14 June 18–24, 2026 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES MIAMI'S PEOPLE START HERE. June 18–24, 2026 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES BEST ºf MIAMI ® 2026 Hispanic and Latino, the show hits differ- ently. Jorge’s 38 years as a veteran anchor for Univision, along with Paola’s background on major campaigns and journalistic curiosity, make for a dynamic and personal on-air chemistry that is, as its name suggests, exactly right for this moment. BEST POLITICIAN Eileen Higgins instagram.com/commisheileen In December 2025, Eileen Higgins made his- tory — and not once, but several times over — in the span of a single election night. The 44th mayor of Miami became the first woman ever elected to the office, the first Democrat to hold the seat in nearly 30 years and the first non-Hispanic mayor since 1996, and she did it by winning with nearly 20 points in a runoff election. Higgins came to politics by way of mechanical engineering, an MBA from Cornell, Peace Corps service in Belize and a stint as a U.S. State Department foreign service officer, and she doesn’t govern by symbolism alone. As Miami-Dade County Commissioner for District 5 since 2018 (where she earned herself the self-deprecat- ing but beloved nickname “La Gringa”), she championed the Better Bus Network, helped create and preserve more than 7,000 afford- able housing units, passed the state’s toughest fertilizer ordinance and spearheaded the country’s longest all-electric bus rapid transit line. Miami is surely a city with a complicated political history, and it looks like the 305 just elected someone who seems genuinely ready to fight for it. BEST POWER COUPLE Christian Ulvert & Carlos Andrade Five years after propelling Daniela Levina Cava to victory as Miami-Dade County’s fe- male mayor, Christian Ulvert pulled off a sim- ilar historical moment in the Magic City. The 43-year-old political consultant spearheaded Eileen Higgins’ successful campaign to be- come Miami’s first female mayor, cementing Ulvert’s status as the county’s political queen- maker — but Ulvert didn’t climb to the top of Miami-Dade’s electioneering business alone. His husband, Carlos Andrade, has played a key role every step of the way. Married in 2013 in Washington D.C., Ulvert and Andrade were among a group of same sex couples that successfully sued Florida to overturn the state’s ban on same sex marriages. Since then, Ulvert has spent years building a reputation as a sharp strategist for local candidates in non-partisan races, contenders for state and congressional seats and voter referendums; while Andrade has focused on overseeing media campaigns. Through their companies Edge Communications and Win Canvass, they’ve dominated the market for candidates seeking city, county, and state elected posi- tions. Their clients turn over the messy busi- ness of fundraising to Ulvert, whose political action committees have raised tens of mil- lions of dollars from developers and county contractors. BEST AUTHOR JJ Colagrande instagram.com/jjcolagrande Are you hungry for a collection of short sto- ries as diverse and energetic as the city that inspired it? If so, “Are You Hungry?” by JJ Co- lagrande is the book for you. Colagrande, a former New Times correspondent and cur- rent English professor at Miami-Dade Col- lege, spent close to two decades fine tuning this collection to make it worthy of the South Florida that shaped him. The first few stories take place outside the 305, but they drip with a Miami sense of humor and perspective, even when the setting is in Paris or San Fran- cisco. The last portion of the book consists of stories set on his home turf where Cola- grande can let his freak flag and social com- mentary fly. Stories like “The Green Crusader” about a rich kid pooping on hun- dred dollar bills in public spaces might not be for the faint of heart, but neither is the city that inspired it. BEST BOOK BY A LOCAL AUTHOR "Old School Indian" By Aaron John Curtis instagram.com/mohawkmiami After discovering he had a grave health con- dition, author Aaron John Curtis dedicated himself to writing his award-winning novel, “Old School Indian.” The book isn’t autobio- graphical. It’s auto-fiction, which means it beautifully lays bare aspects of the author’s life without bringing his personal story too deep into the plot. Like the author, the main character Abe is a member of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe who spent much of his adult life in Miami as a bookseller at a popular indie bookstore (Curtis spent 20 years as quarter- master at Books and Books). “Old School In- dian” is one of the best books to come out of the Magic City. It’s funny, sad, smart, magical and it illustrates the complexity of emotion and visceral attachment that comes with liv- ing in and leaving Miami. It also brings the warmth and healing that comes with Abe’s return home to family on the reservation. Curtis’ poetic interludes warrant their own publication, creating a strong emotional backbone to an unforgettable story. Don’t think twice. Grab “Old School Indian” at Books and Books, and make this your next book club pick. Arts & EntertAinment
