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1660-3 North Beach 1- ...' 02' LIVING :LIVING is S.D. w w 'v fl ,, , _ fll A% 41110441'5' $� i A q, Alk zea.•* . r. a. . • � fir. _, t x, 4.;;�� , w. � i � t -• • ,y. ... p Science, 01, OW _ clasphai frontier c ._ , .. , BY MARK O'KEEFE L'ic: 5 !" '�" :: Newhouse News Service x '=" When Rick Husba ,, shuttle Columbia, lo of his spacecraft, hE rt''''''''t,:` . ; SF ` God's awe-inspiring �. 4t, • • ber Michael Anderso: • *. r that heaven,not spay " _ f :4' tier. a. Their faith may c t those who think scier /l irreconcilable paths. these astronauts am x.. ' • ;, .� Lists reveal a journi i . ` „tet enhances and suppor I ,,, t .. The space ro rar r,.. b t astronauts who hav rayLr '' faith into orbit. Am '` grapple with the tho: ing religion and sc question of creation national organizatio I those seeking to coml BY EVELYN McDONNELL with their faith in Gc emcdonnell(la herald.com "I find my appre greatly enriched by i It's Super Bowl Sunday and there are no TVs at Nina,an al fresco Collins,an evangelic oceanfront restaurant in North Beach. But that hasn't stopped a the National Huma crowd of Bohemian beautiful people from gathering to savor steak Institute, in an inter and pasta while listening to a couple of moptops play bluesy rock guitar and a DJ spin tasteful, loungey world beats. The atmosphere this evening—called Collage2,an art happening —is mellow and sociable,hippie chic.Tarot card readings and mas- sages are offered beneath white tents while children scramble among high-design lime-green plastic armchairs and paintings of baroque clowns and voluptuous beach bathers. No one's worrying about the Buccaneers because the Super Bowl features the wrong kind of football for this crowd.Like a growing number of restaurants,bakeries and bars in this area,Nina is domi- [). • ` a. nated by the proprietors'compatriots—Argentines. (Today,when the U.S.soccer team meets Argentina at the Orange Bowl, Nina's f' Lbusiness might be affected by a different kind of fiitbol.) "A big exodus started three to four years ago,''says Alex Pels,the restaurant's DJ, a video maker, and husband of owner Ines Doti. "There's Argentines all over the place.” The crowd at Nina is just part of the Argentine wave that has washed over South Florida in recent years.Some estimates put the - number of expats here at 100,000 and,like immigrants before them, they've brought with them their culture and tastes.They're concen- trated in the beach areas and are transforming at least one neighbor- PLEASE SEE ARGENTINES,3E i (ow.' - ••'- SEVENTH HEAVEN: recorded this view of a horizon and airglow dui -. ?'` 1.'1. IT ' S ALL ABOUT '�` EMPANADAS , eY ' , {' `� s. PARRILLADAS AND / '� If war cc h Y AMBITION AS .,?:, K. r celeb ne ARGENTINES \ - ,,., , , _ , ,. , . ) will ton( TRANSFORMPHOTOS BY RAUL RUBIERA/HERALD STAFF FOOD'S A DRAW:At Las Vacas Gordas,a Miami Beach eatery known BY DONNA PETROZELLC A SOUTH FL0RIDA for its meats,top,owner Luis Gajer,standing at table,checks on,from New York Daily News left,Blanca de Tejada,Jorge Alvarez and Carla Kreysa,far right.Above, NEIGHBORHOOD Julio Berton',co-owner of Dolce Vita in Miami Beach,serves a treat. There will be les more of Katie and . entertainment news States launches a wa Producers at En Access Hollywood an there's a war,they'll lighter celebrity far to fi is F,,,. '.,- + ?� ; • TV shiftnews anchores bou }. Shaking money tree for Grove art fest anchors and netw become the celebri *: ' me sum-sur:nib bvop..,-v.-- — 7 r- r • cornerArgentines • „,,,, ,.. a swath Beach ...,,.,... ., ,. rp ARGENTINES,FROM 1E , i hood, Miami Beach's North ,.� , ' Beach.Its unofficial new name: Mini . yr?.