News (Noticias) Tagged ‘Little Havana’

On the surface, political life in Cuban Miami seems unchanged. Little Havana is still partly a Disney version of a displaced Cuba and partly a genuine community hub, where families who have long since left for suburbia still come for nostalgic weekend lunches. At the Versailles Restaurant, the community newspapers preaching no compromise with Castro are all that are on offer. For almost four decades, the Versailles has been an obligatory stop for Washington politicians courting the Cuban-American community, visits that, as photographs in the restaurant attest, have often involved putting on a white guayabera, the four-pocket dress shirt that often replaces a coat and tie in the Caribbean. This familiar theater of intransigence — a staple of South Florida life at least since the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, when C.I.A.-backed Cuban exiles tried to overthrow the new Communist regime — is ubiquitous. Some Cuban-Americans point hopefully to a softening in the Spanish-language, Cuba-focused radio outlets that now dominate the South Florida market. But for an outsider, what is striking is the degree to which the hard-line stance endures, since it might have been supposed that 50 years of failure to influence events on the island might have led to the conclusion that the hard-line position needed to be reconsidered. Most officeholders in Florida and, for that matter, most national politicians continue to at least pay lip service to the dream of a post-Communist Cuba, even though, early this year, Fidel Castro succeeded in seamlessly handing over power to his brother Raúl — testimony, if any was needed, to the stability of the regime.”*

Gorgeous weather, large crowds and a fun-filled day of activities greeted attendees of Fiesta Atlanta ‘08, Atlanta’s largest outdoor Cinco de Mayo celebration held on Sunday, May 4th in the heart of downtown Atlanta. The approximately 45,000 attendees enjoyed Hispanic food, live music by national and local artists, arts and crafts, a live soccer tournament, and various sampling booths, making it one of the largest crowds assembled at Centennial Olympic Park since the 1996 Summer Olympics.

“Fiesta Atlanta ‘08 was a tremendous success,” said Ralph E. Herrera, President of Lanza Group, LLC. “An event like this isn’t possible without our many sponsors; our thanks go out to Bud Light, AT&T, State Farm, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Viva and El Patron Radio, Monster Energy Drink, Atlanta Latino, Hyatt Hotels of Atlanta, MARTA and the many others who supported Fiesta Atlanta. We also want to thank all the musical artists who participated and all of the many people who joined us celebrating Cinco de Mayo in the heart of Atlanta… this year’s attendance was diverse and a true reflection of present-day Atlanta! I was proud to see how many volunteers and supporters were present throughout our week long series of events. We are looking forward to expanding our successful track record of events with the inaugural Fiesta Georgia in September and again with Fiesta Atlanta ‘09!”

In addition to the food, art and music, this year’s event also featured a Soccer Challenge with 16 teams competing. The winning team, Alianza Soccer Club, defeated Boca Juniors with a final score of 6-1. The Soccer Challenge was sponsored by: Mundo Hispanico, El Pollo Loco, Azteca America TV, O’Reilly Auto Parts, and POWERade.

“Fiesta Atlanta, only in its second year, is amazing,” said Teresa Callava, Director Sales & Marketing for the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana. “It was truly impressive to see the organization, the large attendance, the mix of attendees including a large percentage of non-Hispanic festival-goers, the well-balanced flow of activities and the large amount of sponsors that participated in your event.”

For more information about Fiesta Atlanta ‘08 and ‘09, contact Caroline Elisabeth Peters at (404) 350-0200 or at cpeters@lanzagroup.com. You can also visit www.fiestaatlanta.com. Fiesta Atlanta is a Lanza Group, LLC production.

Lanza Group, LLC is Atlanta’s premier full-service Hispanic Market Advertising and Public Relations firm specializing in the growing US Hispanic market. The Lanza Group provides a full-line of bilingual & bicultural services.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Caroline Elisabeth Peters
(404) 350-0200

Three bright aspiring Miami entrepreneurs garnered the opportunity to train and compete at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) Foundation Regional BizFest in Sacramento, CA in September. These three students were part of an introduction to business training funded by Ford Motor Company Fund. The USHCC Foundation holds similar trainings throughout the year and throughout the country to help Latino youth turn their entrepreneurial ideas into profitable business ventures through hands-on practical business training.

