Who is this gringo, we wondered, effortlessly playing that trombone

Reunited and it feels so-so: Os Mutantes singer Zelia Duncan and founding member Sergio Dias, on guitar. Photo by Luiz Olazabal

The Land of Mutantes

Last week, Murmurs was well looking forward to being transported, lifted and launched into the cloud nine psychedelia of Os Mutantes, a legendary Brazilian group that had dispersed decades ago. Even Kurt Cobain couldn’t convince them to reunite for a show in the early ’90s. Recently, however, a modified and ambitious 10-piece version of the band, including founding brothers Sergio Dias and Arnaldo Baptista, embarked on a tour, which began in London and ended at the Manuel Artime Theater in Little Havana on August 2, thanks to the musically minded folks at Poplife and the Rhythm Foundation.

And so we buoyantly bopped into the theater, expecting to be carried into blissful, floating, psych-out Tropicalia, taking our seats on the second floor for a better view. Besides a pestering light that shined and glinted continuously right in Murmurs’ eyes, the massive band rocked on with its playful experiments, twisting pop music into its signature medley of distortion, Brazilian rhythms, mellifluent melodies and musique concrete.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t help but be disappointed by singer Zelia Duncan, who, well, simply lacked that ethereal presence and voice that original member Rita Lee contributed so gracefully.

But something else was missing. Perhaps it was the theater setup and the fact that there weren’t any visual effects that could accompany the band quite fittingly. And even though people had to sit down, most appeared to be wriggling in their seats, eager to get up and dance frantically. Hell, this was, after all, a Brazilian band. In the end, though, it wasn’t a problem since the crowd had garnered enough energy to find the appropriate spaces throughout the theater to let loose – on the second floor and right in front of the stage.

Outside, before leaving, Murmurs bumped into the amicable John Speck, who expressed his fondness for Mutantes and handed over a flyer promoting the Bacon Bits’ August 5 show at Transit Lounge. Murmurs couldn’t resist, especially after seeing the self-dubbed “bilingual funky tropicale” band on countless festive nights at Stop Miami. Plus it was a CD-release party for the Bits’ much-anticipated debut, Mofongo, featuring deft cameos by Fitzroy, Sammy Figueroa (on a live track), Big Brooklyn Red and Jesse Jackson, Miami’s own troubadour.

At Transit, Speck was looking particularly fresh and dainty in his glittery sequin pants and red-tinged silk shirt, and, along with his faithful guitarist — the ubiquitous, superhuman Buffalo Brown — he led the Bits with much poise and aplomb. The ladies (and men) in the crowd got their bodies moving, including a jaunty old guy with disheveled hair who bounced up and down doing that knee thing.

Who is this gringo, we wondered — the tall, lithe John Speck — effortlessly playing that trombone so lovely and singing in Spanish, to boot? Not that it mattered. As Speck sang, “Mi pais es tu pais.”

Election Grumblings, Part I

Transitioning from the weekend to the weekday is hard enough for normal people. For reporters working for free weeklies plagued by computer problems — it’s absolute hell.

A local political junkie, we’ll call him “Pete,” informed Murmurs, who was trying to obtain desperately needed caffeine at David’s Café, that Miami Beach Commissioner Luis Garcia has just endorsed a Laura Leyva for election to his seat even while he is running for Florida’s House of Representatives.

“Leyva, Leyva, Leyva,” Murmurs muttered while awaiting a café con leche, and then, remembering the city of Miami Beach’s favorite entertainment industry liaison, asked, “She related to Dennis Leyva?”

“She runs a health clinic,” he said.

“Not ringing any bells.”

