Coral Gables Hispanic Cultural Festival

By Jordan Melnick | September 26th, 2010 | No Comments

My mother dragged me to more city-sponsored arts and culture festivals as a child than I care to remember, so I didn’t have high expectations for the Gables festival yesterday. With a low bar to clear, it surprised me. While stormy skies kept attendance down, and while the average age was skewed to a hip late-20s number by the fact that almost everyone there was either geriatric or pediatric, there was just enough to make the excursion worthwhile.

Above all was a troupe of Latina flamenco dancers. I’ve seen flamenco shows in Spain, and I’m not sure if these lovely ladies would please a Sevilla audience. But, for obvious reasons, they had my attention.

Other than the flamenco show (which needed a live band), the Gables fest yielded a few semiprecious treasures, por ejemplo, these ceramic demitasses by Bernardo Cueto.

Then there was the enormous child-devouring tiger (escaped from the zoo?) …

… and a sweet classic Buick.

Just before I left and the rain came, a live band took the stage. It’s good to see Puerto Rico flash its beautiful smile in Miami now and again.

All in all, a good way to spend an hour. And I learned something: did you know in the Gables they measure the passage of time in paella? I believe this translates to 2:23.