The Real Housewives of Bravo

I watch a lot of TV, probably too much, especially when they are reality shows on the Bravo network. I'm a regular viewer of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" and sister franchises including Miami, Potomac, Atlanta and Salt Lake City. It helps having a Peacock subscription. Over the years, some of the cast members have found themselves in legal trouble including among the most recent, Wendy Osefo of the Potomac season. I recently rounded up some of the legal challenges with updates and how some of the Housewives have overcome them. Here is a link to my New York Times article.

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. 

My Miami Vice Family Ties

I spotted my Uncle “Tio” Agustin playing an extra in the Miami Vice episode “Nobody Lives Forever” from season one episode 21 on Peacock from 1985. He is wearing the light blue suit. In the scene, he passes a package under the table to another guy, a bookie, and walks away.

My uncle was my dad Juanito's older brother. Both of them worked for decades at Puerto Sagua restaurant in South Beach. My uncle had the morning and early afternoon shift and my dad had the afternoon and evening shift. They looked enough alike that people confused them.

I accidentally found my uncle because I have been binge-watching all the episodes of "Miami Vice" on the Peacock streaming service. I was nostalgic to see the Miami of my childhood and so I embarked on watching a few episodes a day. I'm currently on season four which took place from 1987 to 1988.

Growing up in Miami Beach in the 1980s, "Miami Vice" became a regular fixture on city streets, especially Ocean Drive, Biscayne Boulevard and in Key Biscayne. A lot of the shoots were at night and residents and tourists would see big white trailers parked along a street which signaled that the show was shooting nearby.

I remember one time, maybe 1989, they were shooting the show in an estate on Pine Tree Drive around the block from my parent's house. I remember seeing the production trucks parked along the street as I tried to get a view of the action from a bridge that overlooked the waterfront house where they were filming. Some trees obsecured my view but I was so excited to see something that I would watch on Friday nights on NBC to be so close to home.

Some of my observations from rewatching "Miami Vice" these past few weeks.

Sonny (Don Johnson) and Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas) always seemed to get involved with a woman who was somehow connected to their current investigation (or a past case) which complicated things. You would think they would have learned this after the first season.

In their undercover work, Gina (Saundra Santiago) and Trudy (Olivia Brown) mostly played hookers.

To my surprise, I have heard of some unsavory language which would probably not make it on air in today's standards. In one scene, a boxer calls his crime thug boss "maricon." In another episode, a thug called a hooker "puta sucia."

The crime bosses were mostly Latinos with names like "El Gato" and "Cinco" and "Rivas" and "Calderone."

The show featured a lot of stars before they became huge stars. They included Liam Neeson, Bill Paxton, Wesley Snipes, Annette Bening and Melanie Griffith (who would later have her daughter Dakota Johnson with Don Johnson.)

The Wanderer, A Poem

I've always written poetry, something I dabbled with in elementary school where I had a notebook filled with them. I looked forward to our English and reading assignments that involved haikus or writing a lyrical poem and I would store them into my notebook. I even took photo with my work for school contests. Cue the embarrassing photos which can be seen here from a previous post.

My poetry continued in high school, college and adulthood (I wrote a poem for my goddaughter's wedding in 2014 in Cape Code. ) I began keeping the poems in journals. Many, many journals.

As I took an afternoon stroll today and felt the cool gentle Miami breezes tickle my face, I remembered this poem that I wrote when I was about 21 at F.I.U. in Miami I remember sharing it with a reporter whom looked up to and he said how amazing it was. (That meant a lot to me because I had a crush on him and his writing.) 

The poem was inspired by late night walks in South Beach with different buddies after hitting a club. I would wander around and take in the bright lights of the hotels and closed shops as we talked about whom we thought was cute and who hooked up with whom. I kept the poem all these years and even found a great spot to slip it into my third novel, Miami Manhunt. So now I present you a poetry throwback, The Wanderer. 

He walks alone amid the shadows and lights, 

Wanders aimlessly around town. 

A half moon is in sight.

He rounds a corner to find a soul to harbor him for a night. 

He passes closed shops, 

Crosses wet-dewed streets. 

Crowds flock. 

People walk. 

Simmering stars so high. 

Another night he had to lie.

Passersby stare. 

Marveling his chiseled profile. 

A deep loneliness he tries to hide. 

Through his bashful smile. 

His innocent eyes. 

Good looking, shy.

He continues his journey. 

Not knowing where to go. 

Can't figure out the present. 

He just doesn't know. 

Looks to the past. 

Forgets the future. 

He hopes the nights will always last.

He thinks of a chum.

So smart and nice.

He's cute and cool.

He envies his life.

So masculine and straight.

Nothing like me,

a gay, people hate.

Fear brews inside.

Hope is sometimes near.

Innocence fades away.

The soul remains young,

The face gets older.

Tormented, alone, afraid.

Life's getting colder.

He slinks into a club.

Eyes meet his.

An octopus of hands reaches out

They try to grab, to hold, and to touch him.

