9 Promising Features Screening at San Antonio Film Festival
Kicked off on Monday with an opening night reception and screening at the historic Pearl Stable, the 22nd annual San Antonio Film Festival takes over the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts (100 Auditorium Circle) with a weeklong program comprising panel discussions, shorts, features, documentaries, a children’s film festival and a record 29 entries by…
Saturday Night Fever Screens at Bijou This Week
Endless parodies, overplay of the ridiculously awesome but also kind of ridiculous Bee Gees songs, and John Travolta’s subsequent sporadically embarrassing John Travolta-ness notwithstanding, 1977’s Saturday Night Fever is definitive filmed proof that disco did not in fact suck. But if you go seeking ironic laughs be warned: Fever’s also a fairly heavy example of…
Sala Diaz Rebounds from Fire With ‘Vacancy’
In the process of developing an aesthetic that’s easily recognizable as her very own, artist Sara Frantz has accomplished other difficult feats — giving landscape painting a fascinating remix, evoking collage without cutting or pasting, and making architectural relics appear lonely — even alienated — despite prismatic interventions. A Chicago native who taught at the University…
‘Women of Ill Repute’ Bring Poetic Exploration to the Guadalupe
A poetic exploration of “self-discovery and wisdom, power and weakness, despair and transcendence,” the all-female production Women of Ill Repute: REFUTE! first took the Guadalupe Theater’s stage 15 years ago, when its creators donated a portion of proceeds to the Rape Crisis Center under the name “Angels.” Having welcomed a dozen distinct voices into the…
Dave Attell, Master of Making Drunks Laugh, Performs Friday
Among the stand-ups other standups frequently mention as the greatest living, Dave Attell is an anomaly: not as introspective as Maria Bamford, as sociological as Chris Rock or as philosophical as Louis C.K., Attell is probably best described as a joke guy, and many of those jokes are of the ever-popular dick persuasion. It’s no…
Bright Like the Sun Kickoff Japan Tour At Ventura on Saturday
Local post-rock five-piece Bright Like the Sun (BLTS) has found a niche for itself within the flood of Texas post-rock outfits this side of Explosions in the Sky. The band’s music, both heavier (in raw sonic power) and lighter (in mood) than many of its contemporaries, is masterfully produced and composed with increasing inventiveness and…
RuPaul’s Drag Race Contestants Converge for Rey Lopez Birthday Bash
When RuPaul’s Drag Race (RPDR) premiered on the Logo network in 2009, no one could have predicted the type of cultural phenomenon it would become, thrusting gay culture into the mainstream, breathing new life into the world of drag and bringing the show’s namesake out of 1990s-era oblivion. Only two years later, local nightclub promoter…
Savage Love: Three Peters
“Peter,” is my age and bisexual. I’m not one of those gay men who think bi guys don’t exist. And I know bi guys are just as capable of being monogamous as other guys — which isn’t that comforting when you think about it — and I don’t have a problem with my bi brother-in-law…
Texas Monthly Names San Antonio Hamburger No. 1 in State
In a competition involving more than 25 cities, from large urban areas to small towns, Texas Monthly named Folc’s Brisket Burger with Pork Belly the best hamburger in Texas. The competition — which the publication hadn’t tackled in more than seven years — lists the 50 greatest hamburgers in the state, ranking the top five and the listing the…
South San Board Member Says Legal Cost of Fighting State Reforms Is “Raping the District”
Two members of the South San Antonio ISD school board walked out of a meeting Monday night over the mounting legal costs of board president Connie Prado’s decision to fight state-ordered reforms to the perennially troubled district. Bristling at legal costs Prado asked the board to approve at a special meeting on Monday, one board member…
Aural Pleasure: White Christ, “Rotatives”
Imagine 21st Century Fox throwing multiple thousands of dollars at this pitch: a rowdy college comedy which embeds extensive recitations of modernist literary classics between scenes of Rodney Dangerfield mugging for undergraduates and making out with Hot Lips Houlihan. No, we must thank the Muses that Back To School was made in the 80s, when…
Get Lit at the Gemini Ink Writers Conference This Weekend
