📸: Photo provided by Alex Rodriguez-Roig
Hi Alex! Tell our readers: Who are you? What do you do?
As president of Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade, I focus on providing after school, summer camp and sports programs that enhance the lives of area youth. These programs develop character, enhance academic learning and promote wellbeing for youth in our community.
How does our city help you do what you do or influence your work?
The more people I meet, the more I learn about their uniqueness and their needs. Miami is a service city. Our work at Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade is service. Miami inspires me to find new ways to help the youth and families in our community — from mentoring to academic, mental health, and sports programs at the Clubs. Miami is full of people striving for success and it is great to provide families the help they need to succeed.
What’s an unpopular opinion you have about Miami?
The driving is not as bad as people say. Now hear me out: I have had the opportunity to visit many major cities and they are much worse. With that said, we need to find ways to reduce the congestion, so we don’t end up like other major cities.
What’s your favorite Miami memory?
It has to be the two World Series wins by the Marlins in 1997 and 2003! What a great time that was; everyone was out celebrating and having a great time.
Wax poetic for a minute and tell us: what brings you most alive about the 305?Â
It has to be the people that make up the city. We have people from every country and all walks of life, so you have the opportunity to meet amazing people and learn something new every day. It is fascinating to see the differences in culture and celebrate them.
If you could eat only one meal from a local restaurant for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Being Cuban, it would have to be a palomilla steak, white rice with black beans, and plátano maduro with guava and cream cheese for dessert from Sergio’s Restaurant.
Outside of the obvious stop above, share your other top destinations for where you’d go on your perfect Miami day.
Garcia’s Seafood for great traditional seafood and stone crabs, Midtown — it has so many new restaurants and stores to see — and Bayside, it’s a cool place to stroll and take it easy with a view of the bay.
If you could give any one piece of advice to locals, what would it be?
Enjoy Miami and all it has to offer. You do not need to be rich to see it and have a great time.
What are you looking forward to this year?
We are working on the plans to rebuild our Northwest Club that was built in the 1950’s. This will create a state-of-the-art Club for generations to come. It is much needed in the community and will help hundreds if not thousands of families.
That’s a wrap on this week’s Locals to Know. Know someone who ought to be featured or would like to be featured yourself? Reach out by sending an email to [email protected] with the subject line “TNT Locals to Know 2022.” If chosen, you might just see yourself or a friend in a future newsletter.