Held April 28-May 2, 2008 in Miami in partnership with the Cuban American National Council (CNC), the course featured 25 students representing the Little Havana and Hialeah Institutes, managed by the CNC. During the three-day program, participating students developed a viable business idea and a detailed executive summary on their idea. The executive summaries were then evaluated by a panel of judges and the three strongest ideas were given the opportunity to train and compete at the upcoming Regional BizFest in Sacramento taking place during the USHCC 29th Annual National Convention and Business Expo. The three finalists are Tasharia Spivey, Keishla Torres and Roberto Garcia all from Little Havana Institute.

“We are proud to have these talented young adults join us in Sacramento, they truly are outstanding aspiring entrepreneurs,” said Shana Mosher, Senior Director of Program Operations. “Not only was this an opportunity for bright Latino and minority youth to learn the essential steps of opening their own business but with the collaboration of local community based organizations like the CNC, it helps open their eyes to the resources and support services that are available to them in their own community.”

“Education is a top priority for Ford Motor Company Fund. We are proud to support USHCC Foundation because of the innovative programming it provides Hispanic youth,” said Jim Vella, president, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services. “We also are pleased to see a partnership form between the USHCC Foundation and the CNC, both organizations with which Ford Motor Company Fund has longstanding relationships.”
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Old Spice, the leading anti-perspirant/deodorant stick and body wash brand with guys, and its partners, the USA Domino Federation and Calle Ocho, celebrated their inception into the Guinness World Records(TM) for “Most People Playing Dominos” with the Old Spice Domino Tournament. Held at the popular Miami Calle Ocho Festival on Sunday, March 16, the tournament brought together a total of two hundred seventy eight domino players and enthusiasts, who made world record history while competing for $25,000 in cash prizes.

Local personalities, including Univision Network’s popular morning show co-host Raul Gonzalez and La Kalle 98.3’s energetic DJ Lazaro Lorenzo, joined the hundreds of people who took part in the historical event for the Latino community. True to the game’s competitive yet friendly nature, the Old Spice Domino Tournament at Calle Ocho brought together families, friends and strangers alike who sweated-it-out in the Miami heat for five hours to play dominos and set the world record at one of the largest Latino street festivals in the world.

“Just like the game of dominos, Old Spice has a deep, iconic heritage and we support all of the tournament participants who worked and sweated hard to help us make history,” said Rodrigo Coronel, assistant brand manager, Old Spice. “Dominos have long been an essential part of the Latino life and culture, so it made sense to take this game to the next level and attempt to achieve a Guinness World Record.”

“Although dominos have long been a cherished pastime among many cultures, we have seen a resurgence in recent years as evidenced by the hundreds of new domino clubs, national televised tournaments and celebrity matches,” said Manuel Oquendo, president, USA Domino Federation. “We are thrilled for this opportunity to partner with Old Spice and the Calle Ocho Festival, and to win a world record for this increasingly popular game that we are so passionate about.”

“Guinness World Records is honored to be a part of this monumental day in Old Spice History,” said Danny Girton Jr., Guinness World Records Judge. “We congratulate Old Spice and the USA Domino Federation on this remarkable achievement in setting the record for the Most People Playing Dominos at one time.”

Not only is Old Spice celebrating its world record win, it is also commemorating 70 years as an American icon and grooming leader for today’s guy. As the No. 1-selling deodorant/anti-perspirant and body wash brand among guys, Old Spice provides a variety of essential grooming products, including anti-perspirants, deodorants, body washes, body sprays, after shaves and colognes. For more information, visit www.oldspice.com.

