little haiti/ocean drive

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overcast morning turns into sub tropical day -
a medium swim to the the far out buoy.
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i gotta go meet $erge the painter at 3 in Little Haiti 9 miles away.

I ride down Ocean Drive -
tourist spots
loud music -
pilgrimages to the Versace Villa -

a man drinking beer from a Poland water bottle.
he got tattoos from prison -
2 and half years in prison for stealing a car.
“we all make mistakes”.
he has been out 90 days no jobs for him
“I eat out of garbage cans sometimes”
goes to the Labor Pool every day.
he likes the weather here he is from Chicago

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midtown Miami -
the sky turns stormy again -
dark clouds down the horizon.
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a guy at the deli calls me “paparazzi“
I tell him I ask people if I can take their picture.
he is an artist. he destroyed all his paintings.
“you can make new ones“ I tell him.
He asks me if I know Vincent Van Gogh.
he takes off his hat and shows me his ear he cut off himself.
---

I text serge I am running 15 minutes late -
he meets me at the car wash with his moped then he gets his old rusty car and takes me for a tour.

seen most of them -
I tell him I could have not done it without a bike.
“oh man - you have been around!”

he takes me to his home -
he seems very upbeat and outgoing -
when I ask him how old he is
he turns more somber.
his 2 kids are stuck in Haiti - can't get Visas to come to see him in the USA.
He was born in Haiti -
came to the USA as a kid - grew up in Corona Queens.
he did not like the cold weather.
never studied art or painting -
just made art since he was little.

Serge has a green card - but never applied for citizenship.

I suggest he could get his kids to the US if he just became a citizen.
Better and faster way to sponsor them for a Green Card
He has no idea of the process - has no internet no email.
I tell him I will help him - look for some non profit/pro bono immigration organization that could help him with the paperwork.
I know well how this kind of anxiety feels.

his art on all these walls sooner or later will disappear -
baked and dried by the sun of southern florida - e
roded by the frequent rainstorms.

the only way to see it is to come here -
he does not paint on canvas or wood -
he could not be farther from the glam of the art world
with the posh art galleries of midtown miami just a mile away.
---
I saw a glossy hip hop video on TV and $erge's painting on the background -
just come and go. nothing for him.

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I walk into a bodega -
the woman in blue looks at me with a severe look -
I want to buy a black mary+baby jesus candle -
I like the voudou mix music she is playing.
I go to the ATM and get some cash
the music is only on tape -
i don't remember the last time i used a cassette player.

i buy the candle and i show her what I am doing.
she smiles at me and puts her hand by her heart.
but no pictures inside.
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there are dogs roaming the streets and chickens and rooster.
a woman points at a dog and tells me “look she has 13 nipples”.
---
Serge had told me people here are afraid of cameras -
may it be because of religion or immigration issues.
a lot here came on rafts - illegally.
the police raids and deports.

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I brought with me a small album with prints
not the best ones - just a few scattered ones from a few months ago.
if i show that and I speak to the people with the French i learned at school they open up more - sometimes they let me take the picture.
some kids - maybe dope dealers - don't like that at all .
---
I get a flat by the Toussaint Louverture statue.
no bike stores for miles -
a girl at the air pump tells me to buy a patch at the gas station.
then some auto mechanic guys have the tools to take off the wheel
I realize that a beach cruiser bike that brakes with the pedals is a pain for fixing a flat.
you need a wrench AND an allen key as well to take off the wheel.
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Haitian Creole
looks like french spelled in a different phonetical way -
like “brudda” for brother or “dahzit” for thats it.
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Chez Anouse restaurant
murals inside and outside painted by Dominique -
the owner says that guy is fast, he paints fast.
2-3 hours for the whole restaurant.
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At the Car wash owned by $erge's brother - there are always people hanging out - playing fast games of domino.

I take the portraits of these 2 young sisters and a cousin -
they all look so different n their outfits.
the blue contact lenses look so amazing and real
---
riding back just 15 block away or less
the “design district”
looks like an hybrid between Soho and Beverly Hills.
but built all at once
new restaurants
and so many signs filled with real estate language and quotes -
security guards patrolling the streets
I keep on riding
and it all reminds me that movie Zabriskie Point.
The billboards the poor the rich the desert -
escaping.