1. is my life," Garcia re-
'1feel lucky. The Ameri-
has to reinvent those
dishes all the time.
have to call my grand-
or my neighbor and
going on."
Northeastern
Institute of America,
International Uni-
Shortly after, the cook
out working alongside
Nuevo Cubano Chef
Dl BLAZiTA[L BARRIO: Brooklyn, NY JRABAJO: OJ
T he job of a club deejay is to keep the par-
ty rocking. For New York native, DJ Bla-
zita, her mastery on the 1's & 2's was rec-
ognized last year when she was crowned
"DJ of the Year 201 0" at the Underground
Music Awards and "Best Female DJ of
201 0" at the Latin Mixx Awards.
"It was unexpected and I felt very thank-
ful, but I've been having the toughest year
of my life," DJ Blazita reveals. "I've been
homeless. People have tried to sabotage
my career. And my son is not with me. The
awards are great recognitions that I am a
talented DJ, but my reality is that I am still
working hard trying to take my career to
next level."
Dubbed the "hottest chic in the game,"
the Boricua DJ has been putting in work
; r since her college days at Penn State
University. In 2003, Blazita met DJ UMC on
campus and convinced the college deejay
to teach her how to spin vinyl. The pupil
honed her skills quickly and after a couple
years, the upstart branched off and ere-
his goal was to revive Cuban
Cuisine and showcase the
customs of Latin/Caribbean
culture. In 1994, he branched
out on his own to New York
and worked as an executive
chef at Babalu, and then later
at Patria, Calle Ocho and was
the proud owner of Erizo La-
tino in Soho.
"We try to revive the food
we grew up with," he explains.
"One of the greatest dishes at
Patria was Ceviche, back then
no body was doing Ceviche.
We had just returned from Ec-
uador, grabbing dishes straight
from the street, recipes from
homes, it was just delicious. All
of the freshness, people just
really loved it."
zines, he takes pleasure in cre-
ating trends and showcasing
the culture through the texture,
taste and display of food. Cur-
rently, the master chef can be
seen on The Cooking Channel
as part of The Melting Pot. The
show, which originally aired on
the Food Network, follows Gar-
cia and his colleagues across
the globe as they sample and
expose delectable foreign
dishes.
"[Being a chef] there's a lot
of traveling and a lot of eating,"
says Garcia. "Once you're a
chef everything is about eat-
ing. Great food and great ex-
periences is what makes you
create these dishes."
- Samantha Vargas
ated her DJ Blazita moniker. In 2005, she
relocated to NYC and shortly became a
mainstay on the undergrourid circuit. Her
'90s "Sex and the City" mix-tape series
earned the versatile spinner critical ac-
claim and a Justo Mixtape Award in 2008.
And last year, the legendary Funk Master
Flex even let her cut a set on his Hot 97
show, as a part of his "Takeover" series.
Today, the sultry DJ -who special-
izes in Top 40, hip-hop, R&B, Dance and
Latin- has taken her set international. Re-
cently rocking the wheels-of-steel during
a three-city tour of South India, upon her
return to the states, the turntable assas-
sin was named actor/hip-hop artist AI Be
Back's official DJ and landed a slot on
Internet radio station thatshiphop.com.
Currently, working with her artist Ja'Shyla,
DJ Blazita seems to be putting the dark
days behind her. "I want to be on FM,"
she explains. "It's time I get a mix show
slot on Hot 97."- Lulaine Compere
V1s1t DJ Blaz1ta's webs1te - www.DJBiaz1ta.com
At
His exploration to different re-
gions in Latin America helped
him to pen his first cookbook
In a Cuban Kitchen in 2004.
While in between restaurants,
he travels to Latin countries to
capture the different elements
that make up traditional meals.
Although, the Nuevo chef
reads cookbooks and maga-
ALEXGA~CiA
[L BARRIO: New York, NY JRABAJO: Nuevo Latino Chef
www.llrt:x:r1La1ino.com 19