5 Women Making Their Marks on Miami

These fierce woman are shaping the future of the Magic City

Siudy Garrido. Photo by Kike San Martin
Siudy Garrido. Photo by Kike San Martin

Dancing to Her Own Beat: Siudy Garrido

Siudy Garrido considers herself a musician, even if she doesn’t play guitar, piano, nor any other traditional musical instrument. Instead, Garrido—one of the world’s most renowned flamenco dancers—has her two feet, which is all she needs. 

It seems the Latin Recording Academy agrees. In September, Garrido’s album, Bailaora: Mis Pies Son Mi Voz (Dancer: My Feet Are My Voice), was nominated for two Latin Grammys, putting her heeled soles among the ranks of superstar Latin singer-songwriters such as Rosalía and Romeo Santos, who were also nominated for best long-form music video last year. (Garrido’s second nomination is for best recording package.)

Siudy Garrido
Siudy Garrido

“Normally, dancers dance to the music, but in my case, I participate in the composition from the first note,” Garrido says. “My voice extends past my vocal cords. Many times, the composition process begins in my feet, and other times my feet are the percussion instrument for the music.”  

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Garrido credits her flamenco dancer mother as her greatest influence. It was at her mother’s school where she learned to dance, performing on stage for the first time at the age of 5. As a 9-year-old, Garrido performed with flamenco virtuoso Joaquín Cortes. At 17, she was the main dancer of venerated flamenco dancer Antonio Canales’ company. She has collaborated with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as Juan Manuel Fernández (aka Farruquito), the son of a flamenco dancer and a flamenco singer. She’s appeared in music videos for Marc Anthony and the Mexican band Maná. Most recently, Garrido performed on stage with Alejandro Sanz at his concert in Miami. 

“My style is very personal,” she notes. “I grew up with a Latin influence and [other]  influences from contemporary dance, jazz, and tropical music.” 

Garrido made her Magic City debut at the Adrienne Arsht Center in 2012, initiating a now years-long relationship that has resulted in seven productions enjoyed by more than 10,000 guests. In 2015, Garrido moved the headquarters of the nonprofit Siudy Garrido Flamenco Company to Miami, where she says the community has embraced her unique style of dance. From her North Miami studio, she also offers lessons to all ages and experience levels. 

Though the United States isn’t particularly known for its flamenco, Garrido hopes to change that. “I have witnessed the growth of the art of flamenco in this city, and it’s continuing to grow by leaps and bounds,” she says. 

For Garrido, that growth is integral to her well-being. “For me, flamenco is my life—it’s like breathing. If I’m not dancing flamenco, it’s like I’m not breathing.” 

Grela Orihuela. Photo by Tolga Kavut
Grela Orihuela. Photo by Tolga Kavut

Wearing Her Art on Her Sleeve: Grela Orihuela

As Design Miami’s vice president of fairs, Grela Orihuela is charged with shaping one of the most innovative design companies in the world and its annual fairs in Miami and Basel, Switzerland. But she’ll be the first to admit that she took the scenic route professionally: She worked in fashion, film, Spanish-language broadcasting, and the production of large-scale global corporate events before carving her niche curating art and design shows, creating documentary films about artists, and directing international art fairs. 

“It really is the culmination of everything that I’ve done,” she says. “One thing leads to the next. If you look closely, you’ll find all the dots are connected in such a nice way—because we’re all connected.” 

Orihuela was born in Cuba, raised in New York, attended New York University’s film school, traveled the globe for work (including stints in Paris, Hawaii, and Mexico), and eventually settled in Miami full-time with her husband in 1997. Back then, Miami’s art scene was still in its infancy, but Orihuela could sense that it was organic and growing. Every weekend, she would attend art-related events. She began meeting local artists, curators, and museum directors and building a small collection.

“Miami was in that moment [when] the artists were all so free and they would just do such beautiful things,” she recalls. “The art community here was so welcoming and generous of spirit, and we became part of that whole world.” 

Orihuela’s passion for film, art, and events drives her career. In 2012, she was appointed the curator for Art Miami and curator and director for Art Wynwood. After stepping down in 2018, she founded 1meter50, an arts consultancy for developing art fairs, special events, exhibitions, private collections, and multimedia installations. She has curated exhibitions for NADA Miami Beach, Locust Projects, Fountain Art Fair, and Pulse. 

