By Art Jacobson, Miami's Community Newspapers Online

Leonardo Orma, manager of the BellaVista Bakery/Café, says that sandwiches are available made with a many different kinds of bread. In Venezuela, bakeries and cafes operated by the Malventano family have been popular for more than 40 years. For much of that time, Marco Malventano and Hiroshi Harada have been good friends.

Both now live in Miami and have brought a tasty part of Venezuela with them. They are partners in the Bella Vista Bakery/Cafe, at 10455 NW 41st St., a favorite place with Doral residents and workers for buying baked goods, coffee, lunch, dinner and light refreshments

It all started in 1999 when they purchased a factory formerly used by the Andalusia Bakery chain near the airport. In addition to serving wholesale customers, they opened a small retail shop. Word spread quickly about the delicious breads, cakes, pastries and other items available. At the same time, the partners noticed how rapidly Doral was growing and decided to open a larger retail store there. The result was Bella Vista Bakery/Cafe.

Martha Palacio shows off one of the luscious cakes, plus the many breads, pies and pastries available at the BellaVista Bakery.

“When we planned this store, we had no idea that Doral would become such a popular place to live for people from Venezuela,” said Harada. “We realized that the area had a lot of potential and that it was attracting people from many different countries. We are pleased that we decided to locate here and that people in the area like what we have to offer.”

The 3,100 square foot bakery/cafe has several well-decorated retail and food service counters, plus tables and chairs spread throughout to form intimate and cozy dining areas. The focal point is a colossal bakery counter where patrons may choose from a broad assortment of breads, cakes, pies and pastries.

Although they don’t have all items available all of the time, Bella Vista features 20 different kinds of bread. Among them are rustico, French, campesino, sweet, cheese, guava, baguettes and corn. The most popular is rustico, a European-style bread that has a hard shell crust and is soft on the inside.

The bakery produces cakes in more than 40 different flavors, including charlot, fruit, dama real, Napoleon, St. Onore, Mont Blanc and strawberry. Harada says their chocolate, caramel, mousse and cheesecakes are the best sellers and that they are available in four sizes priced from $11 to $60.

“We make so many different kinds of pastries, it’s hard to count them all; there’s certainly more than 100,” he said. “We have European, Italian, French, and Latin pastries in both sweet and salty varieties such as tequeños, pastelitos, pizzitas, mil hojas, cannoli, tiramisu, tarts and bignets. We also sell pies in six flavors.”

But that’s not all. Bella Vista offers a buffet at lunchtime with a wide variety of hot and cold entrees, including chicken, beef, pork and fish, plus vegetables and salads. You may also choose from deli sandwiches of all kinds, plus cachitos, a European delicacy popular in Venezuela made with strudel dough and filled with ham, cheese, apple, meat, chicken, guava and other scrumptious ingredients.

Bella Vista is also one of Miami-Dade’s premiere wholesale suppliers of bakery goods to hotels and restaurants. Among its customers are the Holiday Inn, Hyatt Regency, Hilton, Eden Roc, Inter-Continental, Crowne Plaza, Wyndham, and Renaissance hotels. It also serves many of South Florida’s most fashionable restaurants, such as Mezzaluna, Rosinella, Grill Fish, Gastronomia, Fratello, Ludos, Sports Cafe and Cafe Bola.

At the same time, Bella Vista caters breakfast and luncheon meetings for companies and organizations around Doral and provides catering services for several airlines.

The Doral store is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.  Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information, call 305-718-6668.

By Richard Yager, Miami's Community Newspapers Online

Realtor Alcira Urdaneta Rentis adds "education" to traditional location" trio marking real estate value. A vibrant, young sales associate with "a love of figures" transformed her distinguished Venezuelan banking background into a successful real estate career with Miami Doral Realty, one of the area’s most prominent real estate companies.

"I would add one important word to the real estate slogan of ‘location, location, location," said Alcira Urdaneta Rentis, now completing her first year with the Doral firm she joined in May of 2002. "Education!" Descendant from a Caracas familywith three generations of lawyers dating back to her grandfather, she decided on a business education at the Universidad Metropolitana, Caracas, graduating with a degree in Business Management in 1983. In 1992, she furthered her education upon graduating from the Instituto Universitario de Seguros, also in Caracas, with a professional study of insurance.

Between study programs, she rose steadily in executive ranks during a near 10-year career with Banco de Venezuela of Caracas, eventually becoming a manager of corporate banking. She was then chosen as an executive representative for the bank’s affiliate, Banco de Venezuela International to establish expanded activity for developing corporation credit. "We were then initiating a much higher level of international credit, negotiating terms, and keeping track of U. S. dollars," she said.

Education and experience have been proven values to the wife of an engineer and mother of a seven-yearold daughter, a family to which she devoted her life after completing a banking career and establishing a new home in the U. S. "I even spent a winter in Boston, just to improve my language communications. It was freezing!" she said. It is no coincidence that her employer, Manny Gonzalez, is also a college graduate with a BS from Barry University and his Master’s of Business Administration from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.

