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Cover Stories, Culture, Entertainment, Film, MSM Online, Music, The Issue

Gloria & Emilio Estefan: Making History Over & Over Again

By Gisel Habibnejad The world knows them as the trailblazing power couple of Latin music; however, Miami knows Gloria and Emilio Estefan on a much deeper level. It has even been said that the Grammy Award winners have influenced a generation of artists, with more generations to come. They paved their own well-documented path by immersing themselves into their careers, and as a result, music that withstands the test of time and still echoes in modern-day music. Gloria Estefan was born in Havana, Cuba and fled from the island as a little girl and would eventually pursue a life that would make her parents proud. As a result, she proceeded to earn a higher level of education at the University of Miami, through which she earned a BA in psychology. With a firm education, she then pursued her lifelong dream of a professional career in music. Consequently, she joined Miami Sound Machine through which she met Emilio Estefan and became romantically involved in 1976. Two years later, the couple married and officially began their path as the influential powerhouse the world knows them as today. Just four years shy of officially being credited as a solo artist, the “Conga” singer won her first Grammy Award in the category of Best Tropical Latin Album for Mi Tierra–this would be the first of the three awards she won for the same category in the years to follow. Mi Tierra holds a special place in Gloria’s heart as it paved the way for her solo career, winning several accolades awarded by Billboard, the Grammy Awards, and even earning the first Diamond album in Spain. In addition, it sold over 100 million records worldwide. Not to mention, her lively performances and concerts that literally make you want to “get on your feet” from start to finish. Among their many achievements collectively, Gloria and Emilio have earned stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, The Ellis Island Congressional Medal of Honor, a Lifetime Achievement Award by the ALMA and Premio Lo Nuestro Musical Latina, induction into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame, a spot on Billboard’s Top 30 Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time, Latin Grammy Awards, and a Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Last November, they received the Presidential Medal of Freedom presented by President Barack Obama. Gloria shared her appreciation of the special moment, “We really do love this country and we respect it. To have been given the opportunity to live our lives the way we have and to be able to follow our dreams and work hard… it’s been phenomenal.” And while, they were recognized by the country on this day, Emilio never forgets to acknowledge his beloved city, “Today we were thinking about Miami. Thinking about the Latino community and saying that we are proud. We never left Miami, we never changed our name and I think that’s an important thing to recognize.” Not many people can say they performed at the Olympics and at the Superbowl twice—Gloria has done both. In fact, her hit single “Reach” became the anthem for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. The Estefans have always been adamant on using their fame to be involved and bring awareness to political affairs. In 2010, Gloria famously led Las Damas de Blanco march down Calle Ocho in support of the opposition movement in Cuba. Las Damas de Blanco is a group of wives and relatives of imprisoned dissidents who attend mass on Sundays wearing white followed by silently walking down the streets of Cuba. Emilio’s contributions include producing phenomenal musical events at the White House and being appointed by President George W. Bush to the Committee on the Arts and Humanities in 2002. In 2013, he also became the AARP Life Reimagined Ambassador. And in 2014, Commissioner Jean Monestime appointed him as Miami-Dade Special Ambassador. They went on to conquer other facets of the industry, such as Gloria becoming a board of director for Univision Communications Inc. Staying true to his producer role, Emilio produced and directed his first full-length film in 2008 called 90 Millas. He has also produced multiple Latin Grammy Awards shows. As if it weren’t enough, they are also best-selling authors. Gloria has published children’s books and cookbooks; Emilio published his second book in 2011, The Exile Experience: A Journey to Freedom in collaboration with Alberto Montaner and Carlos Pintado—the powerful book is made up of testimonials from different generations of exiles. Throughout his career, he has received honorary doctoral degrees from Barry University, the University of Miami, Berklee College of Music, and Florida International University. Their latest conquest involves music, dancing, and Broadway. Fans can now experience a biographical look into the lives of these trailblazing artists as individuals and as a family. On Your Feet debuted in November 2015 starring Ana Villafane as Gloria and Josh Segarra as Emilio and directed by Jerry Mitchell. The homage comes to life with “Conga” at the end of the first act, when audience members are encouraged to join the Conga line as part of choreographer Sergio Trujillo’s plan. The show includes flashy costumes designed by ESosa accompanied with electrifying performances of their hits, such as “1-2-3” and “Get On Your Feet.” Variety magazine raves: “Newcomer Ana Villafane is a knockout in the leading role, the dazzling centerpiece of this flashy, splashy spectacle helmed by Jerry Mitchell.” “I hope we can inspire a different generation, to make them think about how lucky we are to live in the United States and to be able to achieve the American Dream,” Gloria proudly shares about the show. “We want to give so much back to this country.” Presently, they continue to defy the odds by actively working on creating the National Museum of the American Latino in Washington, D.C. They also became the first Cuban-Americans to buy minor ownership stake of an NFL team through the Miami Dolphins. Locally, however, you can find the Estefans at one of their many locations of

