Italian lessons in Tampa to benefit FICS

Hey everyone,

I am offering some Italian lessons in Tampa through my meetup group.  The proceeds will benefit FICS, who I write about often on this blog.  It is a great organization helping the youth of Tampa Bay.  Here is the email I received earlier today from them:   

Florida Institute for Community Studies email

FICS was able to send two of our Prodigy youth to Tallahassee during Children's Week 2012!  We are very proud to report back that they did an awesome job and even "ran into" Governor Rick Scott, scoring a
photo moment with him!

Here's what A.G., age 9, wrote:

I like FICS because I get to do capoeira with Mr. DA and I get to learn new stuff to do like I learned how to do a handstand and cartwheel which I never knew.  Mr. Freddy is funny and I learned how to make new beats and how to do a lot of memorizing the beats.  The tutors help me do my homework like Mr. Rick, he helped me with my division, fractions and decimals.  Mr. Rick explains the really hard math to me because mathi is my worst subject in class....When I first came here I didn't know anybody but now I know everyone.  I like it hhere because Ms. Ameerah is pretty and she is nice and I love Fridays because you can watch a movie or play games, that's why I love FICS.

Gasparilla Music Festival

Saturday, March 10th
Gasparilla Music Festival

This should be a lot of fun!

It's the inaugural year for this music fest, which joins the Gasparilla art and film festivals that take place in the bay area in ... Price: $15 advance, $20-$25 at the door, children under 12 free before 2 p.m. VIP tickets $75, includes viewing areas next to the stages and drink tickets.

Curtis Hixon Park
600 N Ashley Drive
Tampa, 33602

Noches de Salsa Caliente this Saturday, Centro Asturiano

A great place to salsa in Tampa will be this Saturday at Centro Asturiano.

From Erica:  Join us and dancers from all over Florida this Saturday for our monthly social at the Centro Asturiano!  It's an absolutely incredible venue - tons of space to dance, wood floor, ICE COLD A/C, plenty of free parking, and a full bar!

What: February Noches de Salsa Caliente social
When: Saturday February 25, 2012, 9pm - 2am

Where:
Centro Asturiano
1913 N. Nebraska Ave.
(corner of Palm & Nebraska in Ybor City)

Cost: $10 (includes class)


Schedule:
8:45pm     Doors open

9pm
Cha cha class with Ben Cartagena of Salsa Synergy (Orlando)

10pm-2am
Social dancing with DJ Jonathan Otero

11:30pm
Performances by: Salsa Synergy (Orlando)
More TBD...

All ages are welcome, but you must be at least 21 with ID to purchase or consume alcohol.  Hope to see you there!

San Gennaro Fest tomorrow in Safety Harbor

A nice Italian festival in Safety Harbor will take place tomorrow.  Hopefully it won't rain!

Here is a video taken last year of Dino DiLiberti singing "O' Sole Mio", an Italian classical song.

New site, electric cart tours, Tampa

I'd like announce a new site that I built for a friend of mine:

http://www.mulliganshuttle.com

I'm proud of the fact that I built this from scratch, installed all the plugins, set up an email capture form for him, put on a facebook like page, and even a contact form, along with an automatic backup mechanism.

I have some other site ideas in mind too!

Latin Night at the Straz Center

Tonight is another edition of the Latin Night hosted by Simone Salsa Dance School.

At the elegant Maestro's Restaurant at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts!

Thursday, FEBRUARY 16

Once a month on a Thursday night from 8:00pm until 1:00am.
5 hours of dancing and a good night sleep :-)
$15 at the door

$ 10 for Simone Salsa STUDENTS & FRIENDS
Featuring Live music with Nalisio & Son Salvaje Latin Band
30 min dance lesson with Simone Salsa. Every Month a different dance Style
2 DJ's Dj Louis & Dj Pedro are teaming up to keep you on the dance floor!
Mark your calendars!

Fiesta Day, Ybor City, 2012

Fiesta Day Ybor City
Saturday, Feb 25 10:00a - 6PM
at Ybor City, Tampa, FL

Fiesta Day (a traditional street festival) is a tribute to the Cuban, Italian, German, Jewish, African and Spanish immigrants that came to Ybor City back in the late 1800's. It's a great way to celebrate the Latin cusine, culture, heritage, etc. that shapes the current culture of Tampa Bay.

As the Cuban cigar factories were booming, these immigrants settled in the Ybor City district of Tampa. Ybor City Day, as it was known, originally began as a day of rest for the cigar workers of the district.

They expect about 15,000 people to attend the event.

Cost: Free!

History of the Cuban Sandwich, Tampa vs. Miami

If you live in Tampa, you know that the Cuban Sandwich is a very popular menu item in many Tampa restaurants and is an item that is uniquely Tampa.   Here is a little history of the Cuban Sandwich.

I was just reading an article in the Florida Trend Magazine that interviewed Richard Gonzmart, the president of the Columbia Restaurant chain.

According to Gonzmart, the Cuban Sandwich is not really a Cuban food item.  It is really a Tampa sandwich.  In Miami, they also do a Cuban Sandwich, but they do it a little different:  they leave out the salami. The sandwich is really a combination of different influences that formed the Tampa community back in the 1800's.