Sixteen years in the real estate business, Gonzalez and cobroker/owner Gladys Rodriguez have opened handsome new offices at 10783 NW 41st St. for 15 sales associates, amidst Doral’s newest growth, which has moved inexorably toward Florida Turnpike between NW 58th St. and the 836 Dolphin Expressway. As a team, Gonzalez and Rodriguez have had long associations with several of the most desirable gated residential properties in Doral, including Costa Del Sol, the Dorals, Costa Verde and adjacent communities.

The firm is particularly active in Doral Park and Doral Isles but has additional active listings in Miami Beach. Rentis believes Doral is "one of the best and most exciting places to live and have a business career in South Florida. We’re located central to everything and every place you would want to go in Dade County, with the best highways to get there."

Elsewhere, sales have also brought her into close association with residential properties on Key Biscayne, along Brickell Avenue and in Aventura and Coral Gables. An international background in banking, tri-linguality in English, Spanish and Greek, and extensive education in finance and insurance have put a personal spin on "location, location, location" by adding "education," she said.

"You must study the market just like you would a course in finance or investments. You need to know what is best for your customer, and, of course, where to locate instantly that townhouse with a two-car garage or a single-family home with pool, each within a specific price range that in Doral can run from $150,000 to over one million," she said. Both Miami Doral Realty and Rentis lace dependability and being in tune with industry technology as paramount among their objectives to best serve real estate sellers and buyers alike. "We combine them all with incomparable service that goes far beyond simply reaching a closing," she said. "We educate ourselves to our market and our customers benefit from that knowledge. That is what true professionalism is all about, in banking, real estate or any other endeavor that seeks to win the trust of those it serves."

By Art Jacobson, Miami's Community Newspapers Online

Keyla Ermecheo once was Venezuela’s prima ballerina.

Keyla Ermecheo, one of Venezuela’s most famous ballerinas, has brought her artistry, expertise and dedication to Doral.

The energetic, effusive pixie stills moves with the grace and charm that made her one of the most celebrated artists in South America. She has taught some of today’s most highly acclaimed ballet stars, including Mara Vivas, Ideal German, Mariana Ramsour, Ramon Thielen and Guillermo Asca. Her students have performed with many of the world’s foremost ballet companies, including those in New York, Harlem, Boston, Berlin, Memphis and West Palm Beach.

Ermecheo, widely known as a choreographer, artistic director and teacher, founded the Keyla Ermecheo School of Ballet in Caracas in 1968. Today, the school operates under the direction of Ivanna Ruscitti, principal dancer of the Ballet Metropolitano de Caracas. Ermecheo also is the founder and artistic director of the Keyla Ermecheo School of Dance & Performing Arts in Doral and has recently become associated with Doral’s Kid’s Village, heading up the performing arts division.

“By establishing a home in Doral and working with the children here, I hope to build a ‘cultural bridge’ between the United States and my homeland,” she said. “I would like the people of Doral to know that I am dedicated to providing the children of this community with the benefits of my education and experience, and that my goal is to contribute as much as I can to dance and the performing arts in South Florida.”

Ermecheo was born in Caracas and graduated from Venezuela’s National School of Ballet. She also studied at the New York School of American Ballet and performed for 15 years.

“My inspiration was the incomparable Margot Fonteyn of the Royal Ballet,” said Ermecheo. “I am also grateful to Felia Dubrosvka, Muriel Stuart and Valentina Pereyaslavec of the American Ballet, plus Hector Zaraspe from the Juilliard School, Inna Zubkovskaya of the Kirov and Maya Samokhalova and Valdimir Lopoukhov of the Bolshoi Ballet for all that they taught me. In the tradition of the ballet, I am returning the favor by devoting my time and efforts to young people.”

Ermecheo has been doing that for 35 years as a choreographer, artistic director and teacher. In 1980, she established the Ballet Metropolitano de Caracas, sponsored by the National Council of Arts and the Venezuelan Congress. She has won awards for her contributions to dance in Venezuela, including the coveted Tamanaco de Oro and two National Artist awards for her productions of the Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty. She has been presented with Venezuela’s National Council of Arts Award in recognition of her contributions to dance.

As a vice president of the World Dance Alliance, she continues to be a major influence on teachers, performers and dancers all over the world.

“We are fortunate to have an individual of her caliber in our communality,” said Tailleen Arias, president of Kid’s Village Art and Music Studios where Ermecheo teaches 100 youngsters age three to 14.

“I enjoy working with these children,” said Ermecheo. “In addition to dance, we teach them about all of the performing arts, acting, singing and more. They are immersed in all kinds of music, from classical to pop and from Broadway to MTV. The children learn discipline and the importance of dedication, love and perseverance, whether or not they become professionals.