About P&G (NYSE: PG)
Three billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R), Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Mach3(R), Bounty(R), Dawn(R), Gain(R), Pringles(R), Folgers(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Oral-B(R), Actonel(R), Duracell(R), Olay(R), Head & Shoulders(R), Wella(R), Gillette(R), and Braun(R). The P&G community consists of 138,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. Please visit www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About the USA Domino Federation
The USA Domino Federation is an independent, non-profit organization for domino enthusiasts. Its primary goal is to foster friendship and promote the sport of domino in the United States. The organization engages in a variety of activities at the national and state level to succeed in its goal. Activities include national and regional domino tournaments and state competitions.

About Calle Ocho
Hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana, Calle Ocho is one of the largest Latino street festivals in the world with more than one million visitors attending every year. For one exciting day, the Calle Ocho Festival fills 23 blocks in Miami’s Little Havana area with Latin entertainment, street performers and international foods.

About Guinness World Records(TM)
Guinness World Records is the universally recognized authority on record-breaking achievement. First published in 1955, the annual Guinness World Records book is published in more than 100 countries and 20 languages and is one of the highest-selling books under copyright of all time with more than three million copies sold annually across the globe. Guinness World Records celebrated its 50th anniversary edition in 2004, a year after the sale of its 100 millionth copy. The Guinness Word Records website (www.guinnessworldrecords.com) receives more than 11 million visitors a year. Guinness World Records is published by HIT Entertainment Limited, a fully integrated global studio with divisions in the U.K., U.S., Canada and Japan, including broadcast production and distribution, video and audio sales, consumer products licensing and marketing.
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*From: http://www.hispanicprwire.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

The work of Cuban artists is finding an outlet in Miami, despite objections from some Cuban Americans who believe some of the artwork portrays the communist nation in a positive light. A small number of fledgling galleries showcasing art from the island have appeared in the city’s Little Havana district - a hotbed of anti-Castro sentiment.

The owner of one of the galleries says she has faced criticism but continues traveling to the island to buy paintings, photographs and sculptures to showcase in her gallery. Steve Mort reports from Miami.”*

*From: http://www.voanews.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

It’s mid-March, which means it’s time for Carnaval Miami’s legendary Calle Ocho street party. The free event — this year celebrating its 30th anniversary — attracts more than a million people from all over the world, making it the largest Spanish-language music festival in the nation.

It all began in 1978, when the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana organized a Cuban-style carnival to highlight Miami’s growing Hispanic heritage. But what originally started out as a local celebration of Cuban culture quickly grew to encompass music genres from all of Latin America.”*

*From: http://www.miaminewtimes.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Bud Light and the Anheuser-Busch family of distributors are joining to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of Calle Ocho through a retail promotion benefiting the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana’s Scholarship Fund. The promotion runs through March 16, the day of the Calle Ocho Festival.

Bud Light and the Anheuser-Busch distributors of South Florida are donating 25 cents per case for every Budweiser, Bud Light and Budweiser Select 18-pack of bottles and cans sold at Sedano’s Supermarkets throughout South Florida. The money will go to the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana Scholarship Fund to help support Hispanic higher education in South Florida.

“Calle Ocho began in 1978 as a block party to celebrate the Cuban culture in Miami and has become a global festival that attracts hundreds of thousands to South Florida and makes a difference in the community,” said Dr. Ricardo Gonzalez, president of the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana. “Anheuser-Busch was one of our first sponsors, and their support is one of the reasons Calle Ocho has grown into the event it is today.”

Since the beginning of the festival, Anheuser-Busch has brought top Latino musicians to Calle Ocho, making its Musical Super Site one of the festival’s most popular attractions. Artists such as Celia Cruz, Willy Chirino, Hector Lavoe and El Gran Combo have appeared on the stage. This year, the Bud Light Musical Super Site will be located between S.W. 23rd Avenue and S.W. 24th Avenue at S.W. Eighth Street, and entertainment will begin at noon on March 16. The 2008 lineup features Grammy winning Cuban singer and composer Albita Rodriguez, Grammy Award and Latin Grammy Award-nominated singer La India and Venezuelan salsa musician Oscar D’ Leon. The concerts will be free and open to the public.