^ t Little Buenos Aires.Others call 4 the approximately one mile SL , \ radius from the intersection of 71st Street and Collins Avenue 1619„ Baines Beach. "It's going to become like aiii! :w y ' Chinatown in California," says , Roberto Bignes,owner of Bue- , nos Aires Market on Collins N4 Avenue and 73rd Street. Little Buenos Aires An increasing number of $ businesses have sprung up,in part to meet the needs of the many immigrants who have i,, 4 fled Argentina's deteriorating THE HERALD economy. Buenos Aires's loss MDL020803 is South Florida's gain;North Beach is now a destination spot for succulent steaks, fla- "It used to be everyone vorful pastas, divine gelato, went to New York," Gajer and sweet fractural(pastries) says. "No one thought about filled with dulce de leche(cara- Miami 20 years ago.Not any- mel), all topped with endless more.Miami is a growing city conversation. with a lot to do.In New York — Of course,behind this cul- ...everything has been going ;y tural infusion lie the experi- on for so many years. Here, ences of any immigrant group, everything is new." ` ranging from dreams fulfilled North Beach began to . 1 xid to struggles against prejudice emerge as a magnet for Argen- ,' and deportation. tines thanks to the success of u 'mss " , Prima Pasta,Vacas Gordas and . 4 4.- PASTA AND STEAK Buenos Aires Market. '"� F Most date the biggest influx "The people already here >= .. of Argentines back to the late make it more familiar," Pels '90s when that country's social says."For us,Gerry[Cea)is an and economic structure began idol.He became an inspiration, to unravel. But Argentines and he's been incredibly sup- started establishing beach- portive." heads of their cultural heritage With almost 19,000 Argen- on Collins and 71st almost a tines according to'the 2001 , decade ago. census,Miami-Dade has more Gerardo Cea was among the Argentines than any other first.When he opened a family county in the United States; W' , , restaurant featuring Italian Palm Beach and Broward rank y :;' " ' cuisine on 71st street in 1993, third and fifth respectively, the area was still run-down. with about 5,000 Argentines "It was dirty, destroyed; each. But Argentine consul there was nothing here," Cea general Luis M.Riccheri esti- ,,:,: says."But still,I saw that it was mates there may be as many as an intersection of powerful 100,000 in South Florida. neighborhoods." Many arrived between 1996 Cea's restaurant, Prima and February 2002, when Pasta, is now considered one Argentines didn't need a tour- of the best in South Florida. ist visa.They overstayed their ON THE TOWN:The Cea family The walls are filled with pic- 90-day legal limit, because Blanca Barletta and Carla Cea.P tures of Cea with his celebrity even illegal, underpaid work clientele:Shakira,Lenny Krav- beats their homeland's 25 per- itz, Iggy Pop, the Gibb broth- cent unemployment rate. their Buenos Aires Bakery ers. His parents still cook in "There's no safety and no from Little Havana to Collins. the kitchen. jobs for the people," Bignes At virtually any time of the As with many Argentine says of the situation back day, their patrons now must businesses, the cuisine taps home. take a number to order Argen- their Italian lineage.Argentina "The money is different: tine empanadas or miniature remains the most European The club pays you here,"says French pastries. identified of Latin American Edgardo "Gardy" Pais, leader "In Argentina, you have countries, in part because so of the rock band The Gardys, confiterias with inside and out- many immigrants from Italy who moved to Miami three side tables,"says Gabriela Cos- and Germany arrived there in years ago."You can't play for two sisteso rs who lo,ruthis bakof e the last century. free all your life." Like Cea, Luis Gajer left Along with places to get ery and one in Pembroke Pines New York for Miami in the mate (a drink made from tree (the original Buenos Aires Bak- early '90s. "After 15 years in leaves) and medialunas(little ery in Queens, has been New York,Miami for me is like croissants), North Beach open for 32 years).N.Y,,.,Argentines a paradise, starting with the draws Argentines with its like to socialize a lot.They can weather," says Gajer, origi- cheap apartments.It's a place spend hours drinking and Con- nally from Uruguay, sitting in to live by the ocean—and not suming, enjoying the minute Las Vacas Gordas (The Fat pay SoBe prices. with friends.We have a group Cows), the Argentine parril- "Argentines love the sea," of nine guys who meet