“I also enjoy working with their parents, educating them in the arts and assisting them to understand their role in helping their children to prepare for the future.” Ermecheo has already made a mark on the South Florida arts scene. Her students have performed throughout Miami-Dade in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month and at the New World School of the Arts. In June, she will direct 60 children at Florida International University in a performance of The Ballet of the Enchanted Dolls, a program she choreographed. Twenty of the youngsters, called New Kids on Stage, will perform there as an ensemble.

Ermecheo’s most ambitious U.S. project to date is in the planning stages. It will be a full-scale production of the Nutcracker in 2004. “This will be a full production of the entire work, not just the Nutcracker Suite,” she said. “It will involve two acts, four scenes and over 100 performers. We are now looking for sponsors and hope to stage this significant event in one of the area’s principal performance facilities such as the Miami-Dade Auditorium or Gussman Hall.”

People interested in learning more about Ermecheo’s life and career will soon have that opportunity. A book entitled Keyla Ermecheo y su Escuela de Ballet by Belen Lobo is set to be published.

For more information, call 305-463-0984.

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Wednesday, June 04, 2003 By: David Coleman

Venezuelan Guayana Corporation (CVG) president, Major General (ret.) Francisco Rangel Gomez says a new CVG telecommunications subsidiary uses 1,500 kilometers of fiber optic cables supplied by electricity power provider EDELCA to establish its own telecommunications network in Venezuela.

“The project has just been completed and is to be introduced to investors in Caracas where several national and foreign enterprises have expressed interest in being our partners in the project which already has an installed infrastructure for special services to introduce a new business model for the CVG and Venezuela."

The Guayana Project is a strategic alliance between the public and private sectors to assure reliable support mechanisms by the CVG to reinforce small to middle sized companies in the Guayana region ... “we specifically speak about six strategies acting as a background to the main CVG objectives: the strengthening and consolidation of the existent productive sector, new investment promotion, selective replacement for import; infrastructure development and support services and the creation of suitable financial tools for small businesses (Pymes).”

Rangel Gomez says that each of the strategies details definite actions seeking not only commercial and industrial sector support but communities as well.  “More than ever now, we are committed to generate development in Venezuela and consolidate as a non-oil economic choice.”  The 2nd bridge over the Orinoco River, the Pulp & Paper Plant, CVG Alcasa Line V and the enterprises recuperation like Hoturvensa as seen as recent successes ... “we are looking for new companies to take over, in joint venture with us, the challenge of recovering nearly-lost opportunities and to promote them as an important regional investment attraction.”

By Nora Boustany, <a href=www.washingtonpost.com>The Washington Post Wednesday, June 4, 2003; Page A22

Cesar Gaviria, the secretary general of the Organization of American States, told Washington Post reporters and editors yesterday that while opposition leaders in Venezuela have been "very cohesive" while negotiating for a referendum on President Hugo Chavez's rule, they may not find it as easy if they eventually have to select a candidate for a fresh presidential election.

Under an agreement signed last week, if enough signatures are presented to Venezuela's National Electoral Council by Aug. 19 -- the midway point of Chavez's current term -- the council will have 90 days to organize and call a referendum. If Chavez is voted out of office, which appears likely, a new election would be held. And that, said Gaviria, is when the opposition's job gets tougher.

"They have so much at risk," noted Gaviria, who has just returned from Venezuela, where he helped mediate negotiations that led to the referendum agreement. Political violence between the opposition and supporters of the left-wing Chavez has claimed at least 50 lives over the last 14 months, and a two-month general strike ravaged the Venezuelan economy.

Because tensions remain high, Gaviria said, freedom of expression must be ensured and the economic situation stabilized before the referendum if Venezuela is to avoid unrest.

Venezuela is not the only crisis challenging South America, Gaviria said. Economic upheavals have staggered Brazil and Argentina, and in the latter case, Gaviria emphasized, the United States must step in.

"The U.S. can do something to improve economic performance in Latin America. We don't even have an agenda anymore," Gaviria said. "There is something that is wrong structurally. It is not enough to say they don't know how to do things in Latin America. If you had handled the situation better, [Argentina] would have done a lot better.

"Leadership is needed. We need more resources, a strong World Bank presence, a strong Inter-American Development Bank and a lot more help from the International Monetary Fund. The IMF could have helped and it didn't."

Tango on Embassy Row

Now that Argentina has elected a new president, Argentine Ambassador Eduardo Amadeo, who arrived in Washington on Dec. 25, will be leaving on Tuesday, his office confirmed.

President Nestor Kirchner has asked the Argentine Senate to approve Jose Octavia Bordon, a former presidential candidate, congressman, senator and provincial governor from Mendoza, as his new ambassador. Bordon is also a scholar who is not a stranger to Washington think tanks, such as the Woodrow Wilson Center, and has lectured at Georgetown University.