Welcome to wynwood — Hello Fashionistas

Greetings from Wynwood! Wynwood is one of my favorite places when I’m in Miami. I try to visit the 305 at least once a year (My brother and best friend live there!) and when I do, I stay away from everything touristy! Wynwood is one of those places that although touristy, I just have to visit every time! It holds so much character. It has everything that I love. An outdoor museum with giant murals from the most renowned street artists, buildings with more amazing artwork sprawled across their brick walls, old warehouses that have been converted into charming little cafe’s, restaurants, and galleries, and trendy clothing boutiques. There’s art everywhere! I am always in awe of what these artists are able to do on such a large scale. Even the sidewalks are spray painted or written with different messaging, some are sad, or funny, and even political. I like to play a little game with the Universe where I ask, “What are you trying to tell me today, what do you want me to know?” Then I look down to see where I’m stepping at and what “message” the Universe is bringing to me at my feet. While walking through Wynwood, always remember to look down, you don’t know what you might miss if you don’t!

We started our day at Wynwood by going into Wynwood Walls. I was shocked that there was an entrance fee. Before you could just walk right in but now, you have to buy a ticket and it’s only good for one hour. As I mentioned earlier, Wynwood Walls is an outdoor museum that showcases artwork from street artists all over the world. From abstract to graffiti, it’s all there. The murals change once a year for Miami Art Week and Art Basel, but I did see some familiar murals from the last time I was there in August of 2019. It has some indoor galleries as well and I got to see this incredible art exhibit by “eL Seed” which showcased the highlights of the artists international public art murals from the past 11 years. His intricate calligraphy is so beautifully done, and so gorgeously interlaced that you can’t tell where he started, or where he finished. Seeing it up close is truly mesmerizing. My favorite highlight of this exhibit had to be when he painted on the abandoned huts of the original STAR WARS set in Tunisia. Being part Tunisian himself, it was his way of reclaiming that part of his heritage. They were left in the desert by George Lucas and have become a tourist attraction. It’s illegal to paint on site in Tunisia, but the artist became friendly with the Land Manager and got permission to do his thing! What did he do? In his signature Arabic calligraphy, he writes, “I will never be your son,” in response to Darth Vader’s famous line, “I am your father.” Fucking GENIUS!

Being a Bronx girl, I was excited to see that Mural Kings, the “Tats Cru” got to bless the Wynwood walls with their Bronx flava’ so you know I just had to take a pic in front of their Mural. For those of you who are not familiar, The Tats Cru are a group of graffiti artists turned professional Muralists from the Bronx. Their Murals can be seen all over NYC but they’ve also done ads for Coca Cola and Sony and have created artwork for musicians like Big Pun, Fat Joe, Jlo, and even Metallica!

After we took a few pics and had some Ice Cream, (It went up to 88 degrees in Miami that day!) We went to venture about the neighborhood. We visited a couple of trendy shops, there was one cute little boutique where I scored a cool Aerosmith Band tee, I can’t remember the name but the staff was super friendly, and the clothes were fun & unique. It’s definitely where the cool people shop!

We also went into Wynwood Tribe, which I always find myself going into, and has become one of my favorites. It’s an eclectic marketplace that offers sustainable and conscious fashion, and I left with another cool T-shirt by Lawless Apparel who designed a collection of T’s with socially conscious messages and are made in Peru. There was a gorgeous Kimono hand woven in India that I wanted, but was totally not in my travel budget! Maybe next time!

After we shopped, we continued to walk around Wynwood taking pics of all the cool murals on all of the buildings in the neighborhood, and ended our little adventure at one of my favorite spots on earth, THE SALTY DONUT. It’s a specialty donut shop where you can get flavors like Traditional glazed, or if you want to try something a little more exciting, you can get a White Chocolate Tres Leches donut, or for my Chocolate lovers, Hazelnut + Chocolate. Whenever I go, I say I’m going to try something different, but I always wind up getting the same thing; the Maple + Bacon donut. I’m a sucker for the sweet and salty combo, and who doesn’t love bacon?! It’s always fresh, always delicious, and never disappoints! There’s always a line out the door and they usually sell out fast! This time I didn’t have to wait on a line at all, there was just one person ahead of me, and because of Covid, their doors are still not completely open to the public, so we ordered by the pick-up window instead of going in.

Wynwood is definitely a place I would recommend to anyone who is visiting Miami. It reminds me so much of Williamsburg Brooklyn, which is probably why I love it so much, because it reminds me of NYC! Wynwood also has an incredible nightlife (which we couldn’t do this time around, since my nephew was with us and he’s only 6! Love you Papi!!) You can hop from bar to bar, and the streets are booming with people and there’s music blaring on every block! Wether you visit during the day, or at night, you are guaranteed to have an amazing time, but make sure that you experience both! So much to do and see, Wynwood is one of those places that has it all; Great food, a vibrant culture, incredible art, and trendy fashion! What more can a girl ask for? I cannot wait to go back!

With Style & Pizzaz,

YAZ

I REMEMBER THIS MURAL WITH THE 2 BOYS, FROM THE LAST TIME I VISITED. IT ISN’T INSIDE OF WYNWOOD WALLS, ITS IN A BUILDING NEXT TO IT, BUT IT’S SO STUNNING, I HAD TO TAKE A PIC!

EL SEED “COLLECTION OF MOMENTS” EXHIBIT. ABANDONED STAR WARS SET IN TUNISA.

MY NEPHEW IS MR. COOL IN HIS NEON SUNGLASSES! HE FITS RIGHT IN!

TOTALLY DID NOT MEAN TO PHOTO BOMB! LOVE YOU PAPI! <3

SIDEWALK ART IN WYNWOOD! ALWAYS LOOK DOWN, THERE’S ALWAYS A MESSAGE TO BE SEEN!

INSIDE ONE OF MY FAVORITE SHOPS, WYNWOOD TRIBE.

BACON + MAPLE DONUT FROM THE SALTY DONUT

Puerto Rican Pride

116TH STREET FESTIVAL

RECLAIMING OUR CORONAS

The mindfullness hike

ravishing & resilient

National poetry month