Hanging at the Cardozo South Beach

 

Photo by Johnny Diaz

Ever since I wrote a news feature about the $15 million renovation of the Cardozo South Beach hotel by Emilio and Gloria Estefan in 2019 for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, my old paper, I've always wanted to stay at the hotel.

The Cardozo South Beach is a charming, three-story hotel at 1300 Ocean Drive right in the heart of South Beach. As part of a recent staycation (Thanksgiving week off,) I finally had the opportunity to stay at the hotel which is steeped in Miami Beach's Art Deco history.

Part of their interior makeover was including some personal accessories from their Star Island estate such as furniture, chairs and art work which line the halls.

"It is a lot of art that was hanging in my house," Mr. Estefan told me by the elevator in the hotel's lobby back in 2019 during a ribbon cutting and a packed media event.

"I wanted to remodel and instead of throwing it out, we brought it here and it looks good," he continued.

On a recent Monday, I checked in just before 4 p.m. and the process was smooth and breezy. The hallways were bright, cool, clean and painted in a faded mint hue with carpets that carried geometric patterns.

The end of each hallway featured enlarged photos of Emilio and Gloria Estefan from magazine covers in case you didn't know who owned the hotel. 

Emilio Estefan over my shoulders in the hallway. Photo by Johnny Diaz

Gloria Estefan watches over guests from the hallway. Photo by Johnny Diaz

But there are also enlarged photos of movies that shot in and around the Cardozo over the years. They include black and white images from "Marley and Me" and "There's Something About Mary" which line the second floor.  The third floor is dedicated to the 1996 comedy "The Bird Cage" starring Nathan Lane and the late Robert Williams.

Ode to 'The Bird Cage." Emilio Estefan at the end. Photos by Johnny Diaz

Built in 1939, the hotel was originally called the Cardozo Hotel and designed by Henry Houser. The hotel was named after Benjamin Cardozo, one of the first Jewish jurors on the U.S. Supreme Court. During World War II, the Cardozo became a housing facility for recruits and trainees. The building still carries its classic Art Deco style and curved lines which are accentuated by the modern bright orange awnings and umbrellas that shade guests from the sweltering sun on the first floor.  The top of the hotel (look at the top photo) features a sailing American flag and the rainbow-hued Pride flag, a welcome mat to all.

My room, #219, was literally all white, from the walls and cabinetry to the beds while the floors had beige tiles. I opted for a room with two queen-size beds because I like to switch from one to the other each night. The beds were soft and comfortable enough to sit back and watch my favorite TV shows and local news programs such as WSVN's "Deco Drive."  But the sereneness of the room also provided a great little writing cocoon. My room was on the west side of the hotel overlooking the courtyard so I was away from the cars and bars blasting music nearby.

My lovely super white room. Photo by Johnny Diaz

The peacefulness allowed me to have some creative writing time for my next novel "The Golden Boys" which will follow in my "Boston Boys Club" series about gay Cuban-American professionals and their friends who are looking for Mr. Right while dealing with everyday life challenges with the help of their closest friends in Boston, Miami, Providence and Ogunquit.

My messy handwriting/notes on the bed. That's how I write.

The bathroom was elegant, beautiful and narrow. No bathtub but there was a glass-encased shower where you had to open two sliding glass doors on each side to step in and out of.  It had a classic Miami feel and reminded me of a bathroom you might see in the stateroom of a vintage luxury cruise liner. But I wouldn't recommend attempting the "Wonder Woman" spin in the shower stall. Tight quarters.

Ignore my messy bath mat towel. Photo by Johnny Diaz.

When I wasn't in my room, I enjoyed strolling along the seawall on Ocean Drive all the way to South Pointe Park where I sat on a cement bench and watched the colossal cruise ships glide by at sunset. I grew up in Miami Beach and this was something I often did on my bicycle as a teenager, college student and adult before I moved to Boston and eventually back to Miami a few years ago.

Is there something big behind me?