“Having never done an art fair, but having done events, you understand it’s all the same principles: You still need to build something, you still need to put lighting in,” Orihuela explains. “But now, since it was an art fair, all the collaborators were gallerists and artists, so I was in heaven.”

Orihuela credits her success to her drive to collaborate with others in the community and follow the thrilling and unknown path where those connections might lead. As the co-producer of Wet Heat Project, she has created short-form and feature-length documentary films about artists and art professionals that have screened at film festivals, on public television, and at museums, including the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami. In 2020, she launched Place Project, a series of nomadic, site-specific pop-up art and design experiences across the country.

“If you leave yourself open to explore everything and don’t pigeonhole yourself in a box,” Orihuela advises, “things happen.”

Monica Richardson. Photo by Tolga Kavut
Monica Richardson. Photo by Tolga Kavut

Telling it Like it Is: Monica Richardson

As Design Miami’s vice president of fairs, Grela Orihuela is charged with shaping one of the most innovative design companies in the world and its annual fairs in Miami and Basel, Switzerland. But she’ll be the first to admit that she took the scenic route professionally: She worked in fashion, film, Spanish-language broadcasting, and the production of large-scale global corporate events before carving her niche curating art and design shows, creating documentary films about artists, and directing international art fairs. 

“It really is the culmination of everything that I’ve done,” she says. “One thing leads to the next. If you look closely, you’ll find all the dots are connected in such a nice way—because we’re all connected.” 

Orihuela was born in Cuba, raised in New York, attended New York University’s film school, traveled the globe for work (including stints in Paris, Hawaii, and Mexico), and eventually settled in Miami full-time with her husband in 1997. Back then, Miami’s art scene was still in its infancy, but Orihuela could sense that it was organic and growing. Every weekend, she would attend art-related events. She began meeting local artists, curators, and museum directors and building a small collection.

“Miami was in that moment [when] the artists were all so free and they would just do such beautiful things,” she recalls. “The art community here was so welcoming and generous of spirit, and we became part of that whole world.” 

Orihuela’s passion for film, art, and events drives her career. In 2012, she was appointed the director and curator for Art Miami and Art Wynwood. After stepping down in 2018, she founded 1meter50, an arts consultancy for developing art fairs, special events, exhibitions, private collections, and multimedia installations. She has curated exhibitions for NADA Miami Beach, Locust Projects, Fountain Art Fair, and Pulse. 

“Having never done an art fair, but having done events, you understand it’s all the same principles: You still need to build something, you still need to put lighting in,” Orihuela explains. “But now, since it was an art fair, all the collaborators were gallerists and artists, so I was in heaven.”

Orihuela credits her success to her drive to collaborate with others in the community and follow the thrilling and unknown path where those connections might lead. As the co-producer of Wet Heat Project, she has created short-form and feature-length documentary films about artists and art professionals that have screened at film festivals, on public television, and at museums, including the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami. In 2020, she launched Place Project, a series of nomadic, site-specific pop-up art and design experiences across the country.

“If you leave yourself open to explore everything and don’t pigeonhole yourself in a box,” Orihuela advises, “things happen.”

Leila Cobo. Photo by Tolga Kavut
Leila Cobo. Photo by Tolga Kavut

Keeping the Beat Alive: Leila Cobo

Long before Leila Cobo began interviewing Latin musicians, she wanted to be one. She grew up in a “musical family” in Cali, Colombia, and started lessons at a young age. After graduating with her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Javeriana University in Bogotá, she moved to New York to attend the Manhattan School of Music, where she earned a second degree in piano performance. 

“I was dying to go to New York and study piano—that was my big dream,” Cobo says. “I think I’m a really good pianist. I think I’m a really good performer. But I’m not going to be the best. Now that I cover musicians all day long, I don’t think I had that driving passion that I see in some of these really successful artists.” 