“For generations, Anheuser-Busch has been active in the Latino community as part of our tradition of giving back to the communities where we live and work,” said Paco Bendaña, director of community relations, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. “We’re proud to partner with the Kiwanis of Little Havana to support higher education and celebrate Latino culture through Calle Ocho.”

To celebrate Calle Ocho’s 30-year anniversary, Anheuser-Busch also sponsored the documentary “Calle Ocho – 30 Years and Counting.” The documentary will air as a television special on PBS in South Florida in April and nationally during Hispanic Heritage Month in October. The documentary showcases Calle Ocho through the decades with historical photos and news clips of the eras.

“We’re pleased to partner with Anheuser-Busch to support a great festival and a very important cause. The Kiwanis club of Little Havana has provided educational opportunities to so many South Florida students over the years through their Scholarship Foundation, and we’re please to share in that success by participating in this promotion.” said Javier Herran, director of marketing, Sedano’s Supermarkets.

Anheuser-Busch’s support of the Latino community dates back more than a century. The company supports approximately 400 community-based, local and national Latino organizations with contributions totaling nearly $52 million during the past two decades. Anheuser-Busch also currently sponsors the Mexican National Soccer Team and Chivas Soccer as well as top entertainers like Carlos Mencia. Anheuser-Busch’s efforts in the Latino community focus on values such as education, leadership development, economic empowerment, public advocacy and arts and culture. As a result, the company has the No. 1 and No. 2 beer brands in the Latino market — Bud Light and Budweiser. To learn more about these efforts, please visit www.Latinobud.com. “*

*From: http://www.hispanicprwire.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

As might be expected, Fidel Castro’s retirement announcement on Tuesday occasioned much reflection on the past, many wistful remembrances of happier times and different eras in this town at the heart of the nation’s largest Cuban community outside South Florida. As might not be expected, the subject was often not Cuba. It was Union City.

Mr. Castro’s announcement was certainly big news for many people in what is sometimes called Little Little Havana, where at its peak more than 90 percent of the businesses on the main drag of Bergenline Avenue were Cuban-owned. And so the television trucks and reporters from as far away as the newspaper from Catalonia, Spain, descended on Pan Con Todo, Las Americas and El Artesano, local restaurants where people gather for Cuban fries, pan con bistec, cafe Cubano and dulce de leche.”*

*From: http://www.nytimes.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Cuban exiles in Little Havana welcomed Tuesday’s news that Cuban President Fidel Castro had officially resigned power, but most in the heart of the Cuban exile community weren’t optimistic the move would bring major changes or democracy to the communist nation.

As news of the resignation spread, motorists honked vigorously at police patrol cars and television reporters. The streets came alive with chatter as small groups gathered on the streets or in local eateries.

“I hope this is the beginning of the end of the system, but we have to wait,” said 35-year-old chemist Omar Fernandez, who left Cuba for the U.S. six years ago.”*

*From: http://ap.google.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Not so long ago, Rudy Giuliani was the clear Republican frontrunner among Cuban-American voters in South Florida. When he would arrive in Miami, Cubans treated him like a full-fledged celebrity. “It was like Bono getting off a plane,” says Tom Eldon, a Democratic pollster in Florida. “It was like a rock-star event.” In November, Eldon’s firm conducted a survey of Florida’s GOP primary voters in tandem with Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway. Giuliani had the support of roughly 70 percent of Hispanics, the majority of whom are Cubans. “Nowhere is Giuliani’s support in Florida stronger than in South Florida, buoyed by high ratings among Hispanic Republicans,” the St. Petersburg Times reported in mid-December.”*

*From: http://www.cbsnews.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

McCain’s victory in Florida spelled the end of the Rudolph Giuliani campaign – and an end to the Republican notion that a trip through Little Havana is all it takes to get the Cuban-American vote, writes NAM contributor Louis E. V. Nevaer.”*

*From: http://news.ncmonline.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Paying homage to Miami’s Cuban-Americans – and knocking back Cuban coffee at Café Versailles in the heart of the city’s Little Havana neighborhood – is a staple of any political campaign in south Florida.