Gemini Ink, grown into a dynamic and important literary organization from a small volunteer reading series for local writers, has been a key player in the San Antonio literary milieu since its founding in 1997. Steadfast in its mission to “help people create and share the human story,” Gemini Ink, with its workshops, classes, readings,…
How to Throw Your Own Rum-fueled Tiki Bash this Summer
Though landlocked, San Antonio has found a way to keep that island fantasy afloat by capitalizing on the once forgotten tiki movement (some tiki scholars posit the U.S. involvement during the Vietnam War and its tropical shores along with the unfair treatment of indigenous people caused the style to fizzle out). Our taste for everything…
Free Will Astrology (7/20/16-7/26/17)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): You now htave more luxuriant access to divine luck than you’ve had in a long time. For the foreseeable future, you could be able to induce semi-miraculous twists of fate that might normally be beyond your capacities. But here’s a caveat: The good fortune swirling in your vicinity may be odd…
Zetas Cartel Boss Arrested in San Antonio Found Guilty of Arms Smuggling, Drug Trafficking and Ax Murders
As the trial of Marciano Millan Vasquez played out in a San Antonio federal courtroom for the past two weeks, prosecutors several times tried to underscore the gravity of the drug trafficking conspiracy they say Millan Vasquez was a part of — first as a sicario, or hitman, then as a regional boss for the…
Teenagers (and Parents of Teens): Go to Artpace Tomorrow
Launched by the Whitney Museum of American Art in collaboration with the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, the multi-year research project “Room to Rise” found improved personal growth, life skills, community engagement and career horizons among the long-terms benefits of teen programming…
What to Expect from Loteria Night at Viva Villa Taqueria
It’s been awhile since I last played Loteria, and I have to say, I forgot how popular the game is. Viva Villa Taqueria has been hosting a Wednesday Loteria Night for the past couple of months, (the first being in May). If you plan on going to Loteria Night, get there early for three reasons.…
‘Ghostbusters’ Reboot is Nothing Like Your Average Reprocessed Big Screen Do-over
My reaction to the idea of an all-female Ghostbusters reboot? I am desperate for movies about women doing all sorts of things — including silly stuff like engaging in experimental particle physics, playing around with total protonic reversal, and saving New York City — but I would also like women to get their own stories…
Texas Adds to the List of Unscientific Stuff Doctors Are Forced to Tell Abortion Patients
It took until 2016 for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that judges should actually have to consider science and research and experts when determining whether state regulations on abortion present an unconstitutional burden on a woman’s right to choose. However, the restrictions knocked down by the High Court ruling aren’t the only provisions in…
4 ½ Goses You Can Drink in San Antonio
One of my stupidest hobbies is pronouncing various things the “The [insert thing] of the summer,” such as saying “Whitney’s Light Upon the Lake is the album of the summer” or “Tim Duncan highlight videos are the emotion porn of the summer.” So last Wednesday when I tried Southerleigh’s Koalas, Cockerel Spaniels and Unicorns, a cucumber and tamarind-laden riff…
Rio Grande Valley Man Allegedly Threatened To “Purge” Pokémon Go Players
Police in the Rio Grande Valley arrested a 29-year-old man last weekend who they accuse of threatening to “purge” Pokémon Go players. Nathan Cerda allegedly made the threat on Facebook, saying he and his friends would use modified paintball guns to inflict violence on people hunting for Pokémon through the smartphone game. “In his threat, Cerda…
10 Free Events Happening This Week
Tue 7/19 The Two Tens Comprised of Adam Bones and Rikki Styxx, the L.A.-based duo The Two Tens brings a lethal dose of pulsating garage punk to the Mix as part of their Hashtag Volume Tour. Local Chicana punk quartet/Girl in a Coma spinoff FEA round out the bill. Free, doors at 8pm Tue, The Mix, 2423…
San Anto Natives The Last Bandoleros Perform on Jimmy Kimmel
Last night, The Last Bandoleros played a Tex-Mex scorcher on Jimmy Kimmel Live, making their late night debut with “Where Do You Go.” Featuring San Antonio natives Jerry Fuentes and brothers Diego and Emilio Navaira IV, the band’s appearance may be the first time SA and tejano-rock has been featured so prominently on a major…
Coalition Calls Proposed Mexican American Studies Textbook Inaccurate and Offensive