But Cobo did find a “driving passion” in covering Latin music. After receiving a Fulbright Scholarship to attend the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, she worked for the Los Angeles Times, where she wrote her first music review of an Eddie Palmieri Latin jazz album. In 1998, Cobo and her husband, pianist Arthur Hanlon, moved to Miami after Cobo was hired as the Miami Herald’s pop music critic. 

“I wrote about all kinds of music—music that I knew nothing about,” Cobo says. “I remember my first rap show. I was like ‘Oh my gosh, I know nothing about this!’ It was an education, but it was fun.” 

In 2001, Cobo began working for the top music-industry magazine Billboard as its Latin bureau chief. More than two decades later, she is the publication’s chief content officer of Latin/Español, a promotion that she credits to her decades-long persistence in giving Latin music and musicians the coverage she knew they deserved. 

“I thought it was super important to cover the music in English so that people who didn’t speak Spanish and didn’t know anything about the music would learn about it,” she says. “We were the only ones covering Latin music every single week. It was me alone back then, but we were writing about Latin music every day of the year.”

Now, Cobo works with a staff of four writers and a social media/SEO specialist. She has interviewed scores of Latin music’s top artists, including Maluma, Karol G, Ricardo Arjona, Bad Bunny, and Ricky Martin. After “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a record 16 weeks in 2017, Cobo was heralded for her foresight about the potential of the Latin music industry in America. 

“Miami has been key to what I’ve been able to do. Had I stayed in Los Angeles, the trajectory would’ve been very different. In Miami, Latins have power. They have clout. They’re successful on many levels and in many realms. In L.A., that still isn’t the case, and if you’re Latin, I find, there’s still resistance to that. Not even New York would’ve allowed me to grow as Miami did.”

Dayanny De la Cruz. Photo by Tolga Kavut
Dayanny De la Cruz. Photo by Tolga Kavut

Playing with Fire: Dayanny De la Cruz

It’s 2023, and executive chef Dayanny De La Cruz still can’t believe she’s trailblazing into positions that have yet to be held by women. It started when she led the food and beverage program at Hard Rock Stadium as 60,000 guests attended Super Bowl LIV in 2020; she was the first female head chef in the NFL’s history to do so. Then, when Formula One came to Miami in 2022, she became the first woman to lead the culinary program for that sporting event, too. 

“I was super honored to be the first woman to do this and hold that torch, but it’s crazy that we’re still talking about firsts,” says De La Cruz. “Sometimes we’re made to believe that because we’re Latinos, having an accent, or being a woman is something that should work against you. But I think it’s completely the opposite: Diversity is what makes us strong.” 

De La Cruz learned how to cook from her grandmother in the Dominican Republic, and she continued her education at Grand Rapids Community College’s culinary school in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “I walked into my first class and fell in love with my pots and pans,” she says. “I found my center.” 

Upon graduating, De La Cruz worked at major sporting events, including the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, the Kentucky Derby, and the NBA All-Star Games. In 2013, she became an executive sous chef for the Miami Heat, a move she credits with reconnecting her to Latin culture. 

“Our roots don’t disappear, but they can be transformed a little bit,” De La Cruz says. “Coming to Miami for me was like finding and growing these roots again: the roots of who I am as a person, as a chef, and connecting with the essence of who I am as a Dominican, Latina woman.” 

In 2017, she became the executive chef at Hard Rock Stadium, tasked with overseeing the menus for the in-stadium suites, concession stands, and on-site restaurants. On Super Bowl Sunday in 2020, De La Cruz prepared a menu that celebrated Miami’s multiculturalism, with Cubano sausage, ceviche, empanadas, and seafood paella. 

“My diversity, my accent, my flavors are what make me unique—it’s not a curse but a blessing. There’s always going to be somebody who feels you don’t belong. But I don’t believe in people and places telling me that I don’t belong.” 

De La Cruz is proud of her work mentoring small woman-owned restaurants and leading Hard Rock Stadium to become one of the most sustainable venues in the country. (The stadium has phased out nearly all single-use plastics, has an aggressive composting program, and sources many ingredients from local farms.) But, at the end of the day, the single mom of two relishes coming home and spending time with her children—and she isn’t above eating leftovers. 

“It’s about the quality of the time, not the quantity,” she says. “I’m still Mom, and I still make rice and beans and chicken and put them in the fridge.”

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