Cubanitas was still closed Monday as it worked on finishing the replacement of the 130-year-old floor in its Downtown home at 728 N. Milwaukee St.
But don’t worry, the restaurant is again open and, best of all, this Sunday, Cubanitas celebrates its 12th annual Cuban Day Street Celebration.
The event runs from noon until 8 p.m. and is both indoors and out on Milwaukee Street between Wisconsin Avenue and Mason Street.
Emcees Ken Herrera of iHeartMedia and Debbie Lazaga of WTMJ620 will be on hand to host Carlos Adames Group, Nabori (see the video below), Salsabrositas (see the video above) and Clave y Afinque.
The free event, which Cubanitas owner Marc Bianchini says is a thank-you to the restaurant’s loyal customers, also includes free dance instruction, fun and games for kids and, of course, Cuban food.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He can be heard weekly on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories.