He dances away into a world he knows.

Where he forgets the future, the past.

The life he loathes.

He sways to the left.

Swirls, sweats, alive.

Beats pulsate inside.

Sounds resonate.

Life feels right.

No pain, pure fun.

No feelings to fight.

Alone he continues to wander.

The shadows are gone.

Thoughts still brood.

The night has turned to day.

It's another episode being

Unhappy, young and gay.

Domino Man

Across from the University of Miami campus in Coral Gables, giant dominoes have been rising. The black and white game pieces are being splashed on the pylons under the Metrorail line, creating an artsy domino effect in the neighborhood (where I go running almost daily.)

I wrote a story about the art installation called "Concrete Landscapes Miami" by Australian artist Bo Droga (picture above standing between the dominoes.)  He gifted the project to Miami-Dade County to help brighten the drab concrete columns that people drive or walk by every day. The creative pieces add a lightheartedness to the area while breathing life into something that otherwise looks boring and bland. Call it cool urban art. Domino, parked.

In general, dominoes are popular in Miami especially among Cubans and Cuban-Americans. We've grown up playing the game, matching the numbered rectangular tiles with family and friends. Little Havana is also home to the infamous Domino Park where mostly older men and women gather daily to play games for hours on end. Before my dad died last year, he played dominoes with fellow residents of their nursing home. Inbetween meals and other activities, the residents sat at round tables where they carefully placed each game piece to match the numbers. I remember hearing the click-clack of the tiles during each round and their laughter (and a groan) when someone won.

As people learn about the 18-foot-tall dominoes in Coral Gables through social media or by simply being in the area, they are stopping by and taking selfies (including me.) 

My Breakfast Club at Starbucks

For the past year or so, a little Starbucks in Coral Gables has become my unofficial hang out spot. When I became a member of the Sun Sentinel's Audience Engagement team, my shift changed to a school teacher's schedule, essentially, working 6:45 a.m. to 3 p.m.ish. That meant I had to get up at least by 5:45 a.m.  And the first thing I do is schlep two blocks in the predawn darkness under the Metrorail line to my neighborhood Starbucks at 475 S. Dixie Highway.

But what made my mornings easier was the staff here. I quickly befriended them and whenever I walked in, they greeted me with a cheery "HI JOHNNY!" or "JOHNNY's HERE!" even though my eyes were half closed. Over time, I got to know a little about each of the hardworking and super friendly baristas such as their families (a sick father in the hospital),  their interests (running, Mini Coopers, etc) , their other jobs (sea lion trainer) and whatever is on their mind that day. I'm also friends with one of them (Nat) on Instagram now (second to right of Alex below.)

Each morning as I scanned the headlines, my Twitter feed, Google alerts and other channels that I use to find out whatever is trending or what people should be talking about when they start their day, I was starting my day at this Starbucks which became a pseudo office for me when I lose my wireless connection. When the store closed for two weeks last November for a makeover, I found myself cheating and driving to other nearby Starbucks. And yet the vibe was different. The warmth and camaraderie  I had come to know at my Starbucks wasn't entirely replicated in these nearby stores. The menu, coffee and food was the same but not the people, the experience.

A few months ago, I posted a Google review about this particular Starbucks shop and the staffers thanked me and told me that they have it pinned up on their wall by the drive thru window I also learned that two of the former and current employees (Neff and Alex) have also used it as a reference for other jobs which really moved me. The review was my thank you to them and their coworkers for their great service and I was pleasantly surprised that the review has done some good for them. (I was also pleasantly surprised when I spotted actor Christian Slater wearing a baseball cap stopping by one day last year to pick up his coffee from the mobile pick up area but that's another blog post for another day.)

Below is the Google review that I posted.  Here's to my peeps at Starbucks in Coral Gables. And see

you tomorrow morning.

This Starbucks has become my other home. I start my day here in the predawn hours when the staff is always smiling and friendly even though it's dark outside. They know me by name and they know what I always order (butter croissant, doppio with one Monk stevia). They whip it up right away. It's always a treat to come here (which is daily). A big thank you to the wonderful, cheery and professional staff that I have gotten to know in the past year since I began coming here. I'm looking at you Nef, Elias, Alex, Kyle, Steven, Nico, Bri, Brenes, Nat, Ena, Roy, Mike, Chris, Josiah, Julie. (I know I am forgetting some names which means I need to get me some more espresso but I appreciate your hard work.)

PS. New faces have joined the shop since the review so thank you to Eli, Hannah for also brightening my mornings.

Catching up with Danny Pino of FX's 'Mayans M.C.'

FX's new biker drama 'Mayans M.C.' features Miami native and Cuban-American Danny Pino.

'Law and Order:SVU' fans may remember Danny as detective Nick Amaro who investigated sexually-based offenses for an elite squad in New York City.

In this new role, he plays drug lord Miguel Galindo who tries to balance his family life (husband and dad) with running the Galindo cartel on the California-Mexico border. The leather-clad Mayans Motorcycle Club chapter is under his control and the bikers carry out his orders on both sides of the border town.

