It’s crazy to think it’s been 14 years since I formally registered a company called Yo Miami on sunbiz.org. I was 23, just a year out of college with nothing but enthusiasm and a Facebook page that had somehow accumulated over 200 followers. That number seems paltry nowadays, but in 2010 it felt monumental. I’d created the page just to get my friends to join me at all the cool underground events and venues I was discovering. What began as casual promotion and small creative projects evolved into something I never could have anticipated.
In hindsight, I was also subconsciously searching for something in those early days. For the others, for my tribe, for community; insert whatever buzzword of the month you want, you get the idea. I followed local blogs religiously, stuck my nose in places others wouldn’t think to, had conversations with people who never had an audience for their stories, and generally followed my curiosity and passion wherever they took me, Toucan Sam style. Anywhere the creatively endowed gathered, I made my way, observing, documenting, connecting the dots.
Those early years were fueled by pure curiosity and passion. I was working over 40 hours a week at my grandpa’s perfume distribution company, providing me with financial stability and invaluable experience in the business world, but limiting my free time. This dynamic allowed me to explore creative interests without immediate pressure to monetize them at least.
In 2009 Miami started going through another in its long history of waves of change.
A major artistic hub was emerging in Wynwood, at the same time that I’d moved to nearby Edgewater. Conscious of the shift happening, I felt the need to map this evolution and create some connective tissue between disparate creative scenes that seemed to exist in isolation from one another. I recognize more clearly now that this desire and ability to connect dots that other people don’t quite seem to notice is one of my greatest strengths. Yo Miami became a vehicle for me to hone those skills and make long-lasting connections.
What started as loose networking and amateur level activations and events, gradually evolved into professional contributions to Miami’s cultural fabric. I joined the ranks of locals who felt the call to carve out a place for ourselves within our city. Each project expanded my understanding of what was possible and introduced me to people who would become lifelong friends, mentors, and collaborators.
The irony isn’t lost on me that while I spent years promoting other artists, I kept my own creative impulses largely tucked away. I was the documenter, the connector, the producer but rarely the creator. Imposter syndrome loomed, unbeknownst to me, and I avoided confronting my own artistic aspirations and the vulnerability that comes with putting personal work into the world. It wasn’t until these past few years that I finally reckoned with the desire to embrace my own artistic pursuits more substantially.
In retrospect, every artist I interviewed, every gallery opening I attended, every mural I watched materialize was subtly nudging me toward my own creative awakening. The pandemic, for all its challenges, created space for reflection that I appreciate now. What did I want Yo Miami to become as a business in concrete terms? Who was I trying to be, beyond this organization I had created? What did I want to say through my own creative expression? Questions I had helped countless others explore but had somehow avoided asking myself. During the forced period of reflection, I tackled them head on.
Looking back at 23-year-old me, I wish I could tell him that the path would be winding but worthwhile. That the late nights, the financial uncertainties, the moments of doubt would all be worth it. Not just because of what Yo Miami would become, but because of how it would shape him, how it would eventually lead him back to himself.
I can say that despite the twists and turns that got me here, it genuinely does feel, for brief moments scattered in time, as if the entire city is made up of my crazily large and beautifully dysfunctional family. That feeling of connection, of having played some small part in Miami’s cultural evolution while simultaneously being transformed by it, is something I never could have anticipated but now can’t imagine my life without.
As Yo Miami turns 14,
I’m filled with gratitude for this journey that has brought me full circle. From promoting others’ creativity to finally honoring my own. From searching for community to creating it. From documenting Miami’s artistic soul to discovering mine was there all along, waiting to be expressed.
I’m ready to turn the page now, excited to step more fully into myself and to bring Yo Miami and the community I’ve gathered on this next chapter with me. The path ahead feels both thrilling and uncertain. But that’s always been the Miami way, hasn’t it? Gritty, vibrant, bold, unpredictable, and utterly real. After 14 years of following my heart into the depths of Miami’s creative realms, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
One Night — Two Events:UNFRAMED & UNHINGED: Yo Miami’s Underground Origins photography exhibition opening 6PM–9PM @ Yo Space Gallery & Studios (294 NE 62nd St, Miami)
FREE ENTRY | ALL AGES WELCOME Full Details