But for Rudolph Giuliani, the one-time national front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, Cuban-Americans represent his last redoubt. As his support fades among the rest of the GOP electorate in Florida on the eve of Tuesday’s primary, the former New York mayor is still the toast of Little Havana.”*

*From: http://www.csmonitor.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

With the Florida primary approaching Tuesday, the Republican presidential candidates are again descending on Little Havana to swig cafe con leche and talk up U.S.-Cuba policy.

Such visits are a quasi-requirement as South Florida’s Cuban-Americans have been among the GOP’s most consistent voters, particularly in presidential races. But with no clear front-runner and inroads from the Democrats, the candidates are finding they must work harder than ever to win Cuban-American support and ensure party loyalty. Anti-Castro sloganeering isn’t enough anymore.”*

*From: http://www.miamiherald.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

In the weeks before the Florida primary, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani appeared as the guest of honor at a Three Kings parade in Miami. Days later, Sen. John McCain stopped by an espresso counter in Little Havana to knock back an industrial-strength Cuban coffee and meet voters. On Friday, Sen. Barack Obama treated online browsers to a Spanish-language campaign ad addressed to “cooks, construction workers and professionals,” telling Hispanic viewers “You’re not alone.”

“It’s clear we have become a very important population in this country,” said Noris Brown, a Sunrise resident and native of Colombia. “There is a momentum. It’s huge.”"*

*From: http://www.sun-sentinel.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

The Florida belt between Tampa and Orlando, known as the I-4 corridor for the interstate that links the cities, is Republican territory, heavily traveled by the four GOP candidates competing in Tuesday’s primary. Although Miami’s Little Havana is a bastion of Cuban-American Republicans, Hispanics in Central Florida are more diverse, geographically and politically. Among the Hispanics living in the Tampa-Orlando area, about 40% are Puerto Rican, and 21% are Mexican-American. The voting trend here is toward Democrats.

Nancy Gonzalez, a waitress at Danny’s, likes Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. “She’s a woman and defends families,” she says.

Josef Milian, who arrived from Cuba two years ago and moved in with his cousin Roland Hernandez, can’t vote, but he has a 6-year-old son in Cuba and can visit his son once every three years under U.S. policy. “Isolationism isn’t helping Cuba toward democracy,” he says.”*

*From: http://www.usatoday.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Hispanics’ share of the electorate in Florida is growing, but you wouldn’t know it from the behavior of the presidential candidates.

A few candidates and surrogates have made occasional appearances in Hispanic neighborhoods from Miami’s Little Havana to east Orange County.

Some Spanish-language ads surfaced as Republicans descended on Central Florida this week. But overall, the primaries are a nonevent for many Latinos.”*

*From: http://www.orlandosentinel.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Supporters mobbed Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Monday at the venerable Versailles Restaurant in Little Havana, while rival Rudy Giuliani’s banners were plastered across storefronts to the south and east.

The street corner’s divided loyalties could be a metaphor for the Cuban-American community, expected to represent about one out of 10 voters in Florida’s GOP primary on Jan. 29. After years of coalescing behind the Reagan and Bush campaigns, Cuban Americans are now divided among rival GOP camps.”*

*From: http://www.miamiherald.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Kicking off a three-day Florida bus tour with his presidential ambitions on the line, Republican Rudy Giuliani swept through South Florida looking to appeal to a constituency his campaign views as critical: Hispanic voters.

Shifting his focus squarely to Florida’s Jan. 29 primary, Giuliani gave an address that was more sermon than stump speech to some 7,000 Hispanics gathered at a Miami mega-church, and he joined the colorful parade along the sun-baked streets of Little Havana for the Three Kings Festival, a Hispanic heritage event.”*

*From: http://www.sun-sentinel.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Twenty years later and living in Miami, del Pino wrote a pair of articles last summer in Spanish-language newspapers calling for a thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations. That prompted a hostile backlash from prominent members of Miami’s virulently Castro-hating Cuban exile community.

