Rafael Peña

3 weeks ago | miamiherald.com | Rafael Peña

Buffalo didn’t just surprise me—it ran up on me and kidnapped my whole perspective. I come from a New York where anything outside of the five boroughs might as well have been farmland. Truth be told, when you live down the street from Yankee Stadium, even heading to the neighboring borough of Queens might as well have been a road trip to the Carolinas. And the idea of going “upstate”? Man, that felt like exile. I wasn’t checking for Buffalo. I wasn’t even curious. But this city caught me slippin’.

Mar 18, 2025 | cruisecritic.com.au | Rafael Peña

Oh, my dearest Miami, you’ve given me memories—some foggy and faint, most best left forgotten. A lot of my sunshine and indulgence played out on Ocean Drive and Washington Ave., where the nights stretched longer than the days, and responsibility was just a word, not a concern. But that was ages ago. Now bragging about blowing loads of money (aka probably my mortgage payment) at LIV on a Sunday feels fiscally reckless, and a Call-A-Cab from Wet Willie’s would have me mumble-rapping like Lil Wayne.