"Focus: America" radio talk show was created by Richard (Ric) Arenstein and Larry Wallenstein, both juniors in the Communications Department, University of Miami in 1975. The show originally started as a local program "Focus: Miami" and was produced at the UM's campus radio station WVUM-FM where Arenstein interviewed local personalities and celebrities visiting Miami.
After the successful first season, the tapes of the talk show were mailed to more than 70 college stations across the country under the name "Focus: America." In his senior year, Arenstein and his new associate, Chuck Bortunick, traveled under a grant from the Burger King Corp. to tape interviews of celebrities in other parts of the country. The show ended because of Arenstein's graduation.
The Antolín García Carbonell papers contain documents pertaining to the Opa-Locka Airport Camp during its period of use by the Catholic Welfare Bureau for refugee children under Operation Pedro Pan from 1962-2003.
The collection consists of a History of Opa-Locka Airport authored by García Carbonell, administrative documents, correspondence and building plans between the Catholic Welfare Bureau and other bureaucratic entities as they sought to acquire housing for Pedro Pans by renting buildings at the airport, including Building 67.
The Juan M. Clark Memorial Lecture Series Collection contains DVD recordings of lectures presented at the University of Miami's Institute of Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) by leading exile figures on topics pertaining to Cuban politics and culture.
Juan M. Clark (1938-2013) was a Cuban sociologist and professor emeritus of Miami Dade College. A veteran of the Bay of Pigs invasion, Clark was imprisoned by the Cuban government from January to December 1962. He authored several books on human rights abuses in Cuba.
The Asociación de Antiguas Alumnas Apostolado Records consist of pictures and official records from the alumni association outside of Cuba of the Apostolado school system in Cuba. The collection consists mostly of pictures and photo albums of alumni events, church services, and of the seven schools, students, teachers, and staff, primarily in Miami, Florida. It also includes VHS tapes, clippings and articles of alumni events, event fliers, religious material including books and iconography, and awards and memorabilia.
The Roberto Vale Ares papers contain personal papers from late 20th century Cuban activist Roberto Vale Ares.
Vale Ares was a member of Comandos L and Alpha 66, among other Miami, Florida-based groups. The collection includes correspondence, clippings and notes from his guerilla operations, as well as statutes, articles, and propaganda from Comandos L.
The Armando Alejandre, Jr. Collection consists of 2 original 35mm film reel canisters with original film for the 2006 documentary Shootdown. The documentary tells the story of the organization Brothers to the Rescue. It focuses on the incident in 1996 when the Cuban Air Force shot down two planes, killing four pilots including Alejandre.
This collection documents Book Are Nice and the organization's involvement in the literary culture of Miami. The collection currently includes materials from two editions of Pages & Spreads, a series of pop-up reading room events that Books Are Nice has helped organize.
Collection includes facsimiles of site plans, ephemera, and one ring binder of project related facsimiles of presentation drawings, sketches, and models for the proposed buildings.
The Silvia Lizama Collection contains ephemera, show bills, pamphlets, clippings and show catalogs related to the work of Cuban photographer Silvia Lizama, particularly her art galleries and exhibits.
The Pedroso Family collection contains information collected by and about the Pedroso family, of Cuban and Spanish origin. It includes birth and marriage certificates, legal documents, and genealogical information about the extended family throughout the island of Cuba, and documentation of their roots in Spain.
The Mario Parajón and Annabelle Rodríguez Papers consist of correspondence from various politicians, writers, and activists to Mario Parajón, Cuban intellectual, and his wife Annabelle Rodríguez, Executive Director of Revista Encuentro de la Cultura Cubana, in exile.
The collection contains manuscript letters as well as copies of emails.
The Yolanda del Castillo Cobelo Papers contain the personal papers of Yolanda del Castillo Cobelo (1933-2013), exiled Cuban singer-songwriter. The collection includes music scores, CDs, VHS, and DVDs of the artist. Along with the audiovisual material there are newspaper clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, correspondence, magazines, books, and essays that document her career as a songwriter and musician in Cuba and in the United States.
The Natasha Mella Papers contain the personal papers of the Cuban exile intellectual Natasha Mella (1927-2014). The collection contains photographs and audio cassettes of radio programs, conferences, interviews, and other recordings relating to Mella's writings, primarily from her time in exile. There is also correspondence, clippings, and pamphlets which relate to Mella's research on Cuban politics and history as well as correspondence with fellow exiled Cubans. There are numerous speeches, handwritten notes both personal and for research, and essays and articles written by her on Cuban topics for various news and radio outlets, especially in Miami.
A collection of fanzines dedicated to reggae music, and the culture and fanbase surrounding the genre. The titles range from small-run, independently published zines, to glossy commercial magazines and tabloids. The wide range of publishing locations, including the United Kingdom, New York and South Florida, indicate the international popularity of reggae, a musical genre born on the island of Jamaica. Some of the fanzines extend their coverage to other Caribbean musical genres such as ska and soca. The music scenes in Africa are covered as well. In addition to the music, many of the fanzines explore the Rastafari movement and other Afrocentric ideologies that have historically been linked to reggae.
The Artist files contain materials related to the professional and artistic work of visual artists from Cuba and of Cuban descent. The files in this colletion contain exhibit catalogs, clippings, and ephemera related to visual artists and their work. The collection also contains files on art galleries that show the work of visual artists in group shows.
Series 1 contains files on individual visual artists, including show catalogs, promotional materials, postcards and programs for galleries, and other ephemera relating to the work of individuals Materials are organized alphabetically by last name in each box. Series two contains exhibit catalogs, announcments, and other ephemera related to group shows at art galleries featuring multiple Cuban artists or of galleries that support and regularly exhibit Cuban art. Materials are organized alphebetically by gallery or venue name.
Established in 1951, the Coconut Grove Garden Club is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the study, practice, and appreciation of horticulture. This collection contains photograph albums, Plymouth Congregational Church registers, and other records held by the Coconut Grove Garden Club.
The collection contains brochures and programs of the annual music event Festival Miami, which has been hosted by the University of Miami's Frost School of Music since 1984. The collection was donated by Dr. William Hipp, former Dean of the School and founder of Festival of Miami, in June 2015.
The Julio Rodríguez-Luis papers contain correspondence from Roberto Fernández Retamar of Casa de las Américas in Havana, Cuba to Cuban exile Spanish literature scholar Julio Rodríguez-Luis (b. 1937). The letters and faxes discuss their work as writers and scholars. The correspondence also details Casa de las Américas projects with Cuban writers on the island.
Haitian Student Organization collection consists of memorabilia kept in a time capsule, such as organizational records, event brochures, meeting minutes, newsletters, photographs, the Haitian national flag, and news clippings, buried on October 16, 2004 and opened on October 18, 2014. The collection was donated by the Planet Kreyol Haitian Student Organization of the University of Miami to the University Archives in January 2015.
The donor, Planet Kreyol, was founded in 1993 at the University of Miami as the Haitian Student Organization and later renamed as Planet Kreyol. Their mission is to promote cultural awareness while servicing the community and preserving the ancestry of Haiti.