Now, del Pino has responded with a federal lawsuit seeking thousands of dollars in damages for what he says is a campaign by Little Havana notables to silence him by using popular Spanish-language television and radio stations to unjustly criticize him. Del Pino even says he was threatened with a public mob lynching on one radio program.

The intent of this campaign, del Pino said in the lawsuit, was to “harass, intimidate, and ultimately execute” him and his family.”*

*From: http://www.heraldtribune.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Vista magazine, the country’s most widely distributed, ABC audited Hispanic magazine, announces the new hire of Delio Nuñez-Menocal as General Sales Manager.

Delio brings with him 14 dynamic years of management in marketing and advertising, with vast experience in publishing and sales at a national level with focus in revenue growth for both magazines and newspapers. Most recently, he served as the business development director for the Kiwanis Little Havana, where he created and implemented the national marketing plan to position Carnaval Miami as the largest Hispanic series of events in the country. In 2002, Delio served four years with Knight Ridder’s Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald, also as business development director, where he spearheaded all Hispanic national advertising sales efforts. In 2000, Nuñez-Menocal worked two years as advertising director for the Ideas Publishing Group of Conde Nast.

“Vista welcomes Delio Nunez-Menocal as its new General Sales Manager with open arms. Delio’s extensive experience in business development, community outreach marketing and his leadership as in sales management provides a positive outlook for meeting our future sales goals while maintaining our acclaimed status as the preferred dual-language magazine for U.S. Hispanics,” said Gustavo Godoy, Publisher of Vista magazine.
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*From: http://www.hispanicprwire.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

For those who need to know which presidential candidate is doing the most effective Hispanic outreach, for those interested in campaign fundraising in the most Cuban city north of Little Havana, for those curious about the very first Spanish-language campaign commercial ever, there is La Política.

The online newsletter and blog — in English — aims to fill the growing maw for information about the soccer moms and NASCAR dads of the 2008 election: Hispanic voters.”*

“Amid the sound of ivory dominoes slapping on metal tables, Jorge Alonso paused as he chomped on a cellophane-wrapped cigar.

“I adore this country, and it is due to Richard Nixon,” he said, explaining how his admiration for the former president’s fierce anti-communist views led him into the arms of the GOP, where he has stayed for almost four decades.

Dozens of men like Alonso gather daily at Maximo Gomez Park, a concrete sliver on which a dozen chess and domino tables sit in the heart of Little Havana, just west of the towering skyscrapers that dominate the downtown skyline.”

“They’ve done everything they can to make it authentic, from hiring a dialect coach to ensure Spanish is spoken with a Havana accent to making hundreds of expensive color photocopies of Cuban tile to dress the set walls.

But, the producers of Cane — the new CBS series about a family of Cuban-exile sugar barons in South Florida — warn that their show is ultimately a drama, not a documentary.

”I hope Cubans like it. I hope they’re proud,” says Cane creator Cynthia Cidre, herself an exile from Little Havana. “I’m Cuban. But it has to appeal to the whole country, not just Miami.”

Cane — which debuted Tuesday on WFOR-CBS 4 — has stirred intense interest in South Florida since its May announcement. It’s the first prime time drama on a broadcast network about not just a Cuban family but a Latin family of any kind. And it’s coming to America’s top-rated network with an all-star cast that includes Jimmy Smits, Rita Moreno, Hector Elizondo and Nestor Carbonell.”

“You can put a weak old rum in a bright new bottle, but you’ll still get a lousy drink.

One of TV’s all-too-frequent attempts to pass off a moldy idea as a fresh new concept, Cane takes your standard-issue family-dynasty soap and tries to give it a Cuban spin ””Dallas by way of Little Havana. Latinos of all stripes are absurdly underserved by network TV, but surely they deserve a more potent cocktail than Cane.

Yet the show does have one saving grace, beyond fulfilling its target audience’s natural desire to see themselves represented on screen. Leading an otherwise hit-and-miss ensemble are three truly wonderful actors, Jimmy Smits, Hector Elizondo and Rita Moreno. You can’t help rooting for them even when the show is failing them and, in Smits’ case, when he’s failing the show.”