every lada(steak house)whose side- says Nina owner Doti. "It's a night. They say, `You're the walk tables with their Hol- dream come true to be close to only thing we have that makes stein-patterned umbrellas have the beach.More of our friends us feel like we're home enlivened Normandy Triangle are living here." again in North Beach for seven In a geographical move that The name of the gelateria years."On top of that,I get to speaks volumes about Miami's that opened last year across have this little place that shifting demographics, the from Vacas Gordas pays horn- makes me feel so good. Costanso family relocated age to that Italian-style cafe HOT SPOTS FOR ARGENTINES —. Here are some places that �-`� �' have become the focal point for �� q fY (jam p the Argentine community: Wyk 4�T n'1'� �f.d.��� 4 � 1 Baraboo, 7300 Ocean Ter., '_ , - r : ' uf 305-867-4242. , W I ft • 4 ,,is. , A t 1 Buenos Aires Bakery, 7134 B !In/ • �, Collins Ave., 305 8617887. I ��rr� r,,, �. ,, 1 Buenos Aires Market, 7315 r/� ( Collins Ave., 305-864-7745. ,11 ..,-- ' '/ --- I Che Sopranos, 916 71st St., - (? 305-868-8989. ;f`f ` '- 1 La Dolce Vita, 954 Normandy ; % Dr., 305-865-2523. ai . lY , ' 1, ,'. Is 1 Las Vacas Gordas, 933 Nor- , �,0 , � s 41i.I i:",1: mandy Dr., 305-867-1717. �"" ' � � ° °1k - I Nina,74th and Ocean Terrace, 4 i.., at.. 305-861-5333. 1 Prima Pasta, 414 71st St., w µ 305-867-0106. ��° m ,,=,iv,; 1 Sandbar Lounge, 6752 Col- lins Ave., 305-865-1752. The Gar- dys play here every Saturday. *---400110 1 Sapori di Roma, 6984 Collins Ave., 305-868-7001. • • I • • RAUL RUBIERA/HERALD STAFF has owned Cafe Prima Pasta,top,for 10 years.From left,Arturo Cea,Gerardo Cea,Fabian Cea,aunt t Nina Restaurant,above,Jackie Carlo watches a shadowdance by Wendy Gonzalez. vibe, which characterizes the "A poet friend said to me, while the latter has opted for Argentine approach to life: La `Argentines look like penguins. more exclusive Aventura. But Dolce Vita.Little Buenos Aires We look like we have tuxedos the fact Argentine immigrants even has its own fountain, at on, but underneath we're are often affluent accounts for Normandy Triangle; it's no naked,' " says Cea. "In my the number of new business Trevi,but it helped lure Gajer experience of life in the U.S., ventures in many parts of to the area. other Spanish people act weird South Florida. There's a time-capsule qual- with Argentines, until we It's the new attitude of the ify to Little Buenos Aires. At prove who we are, that we're younger immigrants that is Nina's Collage, well-dressed not penguins." making Little Buenos Aires partyers and circus-like per- Argentines' famous pride one of the best places in South formers create a Felliniesque makes their current position Florida to enjoy wine,food and atmosphere, while Gardy and all the more humbling. "Back conversation. Gabriel Carambula, who home, I used to look down on "I don't think of it as an played with Argentine rock immigrants,"one transplanted Argentine neighborhood,"Pels legend Fito Paez, are shaggy Buenos Airean said. "Now, I says,pointing to the area's Bra- troubadours playing'60s rock am one." zilian, Venezuelan, Mexican, 'n'roll. Class distinctions even sep- Cuban and Colombian busi- "It was the best time,some- arate Argentines in Miami. nesses. "That whole `We're thing creative really hap- "There's a group of people European,not Latin American' pened,"Gardy says of the'60s. who came here looking for a attitude is a bunch of crap. "There was a change in people future and are starting from Even in Argentina, it's disap- and art and minds." deep down,and there are oth- pearing. Not Argentines only, DESPISED AS SNOBS ers who came here with some but all these immigrants are money, also looking for a going to create a new Miami, Argentines' Eurocentrism future, but a different kind of one that's not just Cuban,but a has given them a stereotype as future," Riccheri says. cosmopolitan place of Latin snobs,sometimes despised by The former group gravi- origins. We're changing the other Hispanic groups. tated towards Baires Beach cultural aspect of the city."