The name, Heatwave Visions Journal, came to me during a conversation with my sister, sitting across a table eating my favorite Haitian food in Miami (Cecibon Restaurant, I adore you). The concept was simple and based on journals I had been published in before, the ones I loved the most, the ones with personalized emails and social media run by real people you could feel the passions of. But the idea of starting such a project was about as daunting as climbing into an alligator’s jaw with Slim Jims stuffed in my back pocket.
There are a few things one inevitably thinks about when they think about Miami: the crushing heat and the famous beaches. The swirling mix of English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. Fresh fruits you can get on the side of the street and the empanadas you can buy at the gas station. These are all images that I wanted reflected on the pages of the journal; a mosaic of visions connected to a region that continues to simmer under our feet. Our inaugural issue’s theme, Swamps of Time, was meant to inspire creative interpretation. For me, the aspect of time was not simply metaphorical.
As an academically trained historian who is currently applying to graduate school, I cannot count the number of times I have used magazines and art and writing as pivotal resources. Unless you are a military historian, the meaning of the past is not extracted from war strategies or battle tactics so much as the ramifications those moments had on living, breathing people who had to survive in spite of them. Their culture and experiences were best recorded by their own hands: their art, their poetry, their fiction, their creations that outlasted them. This was a goal when solidifying the idea. That is, creating a resource for future historians to bear witness to South Florida’s artistic and literary culture in the face of climate change and societal strife.
To say I was impressed by the contributors’ pieces would be an understatement. Their work swept up the theme and drew it out to where they needed, creating variations on Swamps of Time that made for an exceptional debut issue of Heatwave Visions Journal. I am so proud of what we were able to create together, and I cannot wait to see what the future has in store. South Florida’s literary and artistic history is being written right now, all around us, no matter how badly some in this country wish that such resistance epicenters would remain stagnant and abandoned like so much infrastructure in the region.
The future of Heatwave Visions Journal
is as bright as the sun that bares down on our cars and makes our steering wheels sizzle. As editorial director, I am already working on the next issue of the mixed-media magazine while collaborating with Pana MIA Club to find ways of printing physical copies of our debut edition. With the funds earned from selling the digital edition (as well as amazing and generous donations) we are confident in our ability to have the copies we wish, and to get them in the hands of South Florida creatives’ supporters.
I could not have done this without the aid of Pana MIA Club and its beloved founder and sister, Claribel Avila. Who knew the tough older sister that pretended to hate the fashion shows we would stage in my room as a kid would be the key to making this passion project possible?
In any case, I cannot express my gratitude enough. Not only to the contributors who made blank pages transform into beautiful works of art, but to those who showed up for them. Those who actively wish to support locals but don’t necessarily know where or how to, and upon seeing my project jumped on board and interacted with me. Together, we can make South Florida’s artistic and literary legacy thrive, today, tomorrow, and long after we are gone. The first digital issue is available to purchase by clicking here.