A coalition of scholars and activists have finished reviewing a controversial textbook that the State Board of Education will consider later this year and are calling on it to reject the text, which they say is riddled with factual errors and offensive stereotypes — like calling Mexican workers lazy. The Responsible Ethnic Studies Textbook Coalition,…
We’re Not Dreaming: M83 Extends Tour to San Antonio
After rocking Zilker Park during the Austin City Limits Music Festival, M83 is slated to visit the Alamo City for one night of dream-pop bliss at the Aztec Theater. The Grammy-Award nominated electronic outfit hails from Antibes, a picturesque resort town on the southeast coast of France, and is known for cinematic tracks marked by…
Tim Duncan Sues Real Estate Agent Over Doctored Image
Just two days after the big retirement announcement, a Keller Williams real estate agent allegedly altered a photograph of Tim Duncan to promote his realty business. Duncan, who hung up his sneakers on July 11, a Monday, filed a lawsuit against Robert Elder, Stefanie Graham, Keller Williams San Antonio, R.E.S.A., Inc and John Doe 1…
Maxwell: R&B’s Outside Bet
How creepy is it that one of R&B’s essential functions is to record songs to fuck to? Yes, that’s a stoned, 3 a.m., sitting-on-a-Doritos-laden-couch sort of pitch, but think about it. One can imagine an underground meeting of the mayors of the nation’s busiest cities, manufacturing soundtracks to solve the perennial no-thank-you of hearing your…
First Impressions: Margaritaville San Antonio’s grand opening
Sensory overload is real, and my latest installment of it was this morning during Jimmy Bufffett’s Margaritaville San Antonio (849 E. Commerce St.) grand opening. At 10 a.m. at least 200 fans of either margaritas, Margaritaville or the dude that penned the song all crowded a small podium that introduced the new eatery to the city.…
The Goth Days of Summer: A Survival Guide
If you fit in the “goth” category, nothing’s more tragic than being invited to a pool party. But even though the macabre things in life might be more appealing than orange spray tans and harsher-than-sunlight florescent colors, there are still ways to be more aesthetically pleasing than the dark lord himself, Marilyn Manson. In preparation…
“San Antonio Four” Documentary Will Get National TV Audience
The dramatic case of four San Antonio women who say they were wrongly accused of gang-raping two children in the mid-1990s will air before a national TV audience this fall. Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four premiered at the Tribeca film festival earlier this year to rave reviews, drawing national attention to…
Getting to Know La Boulangerie’s Guillaume Boulard
Name: Guillaume Boulard Age: 25 Place of work: La Boulangerie (207 Broadway, 210-639-3165) Institution of learning: Five years of baking training at Le Centre de Formation d’Apprentis de la Chambre de Commerce du Mans … I’ve also apprenticed with master bakers in Le Mans and Sèvres, France. My favorite chef in town is: Mark Bliss…
Where to Get Your Fill of Charcuterie This Week
Nothing beats a diverse selection of hand-made, locally-sourced meat during the dead of summer. Restaurant Gwendolyn knows just that and has brought back Charc Week for a fourth year. From July 18 to the 24, you can enjoy platers that include a selection of sausage, ham and many other cured meats for just $25. So…
San Antonio Film Festival Continues to Flourish After 22 Years
Things have been going pretty well for the San Antonio Film Festival over the last two decades – increased submissions, more international representation, strong local partnerships – but festival director and founder Adam Rocha isn’t about to stand pat. Instead, the festival, which runs July 25-31 at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts and the historic Pearl Stables,…
ICE Is Closing In On a Deal for a New Family Detention Center
After two months of backlash against proposed family detention centers in South Texas, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has found a county that is willing to cooperate. Duval County officials submitted a proposal to ICE last Friday to turn a nursing home in San Diego, Texas into a family detention center, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times…
Mayor Declares July 21 to be Tim Duncan Day in San Antonio
After a week of collective grief mixed with fond memories of one of the greatest basketball players to ever walk the court, Mayor Ivy Taylor on Monday declared that July 21 would be known as Tim Duncan Day. Duncan, who played 19 seasons with the Spurs, retired July 11. “Tim may not be comfortable with…