Pete promised to try to get someone to send over a press release via e-mail, whereupon Murmurs returned to the office, only to be informed the e-mail system would be out of commission for the next five or so hours. Murmurs checked the city clerk’s Web site, where candidates who have opened campaign accounts to run for interim city commissioner, are usually listed. All the way up until Wednesday, the following candidates were posted on the site:

• Roger Abramson, former special events chair for the Miami Beach Cultural Arts Council who dislikes the idea of converting the Jackie Gleason Theater into Cirque du Soleil headquarters;

• Michael Gongora, Zoning Board of Adjustments guy who also chairs the Miami Beach Latin Chamber of Commerce;

• Ivor Rose, property owner, including the controversial coral rock house (you preservationists know what we’re talkin’ about);

• Elsa Urquiza, former employee of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission;

• Lee Weiss, Americans With Disabilities Act activist;

• Deede Weithorn, Budget Advisory Committee chair and member of the General Obligation Bond Committee.

No Leyva. And so Murmurs went about other tasks, such as trying to figure out how “Cuba’s boogeyman” suddenly became “Cub’s boobeyman” in last week’s column. (Fidel Castro, by the way, never tried out for a major league baseball team during his pre-dictator days, thus negating any possible connection to the Chicago ball club. However, Castro does reportedly like breasts.) And then, Murmurs, enjoying a post-paper drink to try to forget, was hit by a flash of memory: Laura Leyva, who owns a medical consulting business in Hialeah and has lived in Miami Beach since 2005, had been running against Garcia in the September 5 Democratic primary for state representative. “During the past four months I’ve been running against Laura, but we never really ran against each other. There could not be a debate. We agree on everything,” Garcia told the media. So Leyva dropped out — leaving Garcia to devote his energy to trying to defeat whoever wins the Republican primary. (Five Republican candidates are in the primary race for the District 107 seat, which encompasses the south end of Miami Beach and Little Havana.)

The lesson here: Never mind about checking with the city clerk. If you want to know who is running for office in Miami Beach, hang out around the cafeteria at Rebecca Towers. That’s where Miami Herald reporter Susan Anasagasti was when Leyva announced she was running for commissioner and Garcia announced he was endorsing her before a crowd of elderly Hispanics who really like to vote and vote often.

Election Grumblings, Part II

Three people signed up to run for the Miami-Dade County Commission’s District 3 seat, which includes much of Miami’s Upper Eastside and Overtown areas. But according to the Miami-Dade Office of the Inspector General, there should only be two candidates running.

The OIG has filed an injunction to take Howard Gary off the ballot, arguing that he is not qualified to run. Gary, a former Miami city manager, is famous for getting snagged by federal prosecutors for allegedly being involved in a bribery scheme and agreeing to cooperate in Operation Greenpalm in the 1990s. Wearing a wire, he suckered Commissioner James Burke into accepting bribes for a deal that didn’t exist and recording conversations, including Burke’s fantasy to buy a condo at Quayside and sit around watching the History Channel. Burke did time in prison and was forced to relinquish his seat. A humbled Gary told voters he has learned from his past and wants to serve as commissioner.

But it isn’t a criminal history that has attracted the OIG’s attention. (Gary was given immunity in exchange for his cooperation.) Responding to a complaint filed by Mary Louise Watson, the OIG’s injunction charges that Gary isn’t registered to vote in District 3. Heck, he isn’t registered to vote in Miami-Dade County, the OIG insists. Gary’s a Hollywood voter. His only proof that he lives in Miami is an expired driver’s license listing an address on 36th Street.

Murmurs couldn’t reach Gary for comment but did talk to his campaign treasurer, J. Anthony Beard. “He hasn’t been served anything and he is waiting to be served at his Miami house,” Beard said late Tuesday.

The complaint is in the process of being served, said Assistant Inspector General Patra Liu.

Also running for the District 3 seat: incumbent Audrey Edmonson and activist Bess McElroy. The election: September 5.

Height Limits

On Wednesday, August 16, at 4 p.m., there will be a special meeting of the Miami Beach Land Use and Development Committee. What is so special about it? Other than the fact that the committee consists of sitting city commissioners, we mean. Answer: the discussion of a proposed charter amendment to limit height variances to no more than 10 percent of a property’s maximum allowed height, and no more than 10 feet total. Proponents hope the question, scheduled to come before the City Commission in September, will make it to the November 7 ballot. 

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