The hotel has a bar and a restaurant downstairs called "Call Me Cuban" which was bustling with guests and diners who were entertained by live musicians whose voices and music flowed out onto the street. Next door is an attached coffee and dessert place called "Estefan's Express Kitchen" where I had a super sweet and thick flan in a glass and a soft chocolate gooey cookie. (I have a big sweet tooth.)

Said flan topped with vanilla ice cream. Photo Johnny Diaz. 

When I wanted to read a book or follow the latest news on my phone, I headed downstairs to the courtyard where I sat under one of the big tables (also covered with orange umbrellas) and enjoyed the soothing ocean breeze. Orange and white is a theme here.

My rate was $176 a night because I had the courtyard view but rates can be at least $126 a night especially weekdays, depending on the time of year. Also, there is a large city parking garage right behind the alley of the hotel with an overnight fee of $20.

Overall, a lovely quick stay. I'll be back for another staycation or writing retreat.

The lovely courtyard. Photo by...you should know by now. 

The Golden Boys

Coming in the near future my seventh novel “The Golden Boys.” Tommy Perez, a sweet OCD Cuban American national journalist who is suddenly single after a divorce in Wilton Manors and is starting over and trying to find his footing. But he finds love and support from his sexy Italian wingman Rico in Boston and his fellow gay Cuban buddy Carlos in Providence who are dealing with their own romantic and health challenges as they approach 50. These members of the Boston Boys Club have each other’s backs as they navigate their unique personal issues over the course of a year. In the spirit of my previous novels, TGB will celebrate the power of good unconditional friendships and the neverending search for Mr. Right. I keep hearing from friends and readers who are 50 and older and how they feel invisible in today’s dating (and hookup) scene and hopefully my book will shine a light on this gay dating desert.

Here is a link to my previous six novels.

Gay History, one artifact, book at a time

Tucked away inside a small building in downtown Fort Lauderdale is the Stonewall National Museum, Archives and Library. For the past five decades, this little library/institution that could has chronicled the history and culture of the LGBTQ history.

In addition to gay novels and biographies, you will find more than 30,000 DVDs and artifacts that reflect the LGTBQ community. They include a gold record from The Village People, a pair of leather pants worn by singer Ricky Martin and the gavel that former House speaker Nancy Pelosi used to formally end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which made it illegal for gays and lesbians to openly serve in the military.

I recently visited Stonewall and wrote about the budget cuts and funding shortfalls it has been facing under the current political climate for a story for my paper, The New York Times. The facility is a treasure trove of LGBT history. Below is the print version of my article from this month.

By chance, my former newspaper, the South Florida Sun Sentinel, generously (yay!) picked up the story and published it on its front page last week. (story is on the lower right.)

Super Trooper

Last October, as Hurricane Milton threatened Florida, a white bull terrier with dark ears was abandoned off the side of the road along Interstate 75 near Tampa. It was raining and the water was rising. Florida Highway Patrol trooper Orlando Morales was on patrol when he got the call about the dog and checked it out.  To his surprise, he found the dog, gently calmed him and eventually coaxed him back to the safety of his police car.

Nearly a year later, the dog, named Trooper of course, has found a new home with a couple in Parkland, Florida. When I heard about the rescue and the dog finding a new home, I pitched a story and it was finally published a few days ago at The New York Times where I work.  With everything going on in the world today with breaking and often depressing and tragic news (which I write a lot about,)  I thought this was an uplifting story and it has to do with something I am very fond of -- dogs!  When I told my friends that I was working on a longer story, one said "I thought this was going to be something else but this is so YOU!"   Yes, a hurricane + Florida + dog + rescue = a Johnny Diaz story. :)

You can read the story by visiting this link.

Photo courtesy of Frank Spina, Trooper's new daddy

The story also was published in the Sunday New York Times.  This is one of my all-time favorite stories to report and write.

Black Bears in Florida

In my past five plus years at The New York Times, I've covered a lot of breaking news stories. Some have included animals and a lot of bears which seem to be a regular topic for me. 