Feds Say Julián Castro Broke the Law By Stumping for Clinton During Katie Couric Interview
A federal investigative agency found that U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro was campaigning for Hillary Clinton while conducting official business. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel released a report Monday detailing Castro’s admitted violation of the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from taking sides in politics while acting in their…
Gov. Abbott: Attacks on Police Should Be Charged As Hate Crimes
People who violently target police in Texas next year could be charged with a hate crime. Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced a proposed new law called the Police Protection Act that increases penalties for crimes against police, including harsher penalties for assault on a public servant. In a press release issued by the governor’s office…
KRTU Announces 40th Anniversary Show Featuring Hard Bop Architect Benny Golson
Any jazz musician worth his horn will know the friendly, two-chord call of “Killer Joe.” Written in 1959 for Golson’s and Art Farmer’s Jazztet, the standard is simple enough for young players to pick up immediately and spacious enough for more seasoned players to stretch out and wail upon. In fact, it’s so ubiquitous that I’ve…
15 Signs You Went to Catholic School in San Antonio
Some people went to high school and came out as well-assimilated members of society. Some of us weren’t so lucky, on account of our Catholic school rearing. We went in with the promise of superior education and left with an unshakeable feeling of self-loathing. But hey, it wasn’t all bad times. If any of the…
Documentary Examines the Downfall of Former Spurs Guard Lloyd Daniels
One of the most exciting young basketball prospects of the mid-80s, it was obvious to many onlookers that New York City playground sensation Lloyd Daniels was going to have a long and illustrious career as a professional ball player. Drug addiction, however, derailed Daniels’ ability to prove the extent of his talent. Although he did…
5 Shows to See This Week
I Set My Friends on Fire Monday, July 18 Trading between saccharine vocals and guttural screaming, these verbose, post-hardcore Floridians prefer half-sensical word-clusters like “Astral Rejections,” “The ‘D’ in Capitation” and “My Little Cabbage Planetarium.” With Alive / Alone, Roots like Mountains. $12, 6pm, The Korova, 107 E. Martin St., (210) 226-5070 Todrick Hall: Straight Outta…
Another Inmate Suicide Follows Surprise State Inspection Over Inmate Suicides at the Bexar County Jail
A teenager arrested in April on a capital murder charge died Friday night after trying to hang himself inside his cell at the Bexar County jail, according to sheriff’s officials. The suicide followed a surprise visit from state jail inspectors last week after two other inmate suicides within the past month. According to records from…
Remembering the Cruz/Trump Feud Before the Party “Unifies” In Cleveland
Ted Cruz is going to have a terrific time speaking at the Republican National Convention this week. Well, maybe. Throughout the Republican primary, both Donald Trump and Cruz took slinging mud to a level not seen in the pre-Trump era of politics. So when Cruz takes the stage at the RNC in Cleveland this week, things…
Trial Scheduled for Man Who Escaped from Courthouse During Last Murder Trial
A murder suspect who walked away from the Bexar County Courthouse moments before jury selection was set to begin nearly a year ago, is scheduled for trial Monday. On August 25, 2015, Jose Gutierrez requested to leave the courtroom right before the trial began to tell family members that they could watch jury selection. However,…
Mother Recalls Racist Verbal Attack at Universal City Restaurant
Last Sunday started out as a normal day for Inez Eddington and her family with a trip to church and later a post-worship meal. The 38 year old, her two daughters LaJoy and Emarald, 6-year-old son and 16-year-old niece decided to on Chester’s Hamburger Co., but a normal afternoon meal quickly devolved into an altercation…
The Feds Have Spent Billions Jailing People for Illegal Immigration
Since 2005, the United States has spent at least $7 billion jailing people caught entering the country illegally, but the staggering expenditures have done little to stop people from trying to get north of the Rio Grande. Eleven years ago, people caught entering the country illegally wouldn’t even be criminally prosecuted. Instead, their cases went…