I interviewed Danny about the layers of complexities that his character presented and how he was able to capture that on screen. For those of you unfamiliar with 'Mayans M.C.', it's the spin off of the network's popular series 'Sons of Anarchy' which ran from 2007-2014 and starred Charlie Hunnam.  Both series are like gritty soap operas for bikers. (photo above courtesy of James Minchin FX.)

In my interview, Danny also talked about his upcoming guest appearance on Netflix's reboot of 'One Day At A Time.'  In that series, he plays Rita Moreno's son Tito.  My Sun Sentinel interview with Danny is here which also includes a photo gallery of his most famous roles.

Below is a trailer for 'Mayans M.C.'

5 reasons for Miami and Fort Lauderdale's high HIV rates

Miami and Fort Lauderdale have led the nation in new HIV infections over the years. It's no surprise to locals who see giant billboards along I-95, bus ads and public service announcements on TV urging folks to get tested and treated. We also have the AIDS walk and other fundraisers and social events that promote safe sex, HIV awareness and the importance of PrEP.

But why does South Florida lead the nation in HIV compared to other states?  I reached out to some medical experts and HIV advocates in the region and wrote up a story in the Sun Sentinel that listed five reasons why HIV is rampant here.

"Some people have been around others who are infected for so long that they realize the disease is chronic and not the death sentence it was in the '80s so they have lost their fear of getting infected,''s said Claudette Grant, director of clinical services for Broward Health Community Health Services in Fort Lauderdale.

"We have so much HIV here in South Florida that the odds are that much higher a partner would have HIV,'' said Dr. Stephen Fallon of Latinos Salud, a Wilton Manors-based nonprofit that works with Latino gay men. "And, much more critically, we have so many people living with HIV who are either not in care, or not taking their medicines as prescribed."

There are more reasons but the five that I mentioned in the story are the ones that came up the most during my interviews.

Boston or Miami? Miami buildings that can pass for Boston

During my daily travels in Miami, I've spotted some buildings that remind me of Boston. I can't help but marvel their designs because they all have a red-brick facade which is rare in South Florida because of the heat.

These buildings would blend in perfectly in Boston but I think they stand out in Miami against the sleek, new towering office buildings that look like they were just unpacked from a box.

These boxy brick structures remind me of offices and labs you might find in Cambridge's Kendall Square or churches in Harvard Square or Newton.

It's as if they were plucked out of Boston and dropped in various Miami neighborhoods. Maybe their designers hailed from New England?

Here are some Boston-esque buildings that have caught my eye during my commutes and regular runs in the 305.

This complex which is known as the Grove Professional Building is located at 2950 SW 27th Ave. in Miami's leafy Coconut Grove neighborhood. Built in 1985, the building is home to Douglas Elliman Real Estate offices.

This one in particular reminds of the structures that dot Cambridge's Kendall Square and the CambridgeSide Galleria Mall.

Known as Allegra Continental Plaza, this building sits at 3250 Mary St. in Miami's Coconut Grove, not far from CocoWalk where I watch the latest blockbusters (Actually this particular building is a few blocks from the above.)

With its series of arcs, the building looks like something from Brookline's Coolidge Corner where there are shoulder-to-shoulder, low-rise brick buildings in crimson hues.

Below is another side view of the building where you can better see the arcs. Built in 1982, it's  home to Bendixen & Amandi, the research/polling company, HealthSun Health Plans and other offices.

It looks like a residential house but it's actually a house of worship. This is the Granada Presbyterian Church at 950 S. University Dr., in Coral Gables (which is like Miami's version of Newton, Massachusetts because it's an affluent suburb with good schools.) 

Whenever I drive by this church, I am mentally transported to Harvard Square, home to academic buildings and churches with steeples and exposed columns.

The photo below provides a side view of the church which was built in 1960. If you look closely, you can spot some palm trees, a dead giveaway that you're definitely not in Boston.

Blake Lee of Miami stars on CBS crime drama

Miami native Blake Lee plays a computer programmer on the new CBS crime drama "Wisdom of the Crowd." On the show, he helps Jeremy Piven's character, who developed a crowd sourcing app called Sophe, solve crimes in San Francisco. The show is kind of like everyone using Facebook and their smartphone to find suspects or missing people.

Folks might remember Blake from the 2015 James Franco movie "I Am Michael'' where Blake played Boston journalist and author Benoit Denizet-Lewis who wrote the New York Times Magazine article that was the basis for the film. (I wrote a story about Benoit and his Good Men Project online magazine for men when I was a Business reporter at The Boston Globe a few years ago.)

This week, I wrote a short profile about Blake, how he discovered his acting chops at Miami Palmetto Senior High and how he enjoys spending time with his husband Ben Lewis and their adorable Jack Russell terrier named Todd when he's not shooting the CBS show in Los Angeles.

(Photo of Blake Lee from CBS)