I've writtten about fat bears in Alaska where there is an annual competition for people to vote for their favorite hefty bear. I've written about efforts to restore the grizzly bear population in the Northwest Pacific. I've also covered polar bears that killed a remote worker in Canada.

So I was surprised when I had to cover a story about man and his dog who were killed by a black bear in southwest Florida in May because bear attacks in the state are rare.  People also associate Florida with alligators, iguanas, dolphins and sharks but we do have black bears, about 4,000 of them and as my story noted, they can run up to 35 miles per hour and climb a tree in 30 seconds. 

Here is my story on the bear that killed an 89-year-old man, the first reported fatal bear attack in Florida history.

The authorities at the scene of a black bear attack in Collier County, Fla., in May.Credit...Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission via New York Times

Meet Chuchy

A lot of people associate me with my late dog Luna who passed away in 2022. She was 17 and had a really, really good life. (Miss Thing loved eating sushi on Friday nights and fresh chicken from Chicken Kitchen. For real!) RIP Luna.

But soon after her passing, another dog entered my life. His name is Chuchy, a six-pound cream-colored cotton ball of love. (At first, I thought he was a cat or a baby Ewok from "Star Wars.")  My sister adopted the Pomeranian from our cousins in Hialeah (they have his papi and stepmother) and Chuchy and I instantly bonded when we met which continues today. He doesn't live with me. He hangs out with me mostly on weekends and I go with him to vet appointments but I am basically his papi because I am the only male in his life.

Here are some fun things I love about the one and only Chuchy.

This was a toy I bought him when he was a puppy.

My sister Cary named him Churchill (after the late British prime minister...I don't know why)  but I thought that was too formal. So I started calling him Chuchy.                                                                                                                          

He loves to r-u-n and if he has enough space like a backyard or a dog park, he goes wild with the zoomies. No human or cheetah can catch up to him if he tries to run away. He also loves going up and down stairs hence below in my building. He knows the way to Casa Johnny.

Chuchy wants all your attention even when you watch TV. He tends to block your view with his big furry butt so I have to maneuver my head around his booty.

He loves to smother you with besitos (kisses.) 

Chuchy enjoys lounging in many of his beds (he has at least seven in multiple locations) and he even blends in with them. (Where does Chuchy begin and end in the bed? You decide.)

He is a good sport for photos (especially selfies) and makes great Christmas/holiday cards. He posed for me here for my 2024 cards, although he thought we were playing.

Chuchy loves anything outdoors. Say his magic word pasear in Spanish which means stroll and he goes crazy. He immediately grabs his leash and brings it to you because he wants you to take him on a stroll (even if you had just taken him for a walk 10 minutes ago.). Below, my sister walked him around Coconut Grove recently because he can't resist a walk.

He loves to ride shot gun (or on the driver...me!)

Remembering Pedro

December 1st marked World AIDS Day (or month.) I've seen a lot of blog and social media posts in the last few days and I was inspired by a former FIU classmate to repost an old post I wrote about the late Pedro Zamora, who was my contemporary, a fellow gay Cuban-American from Miami whom I never got to meet in person but I admired his HIV awareness advocacy. He empowered the gay, Cuban, Latino, and HIV positive community. Even though I am HIV negative,  I have people in my life who are positive and I sympathize with them and support them with all my heart.

Here is what I wrote as an editorial about Pedro in The Miami Herald in April 1996 when I was a super, super young lad named... Johnny!)

A psychic once proclaimed that Pedro Zamora was born to save lives. I know many who can attest to that.

Pedro died in 1994 the day after the final episode of The Real World: San Francisco aired. He died from complications from AIDS after a three-year crusade to educate folks, especially young people, about the illness.

You don't hear much about Pedro anymore.

The years have passed. There was a street named after him in West Miami-Dade. A former clinic in Boston also carried his name. MTV no longer shows the reruns from his season.