Business, News & Entertainment, The Issue

Michael Capponi & Gideon Kimbrell: Taking Entrepreneurship to the Next Level

By Angela Betancourt Photographed by Akram Soliman Miami Beach was not always the desirable city it is today. Its transformation is due large in part to visionaries who saw the city not for what it was, but for what it could be. One such visionary is Michael Capponi, an entrepreneur and humanitarian who has played a major role in shaping Miami’s nightlife industry. For the past 20 years, he has been one of Miami’s most prominent business figures and the gatekeeper to the hottest clubs in the city. His influence is legendary and it’s no surprise that his latest venture has become an instant success. Capponi partnered with software engineer and tech expert Gideon Kimbrell to create InList: a new members-only mobile app that is propelling the nightlife industry into the future. InList provides access to the hottest venues, restaurants, and parties around the world right at your fingertips. The app currently features hundreds of venues in more than 45 cities around the world including Miami, New York, Las Vegas, Paris, Ibiza, Saint-Tropez, Dubai, and Hong Kong. Since its launch, it has had more than 100,000 downloads. “It was an underserved market,” said Capponi who saw the tremendous potential to combine nightlife with technology in today’s connected world. “This is the future of nightlife.” InList uses a proprietary concierge model that allows app users to make dinner reservations, book a table at a club, or secure access to a special event right on their phone. The venues are selected by special “InList ambassadors” around the globe. These ambassadors are highly connected people tasked to hand-select the best events in their cities. The team plans on launching InList in new markets, incorporate more major events, and introduce a new ticketing category. “There are a lot of things we want to do but we want to make sure we execute it properly,” said Kimbrell. Bringing the worlds of nightlife and technology together is just one of Capponi’s many projects. In addition to being a nightlife pioneer, he is also an influential figure in the construction industry and a passionate humanitarian. Capponi has built and restored some of the most beautiful homes in Miami. He is the recipient of several awards including the Renovation Firm of the Year Award from the Developers and Builders Alliance. Recently he joined forces with Shear Construction & Management to form Capponi Shear Construction. The company builds and restores homes from Star Island to Indian Creek that range from $4 million to $50 million. For Capponi, restoration also plays a role in his charitable work. He is the founder of the Haiti Empowerment Mission, a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization with the goal to empower the people of Haiti by providing quality education, diverse vocational training, and job creation. After the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Capponi and his team were one of the first people on the ground to help. In the past six years, he has been there more than 70 times. “The first 20 or so of those trips were mission trips to help on a humanitarian level to bring them food and medical attention,” Capponi explained. After that, his trips were about housing, education, and helping in boosting tourism as one of the pathways to sustainability. “We spent a lot of time promoting Haiti as a tourism destination.” Capponi knows there are still challenges to overcome in the country, especially when it comes to non-profit organizations, but he recognizes that progress is being made. Whether he is revolutionizing the nightlife industry, beautifying Miami with his construction projects, or improving lives in Haiti, Capponi’s innovative spirit and vision for the future is making a lasting impact that will be felt for years to come. “We all have the same motives–to create business models that better the world somehow.” For more information on InList, please visit www.InList.com Click here to view this post in the September/October 2015 digital issue Click here to view the online issue

