In this episode of our flagship podcast One Take, we sit down with famed Miami artist, Mano (no need for last name) to talk about taking the plunge into being a full-time artist, creating a vibrant art community, then losing it, only to start rebuilding it with even more energy. No edits. No retakes. Just authentic insight into becoming a content creator.

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👉 The Scoop – Mano –everyone just uses his first name—is one of the iconic Miami artists. Mano was, and is, a musician. He also was, and is, an engineer. And he is an artist. But, over and above, he was the decisive artist in Miami’s Bird Road Art District. To be sure, there were many good artists, but Mano and his wife Cuqui took the lead and transformed a group of artists into a movement.

👉 Decisive Moment – Mano (the engineer) was offered a transfer “up north”. By then he had been painting more and more and didn’t want to leave Miami behind, so he decided to be an artist and jumped into it both feet first.

👉 Unexpected change or event – You can say it was expected… but not expected at the same time. After 16 years of being in the same studio, the owner of the building announced he was tearing it down, so in a single swoop Mano lost his studio, his Bird Road Art District and his community.

👉 What did he do? – Paint from home, of course. But also, and with a lot of help from Cuqui, is wife and an expert in promotions, he has begun getting out more to exhibits, galleries and more.

👉 About older workers – As you grow older you have all that experience under your belt and face it, it’s not the technical part, you know how to deal with people, you always have to deal with people.