Of jazz, genes, and gee’s bend
Small Screens KLRN’s Black History Month programming documents the African-American experience KLRN celebrates Black History Month in February with a series of programs examining the African-American experience from historical, musical, artistic, political, and scientific perspectives. The Quiltmakers of Gee’s Bend, airing February 3 at 10 p.m., tells the story of an art collective that has…
Not for sale
Shirley Chisholm Remembering Shirley Chisholm’s legacy In 1972, when Shirley Chisholm announced her candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination, she had two strikes against her: She was a woman. And she was black. As to whether gender or race presented the greater obstacle to her political ambitions, Chisholm addressed the House of Representatives in May…
Progress report
Hundreds of people queued up along Main Street for the FCC localism hearings, held January 28, 2004. (Photo by Mark Greenberg) It’s been one year since San Antonio’s FCC localism hearing. What did the public debate accomplish? January 28, 2004 could be considered one of the few days in modern San Antonio history when democracy…
Special screenings
Black film classics, Shirley Chisholm and ‘True Romance’ Explore the Classics of Black Cinema Celebrate Black History Month by visiting the Institute of Texan Culture’s film festival, Classics of Black Cinema, which runs throughout February. Included in ITC’s daily admission price is a viewing of A Century of Black Cinema, a documentary that examines the…
Recent reviews
Aliens of the Deep Dir. James Cameron Titanic’s James Cameron returns to the screens – this time the 3D IMAX – with a flashy meditation on the natural majesty of the ocean. Two teams, one of marine biologists and one of NASA researchers, accompany Cameron on a voyage to the Mid-Ocean Ridge to observe how…
What’s in a name?
Rose Spector Familiarity could trump issues in District 121 race While many are still recovering from last year’s election binge that culminated in a slew of local, state, and federal elections on November 2, residents of House District 121 will go to the polls again this Friday to select a replacement for the representative they…
Cooking high and low on the hog
H-E-B and Central Market produce cookbooks tailored to their clientele If you enjoy reading cookbooks, there is a certain aesthetic pleasure in thumbing through one that is filled with well-styled color photos of gorgeous food – pictures that not only whip up the salivary glands, but also conjure a certain version of the good life.…
A 240-mile job
Two seats open on SARA Board for February 5 election The next time you stroll the River Walk or drive over the San Antonio River in Falls City, remember that the San Antonio River Authority is responsible for the care and feeding of the 240-mile waterway. On February 5, voters will have the opportunity to…
Wear it well
Mary Lou’s Café features classic Tex-Mex dishes, including scrumptious enchiladas. (Photo by Mark Greenberg) Mary Lou’s classic Tex-Mex has weathered the changing South Side Pleasanton Road is a fascinating study in urban archaeology, a sliver of the geological stratum of local businesses, some fossilized, some barely hanging on, others transformed to meet the challenge posed…
Learn your way around a stove
On Saturday, February 5, from 11am-1:30 pm, Paesano’s Restaurant Group & Bakery Pastry Chef Jenny Mattingsley will share the how-to of her favorite “comfort desserts” at the Central Market Cooking School, 4821 Broadway. Learn to create pain au chocolate de noix (chocolate & hazelnut croissants); pecan sticky buns; white chocolate cheesecake; winter fruit cobblers; and…
Never mind the laurels, let’s chat
True to his vision: poet Yusef Komunyakaa Gemini Ink brings Pulitzer Prize-winner Yusef Komunyakaa to town for a dialogue To offer Yusef Komunyakaa a proper introduction would be to defy the wishes of the poet himself. “Introduce me first as a man,” he tells us in “Unnatural State of the Unicorn.” “Don’t mention superficial laurels…
Career opportunities
Ashlee Rose Urban Music Festival creates a forum for SA musicians to network Have a great cover band but aren’t too sure about how to turn late-night practices in your garage into well-attended gigs at Sam’s Burger Joint? Sing your best show-tunes in the shower but can’t find a manager who’s into John Kander and…
The double-edged tourism dollar
A scholar considers the way San Antonio has been shaped and supported by pilgrims of all stripes On January 26, the new SBC Community Centre near San Fernando Cathedral was inaugurated with abrazos and emotional speeches in its open-air courtyard. The ceremony was a powerful modern display of the roles commerce, tourism, and religion have…
Sound and the Fury
Station migration Avid listeners of KSYM 90.1 FM probably know that the radio station finally made its much-anticipated move (about four months after originally intended) to a new studio on Monday, January 24. In what was surely a welcome development for staff members, the station hauled its gear from a cramped 5,000-square-foot house to San…
On with their heads
“Chino Latino” by San Antonio-based Angel Rodriguez-Diaz. “The masks are a metaphor for wrestling with different issues,” says the Puerto-Rican-born artist. His one-man show is on view at the Southwest School of Art & Craft through March 13. Angel Rodriguez-Diaz demonstrates that portraiture has come in from the cold during painting’s latest revolution “For me,…
Ill literacy
Martha Cooper’s new photo book captures hip-hop culture at its creative inception As recently as 1996, heads looking for critical thought on the culture of hip-hop were pretty much stuck with a handful of texts. David Toop’s Rap Attack was considered by many critics to be the first book to accurately document the rise of…
Artifacts
What’s in a name? ArtPace has become Artpace, a small typographical change that signifies a larger shift within the 10-year-old institution that has been funded primarily by founder Linda Pace since its inception. In 2003, Artpace incorporated a governing board that includes artist Isaac Julien, Hare & Hound printmaker Janet Lennie Flohr, and Houston philanthropist…
CD Spotlight
With its murky beats and kinetic rhymes, MF Doom and producer Madlib’s blunted collaboration Madvillainy found it’s way onto many music critics’ 2004 Top-10 lists. On his latest project, Doom, the masked villain, returns with MM Food, the follow-up to his 1999 debut disc Operation: Doomsday. Since Doomsday, the emcee formerly known as Zev Love…
From blackface to black power
Scenes from Bronze Venus, The Jackie Robinson Story, Carmen Jones, and Emperor Jones ITC presents the trials and triumphs of African Americans on screen Georges Perec wrote an entire novel, La Disparution (A Void), without once using the letter “e.” A reasonable reader’s first response is: Why? There are enough obstacles to success without having…
Shotgun Willie
Willie Willie Nelson long ago reachd that stage in his recording career where his history created its own discography momentum. Last year, for instance, while true aficionados welcomed the rustic grace of It Always Will Be (one of Willie’s finest recent collections), it was easy to lose the disc in the deluge of 2004 Nelson…
Sticking it to the man, with cheese
Tamala Dobson as Cleopatra Jones Alamo Drafthouse puts the Blaxploitation in Black History Month February, they say, is Black History Month (one-twelfth of the year is sufficient, the logic apparently goes). When it comes to celebrating such events, one would hardly expect the Alamo Drafthouse to dredge up some square old documentary about George Washington…
New review
Hide and Seek is not the same fun game you might have played as a kid. Instead of running for base, you’ll be running for the exit. Hide and Seek Dir. John Polsen; writ. Ari Schlossberg; feat. Robert DeNiro, Dakota Fanning, Famke Janssen, Elizabeth Shue (R) Add Robert DeNiro to a list of past Academy…
That’s a wrap
The low-down on this week’s premieres It’s either time to cut the three-tier cake with the romantic comedy The Wedding Date or cut someone’s head off, probably with a blunt object, in the horror flick Boogeyman. Decide on your personal level of hopeless romanticism. For those of you in the mood for champagne toasts and…