Sometimes, I can't help but wonder what a positive role model Pedro would be today to a whole new generation of young people. He showed people that AIDS was everywhere. Young or old, gay or straight, it's there. And a few moments of pleasure could never be worth risking one's life. He also taught people how to avoid catching the virus - and how to deal with people who had it.

He made an impression on me right away when I was 20 because I saw a little of myself in him. We were both Miami Cubans, about the same age and gay and I was just beginning to embark on the real world of dating. (We also had the trademark thick dark eyebrows.)

When "The Real World" cameras highlighted his tight-knit and affectionate Cuban family, I saw some of my own family reflected in his. Pedro's thick Cuban accent was music to my ears, part of Miami's soundtrack. He was on"The Real World" when cast members had real stories to tell besides the I-got-drunk-and-hooked-up-with-so-and-so tales.

I always wished I could have met Pedro. If I had, I would have said "Gracias chico!" for educating me and so many of my fellow friends in Miami and beyond. 

5 Things I Love About My VW Golf GTI

This past summer, I belatedly treated myself for a big birthday (don't ask) with a new sleek black Volkswagen Golf GTI.  The car was also a reward for a mid-life breakthrough (the opposite of a mid-life crisis which I may write about at some point.)

Footnote here. For my loyal readers (all five of you) who have followed this blog since 2006, you may have noticed I tend to switch cars...on occasion. I diagnosed myself with cardiction and even had a blog about my love of cars. The salesmen know me at Deel VW in Coral Gables.

My passion addiction for cars has become a running joke in my family especially in Boston where I lived for 10 years, to the point that my dear cousin Michelle would joke that she would look out the window of her parent's house or her aunt's house every Thanksgiving to see what model of a car I would pull up in the driveway. (So I started parking farther away from the living room window to avoid the you-got-another-car!! conversation.)

As a longtime fan of reliable cute hatchbacks, I knew I wanted one that had power and that I could easily squeeze into any parking space (more on that below.) I also wanted something of a classic with a legacy and the GTI has been around since 1976. It's timeless. But there are many more things that I adore about my car. Here is my top 5 list.

THE DRIVE

The car has pep with its 2.0 turbo charged four-cylinder engine that produces 241 horsepower.  Just one tap of the pedal and the GTI takes off like the Turbo Boost in KITT from the popular 1980s NBC show "Knight Rider." (Yes, I'm dating myself.) I unleash the GTI's power when I hit I-95 to visit my buddy Eric B. in Wilton Manors. (He calls me Johnny D.) I punch the pedal, brace the steering wheel and zoom, I take off (within the speed limit.)

THE SEATS

The GTI seats feature intricate stitching, mine has red hues. The driver and passenger's seats also have GTI etched in red.  Que cool!

THE MIRRORS

One of the coolest features (at least to moi) is how the side mirrors open up when I unlock the car and then fold back in when I park and lock the doors with my remote key.  The mirrors are kind of like auto ears that pop out. (It doesn't take much to wow me.)  

ROOMY

The GTI is a cute and spacious hatchback that seats five people comfortably. I once fit 6 people (four adults including me, one teen boy and a tween girl) in my previous 2017 Pacific blue Golf for a road trip to the Everglades to ride the airboats. My new GTI basically has about the same dimensions but with a new body/lights. I recently was able to fit a bicycle, a red assembled chair from IKEA and a lamp (thank you again Alex.) 

The car is more than ample enough to seat a five-pound Pomeranian named Chuchy who loves to pasear (go for rides or sightseeing.) When he hears that magic word, his ears perk up, he grabs his leash and runs to the door waiting for you to take him outside. That’s him below riding shotgun as the AC blows his fluffy fur. 

IT'S VOCAL

Whether from the dashboard or via text messages on my VW app, the car alerts me when it’s low on gas and reminds me of how many miles I have left before reaching empty and when and where to fill up. The app also lets me know when I have left the car unlocked and I then remotely lock it with my phone.