LIFESTYLE, Living, Luxury, MSM Online, The Issue

Miami Real Estyle – Sofia Joelsson – SoJo Design Miami Beach

By Sherri Balefsky/Photography by Imani Ogden Stepping into the SoJo Design offices in the heart of South Beach is like stepping onto an oasis during a major MacArthur Causeway traffic jam. Sofia Joelsson, the firm’s founder and creative director, arrived in Miami late last night after her flight from New York was delayed four hours. You’d never know; she is blithe and cheerful and—with no makeup, nonetheless—looks incredibly well rested. From just a quick glance around her office, it is clear Joelsson has impeccable taste—so much so you’d think she spent years studying at an accredited design school. But Joelsson grew up in a small town in Sweden where she reveals, “People are very much do-it-yourself. A career in interior design is not something that is really even thought of.” Instead, the former Miss Sweden grew up thinking she wanted to be an actress. She spent time living in Germany and the Dominican Republic before making her way to Miami. “I was modeling and doing commercials,” she says. “But people kept asking me who my decorator was…So thirteen years ago—to this day, actually [June 9, 2014]—I started SoJo Design.”  With no formal training, Joelsson has managed to make a name for herself in the world of interior design, having worked on some of the most impressive luxury properties in Miami, New York City, and Dallas, Texas, among others. This includes penthouses at the Setai, Il Villagio, and 1500 Ocean Drive in South Beach; the Ritz-Carlton, Dallas; and Manhattan’s Walker Tower (where a penthouse recently sold for a reported $30 million). “I found a niche in penthouses,” she says. But her portfolio also includes luxury condominiums at Canyon Ranch, Miami Beach, One Bal Harbor, and the Four Seasons, Miami, and multimillion-dollar estates in affluent neighborhoods in places like Star Island and the Hamptons. She’s also designed interiors for hotels, office buildings, restaurants, and even private jets. The SoJo Design aesthetic is sleek, chic, and modern. Each room exudes an effortless balance of color, texture, shape, and open space. Joelsson has an affinity for natural materials like wood, stone, and leather, and for neutral tones such as white, black, and beige. While an estate she designed in Dallas has a much different vibe than, say, one of her South Beach penthouses, the signature SoJo je ne sais quoi permeates throughout each endeavor. In total, SoJo Design has worked on more than 150 projects, representing close to a billion dollars of real estate. The success has led Joelsson to expand her business into other areas of creativity, which includes the launch of a design-inspired magazine, Curated Living. “I did [the magazine] to challenge and inspire myself, and in turn, inspire others,” she says. “It was originally only supposed to be online [www.curated-living.com], but my clients and advertisers were all asking for copies.” For the first issue, aptly named “The White Issue,” Joelsson curated pieces from her favorite design and fashion houses to put together a series of white-themed vignettes. The next issue, slated for Summer 2014, will have both equestrian and nautical themes. Along with being editor-in-chief of a burgeoning magazine, Joelsson is working on a new textiles line, which she anticipates will be part of a larger Sofia Joelsson Home, Anywhere collection. She also launched an e-commerce site, Cudesso (www.cudesso.com), which offers a handpicked selection of her favorite furniture and home accessories from around the world. And, if that wasn’t enough, Joelsson is also in talks with producers about a potential TV show. With so many projects evolving simultaneously, it’s no wonder Joelsson says the one person she’d love to meet is Martha Stewart. “She is such an inspiring entrepreneur and businesswoman—and she’s had a very interesting life!” Much of Joelsson’s inspiration comes from travel. Her favorite places include Mykonos and Santorini, Greece; and Capri, Italy, where she says she visits every year. Aside from traveling, in her free time (though it would seem she has none!), Joelsson loves to entertain. She likes having friends over to watch movies on her terrace where she has a full-size chess set and a popcorn machine. “A lot of my friends have kids,” she confesses. “I have four-legged kids.”  She gushes about her shih-tzu mix, Caspar, whom she rescued five years ago. He is by her side at the office on most days. “I think it’s important to create a fun work environment,” she says. “We’re here very long hours some days, so you have to keep people loving what they do.” The SoJo Design team currently includes five designers, plus an extended staff that helps support her in her multiple endeavors.  And despite her laundry list of accomplishments in just 13 years, Joelsson remains down-to-earth and remarkably humble. “The United States is still, to me, the land of opportunity,” she says.“Miami is special because it’s only something like thirty percent developed—as opposed to New York, which is like ninety-nine percent developed. There’s so much opportunity and growth…What Craig Robins is doing with the Design District is pretty incredible. It’s cool to be a part of a growing design community.”  So what’s her best piece of advice for anyone who wants to follow in her footsteps? “Follow your passion. Everything else is just passing the time. [Your passion] can change—mine did. But if you love what you do, you will be successful.” Click here to view post on the July/August 2014 issue.

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