to one of Park West’s poshest condos. He crossed the lobby as if he owned the place, como Pedro por su casa, and took the elevator to the 17th floor where the pool is located. …

Miami’s brand as the New Global City also wins. — Formula One Miami Grand Prix raced past us this last weekend, and the winner was the 24-year-old Dutch-Belgian driver Max Verstappen (Oracle Red Bull Racing.) Ferrari’s Leclerc came 2nd. Another apparent winner was the economy, which was expected to outdo Art Basel. According to media reports, some hotels charged $100,000…