Indie filmmaker Todd Solondz talks ‘Wiener-Dog,’ affinity for dark comedy
If you’re not familiar with the polarizing and darkly bizarre filmmaking prowess of director/writer Todd Solondz – or if you’re the type of person easily offended by satirical takes on serious and oftentimes deviant elements of human nature – it might be best to ease into the inner workings of the indie filmmaker’s head until…
Texas is Pumping Money Into Prisons Faster Than Schools
Texas’ financial investment in jails and prisons has grown dramatically faster than its spending on education. From 1979 to 2013, money spent on prisons in Texas grew by 850 percent, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Education. Back in ’79 and 1980, the state spent nearly $15 million on education compared to just…
San Antonio FC to Host Fiesta Medal Design Contest
It may only be July, but artists and soccer fans alike will have a chance to showcase their talent during Fiesta next year. Silver & Black Give Back (SBGB) is hosting a design contest for the first-ever 2017 San Antonio FC Fiesta medal, as part of a Fiesta medal collection from Spurs Sports & Entertainment.…
Brackenridge Proposal, and Opposition to It, Focus on Parking
For generations, Brackenridge Park has been a San Antonio staple for families enjoying time outdoors, but those weekend outings could look a lot different if a plan to upgrade the green space, altering how it’s used, makes it to City Council and is approved. The City of San Antonio spent $250,000 to dream up big…
10 Shows to See This Weekend
St. Sucia Issue VII Release Friday, July 15 To celebrate the release of its seventh issue (the BODY issue), St. Sucia, a rad local zine dedicated to mujer-centric literary, academic, and journalistic work, is once again throwing a party. Even as St. Sucia seeks to elucidate the experience of women (particularly women of color) in…
Uber Ice Cream Makes its San Antonio Debut
We’ve reached that point of summer where you can’t get into your car without turning on the AC and going back inside for 30 minutes. And don’t even try to fill out your Pokedex during the day unless you want to incur minor heat exhaustion and overheat your iPhone. Uber has made its way back…
State Rep Says South Side Tire Dump Would Burn For Nine Months If It Caught Fire
This week State Rep. John Lujan told state environmental regulators that illegal tire dumping in his south side district has become a public health nightmare and a raging tire fire waiting to happen, urging state action on the matter. In his letter to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Tuesday, the San Antonio Republican…
Catch ‘Em All While You Bar Hop Tonight
Last night, I went out with friends as I’m wont to do. But I had ulterior motives. I was low-key trying to catch them all. OK, so maybe it wasn’t so low-key. Maybe I went to Rumble because White Rabbit (not Paper Tiger, mind you) is a pokéstop that’s baited non-stop throughout the night. I…
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Handled Town Hall With Obama About As Well As You’d Expect
In a nationally televised town hall Thursday night, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick took the opportunity to criticize President Barack Obama to his face, claiming the commander-in-chief hasn’t adequately condemned violence against cops. Patrick, who was invited to participate in the ABC town hall, directed this somewhat vague criticism at Obama Thursday night: “I’m concerned…
The Portrait of a Lady: A Conversation with Trans Latin@ Activist Bamby Salcedo
On a recent Saturday morning, I had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with legendary trans Latina activist Bamby Salcedo after she led a workshop on community organizing at the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. Salcedo was in town for a screening of the documentary Transvisible: The Bamby Salcedo Story, a film about her life and…
Sneak Peek: Artpace’s International Artist-in-Residence Exhibitions
For the summer 2016 installment of its International Artist-in-Residence cycle, Artpace turned curatorial duties over to Dominic Molon, the Richard Brown Baker Curator of Contemporary Art at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art. With a wide-ranging eye that’s informed the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s “Production Site: The Artist’s Studio Inside-Out” (an…
Craft Beer Congress Is in Session