Italian influence - Salami
Spanish influence - Ham
Cuban influence - Pork
German influence - Mustard and Pickles

And he even mentioned that in the 1940's, it was actually called a "Mixed Sandwich".

Below is a picture of a Cuban Sandwich (photo source:  wikipedia.com)

An Oppulent Tableau of Essence, Book Signing, Mangroves Bistro, Tampa

Below is some information on an upcoming book signing and art show.  It is with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Sharon Hays earlier this week.  Sharon was a great friend to me my mother, and we will miss her dearly.  She was a very kind-hearted person, full of energy and life.  Her enthusiasm was always apparent in everything she tried to accomplish.  As a smart entrepreneur, she built a successful business in Wyoming. She recently moved to Florida, where she lived next door to my mother.   After I moved my mother to Tampa from Sarasota, she was like a blessing, in that it gave my mother a "new found friend" in a strange city.  For that, we are forever grateful.

Sharon recently started writing books, and tomorrow is a book signing she had planned prior to her passing.  The book signing and art show will continue in her spirit.


The book, the latest in her collection is called An Opulent Tableau of Essence, is a nice collection of art and poetry (much of her own poetry), and is a nice coffee table type book. 

You can really appreciate the depth of her creativity, as the other books are 2 mystery novels, and she even has written children's books.  And now she has added book this to her resume.

Below is information taken from her site regarding the book signing:

Tampa author, Sharon Hays presents the premier of her book,

"An Opulent Tableau of Essence"

Book signing and art show at:

Mangroves Bistro
208 S Howard Ave, Tampa
Date: Sunday February 12
Time: 6 to 10 PM
Public is invited
Free Admission

A light selection of hors d'oeuvres will be provided
A raffle will be held to benefit Hillsborough Arts, Inc.
Hays will also donate 12% of sales from “An Opulent Tableau of Essence”

Meet and greet the author, artists and poets. Bay area artists that contributed to the book will be highlighted, showing their incredible, original works of art, and poetry readings will highlight the poets. Music will be provided by DJ Teresa, a popular local dj, publisher and producer of Roja Records. She is event coordinator of the affair.

The lovely coffee-table book is a blend of artists from across the globe with poetry to accent each works. It is truly a journey of the spirit from each and every artist, and poet.

Love and Friendship Walk, Town and Country

Scheduled for Friday, February 10, 2012

Town n Country is celebrating the power of love and friendship as they do in Latin America, recognizing Day of Love and Friendship – Dia de Amor y Amistad – as key to having a better community. Youth are preparing their own messages that include anti-bullying messages and wish lists for what they would like to see in their lifetimes. We will gather at noon on Friday February 10, 2012 at the FICS Multicultural Family Center, 6704 Hanley Road, Tampa FL 33634 and walk to the Town n Country Recreation Center, 6039 Hanley Road, Tampa FL, meeting up with others to take a symbolic lap around the track. The event is free and open to the public, all ages! 

We are pleased to announce that we have confirmed our keynote speaker, Mr. Tony “Red” Morrison, a former New York Yankee who will discuss goal-setting and the importance of focusing on education as key to a better future. There will be light refreshments served. The event is scheduled to end around 4 PM at the Town n Country Recreation Center. This event is co-sponsored by the Hillsborough County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation and the Florida Institute for Community Studies (FICS).
Join us! FICS partners with communities to help them achieve their goals through research, service, education and training. Join our cause on Facebook or by volunteering: www.ficsinc.org or by calling 813.249.8100.

Latin Night at the Straz Center

Simone Salsa Dance School is honored to have been asked to run and host a monthly

LATIN NIGHT

at the elegant

Maestro's Restaurant at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts!

Thursday, FEBRUARY 16
Get you ticket at the door or get your tickets for the event on the Straz Center Website:

Once a month on a Thursday night from 8:00pm until 1:00am.
5 hours of dancing and a good night sleep :-)
$15 at the door
$ 10 for Simone Salsa students
Featuring Live music with Nalisio & Son Salvaje Latin Band
30 min dance lesson with Simone Salsa. Every Month a different dance Style
2 DJ's Dj Louis & Dj Pedro are teaming up to keep you on the dance floor!

Aventura Dance Cruise 2012

I just received the email regarding the Salsa Bachata Cruise for 2012. It was such a great cruise, especially if you love Latin Dancing. Here is my Salsa Cruise Review that I posted about last year's cruise.

Here is the email I received from Moshe.

Its Official! We are on ADC 2012 November 8-12th!
What's new? We are proud to say we implemented almost all the comments/ideas we received in our survey! Here are some (more online):

BETTER RATES! $123 less the last year.

• More social dancing for more hours. 3 locations each night (Salsa, Bachata, pool party after)
• Pool party every night till 4am!
• You are now allowed to bring one bottle of wine and/or champaign per person on board!
• More workshops, all will start at 10am and after.
• Afternoon social dancing and practice space.
• Many mexico party improvements, including more bars for a faster service.
• more more more... Gotta keep something as a surprise :)