This story is brought to you by the San Antonio Beer Festival. Follow the San Antonio Beer Festival for updates, more beer-related stories and events. The craft beer industry in San Antonio is booming like never before. The city is home to a thriving brewery culture, with several outstanding examples located in the downtown area. It was…
3 Things We Can All Learn About Summer Drinking from Southerleigh’s Newest Beers
On Wednesday, July 13, Southerleigh Fine Food and Brewery hosted their monthly “Summer Beer Talk Series,” in which brewmaster Les Locke presents the brewpub’s newest offerings. As a treat, the July tasting also featured an appearance by Travis E. Poling, co-author of “San Antonio Beer: Alamo City History by the Pint” and historian of the San Antonio beer scene.…
Witness: Zetas Murdered, Dismembered Children Alive to Sow Fear
Top Zetas cartel enforcers kidnapped the former drug trafficker in February 2013, blaming him for the loss of a drug load seized by U.S. law enforcement and demanding money for his release. Testifying in a San Antonio federal courtroom Wednesday, the man said sicarios, or cartel assassins, held him for 13 days, driving him in…
The Feds Approved A Lot of Fracking in the Gulf After BP Oil Spill
As oil gushed from the sea floor for 87 days in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 after an explosion and fire on a BP-operated rig, the federal government quietly began allowing oil companies to frack in Gulf waters. In the three following years, federal officials would approve more than 1,200 offshore fracks at 630…
Elena of Avalor: A Cultural Game-Changer or Just Another Disney Princess?
I never wanted my daughter to be a princess. When she was born in 2011, I was adamant about not exposing her to Disney princess culture – tiaras, tulle, tackiness. Plus, the idea that happiness was only feasible if a prince was involved was not an impression I wanted these characters to make on her. Some of my family scoffed…
Texas Baby Infected With Zika Virus Born With Microcephaly
A baby born in Harris County with an abnormally small head recently had the Zika virus, state health officials announced Wednesday. The infant’s mother had traveled to Latin America where she was likely infected and passed the virus on to her child during her pregnancy. It’s the first Zika-related microcephaly case in the state. Microcephaly…
Ted Nugent’s Guide to Being a Bigot and Still Making Lots of Money as a Musician
In this circus of a primary season, Donald Trump has proven himself to be the id of the American right, wheeling out impulsive statements without a care for their political half-life. But if Donald Trump had his own human id — a super-id, to bastardize Freud — that man would be Ted Nugent. For years,…
Someone Mapped Out All the Pokéstops, Gyms and Rare Spawnings in San Antonio
True Life: Pokémon GO has taken over my life. I make friends drive so I can find new pokestops. I yelled at Bulbasaur while at the yogurt aisle inside Central Market. I may or may not have asked my roommate to drive me to a lure in the middle of a cemetery on the East…
Wild Goji Restaurant and Bar Is Now Open
There’s a new sushi joint in town, sashimi lovers. Wild Goji Restaurant and Bar opened inside the former home of Speisen European Cuisine. Named after goji berries, a super fruit, the restaurant carries a pretty extensive menu that includes a collection of starters and sushi rolls, ramen, katsudon and yakitori. Chef/co-owner Nick Zheng has also…
3 Ways To Celebrate Bastille Day in San Antonio
San Antonio restaurants are offering plenty of ways to bring out your French side and celebrate Bastille Day, which celebrates the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, and the Fête de la Fédération two years later, on Thursday, July 14. La Boulangerie, a family-owned French bakery is holding a Bastille Day party in…
10 Things You Have to Do This Weekend
Thu 7/14 International Artist-in-Residence Exhibition For the summer 2016 installment of its International Artist-in-Residence cycle, Artpace turned curatorial duties over to Dominic Molon, the Richard Brown Baker Curator of Contemporary Art at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art. With a wide-ranging eye that’s informed the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s “Production Site:…
Aesop Rock on Transparency, Influences and Doodling
Known for his extensive lexicon and almost cryptic lyricism, Aesop Rock (born Ian Bavitz) began releasing hip-hop records in the late ’90s and quickly became a phenomenon within the alternative indie-rap community. Through the early 2000s, the New York rapper and producer continued to carve out his place in hip-hop by signing with El-P’s (Run…
