Chicanos Unidos: a hip-hop roundtable
See the flyer below for more information, and check out our story in Wednesday’s Current.
Fall Creek Family Fun
You gotta hand it to Fall Creek; they’re not content just to produce one of Texas’s better portfolios of wines. For the rest of June, on Saturday, they are offering afternoons of wine tasting, lunch and music on “the mist-cooled patio” of the winery on Lake Buchanan near Tow. For the under-age element, there’s also…
Kabernet Kid
You might be forgiven for imagining that there’s no connection whatsoever between the Karate Kid and a bottle of expensive cabernet sauvignonâ??forgiven but wrong. Don’t worry; you’re not the only one. Screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen, who was in town a while back (I have lunch with screenwriters all the time, of course), actually began his…
Provence for the Impecunious
Sure, I’d like to spend the summer in Provence; who wouldn’t? Sipping a dry rosé somewhere along Aix’s Cours Mirabeau, a sparkling fountain always in sight, is my idea of an afternoon well-spent, but alas, not this year. By way of compensation, there is, however, the Fig Tree’s “A Taste of Provence” summer menu available…
I Want to Thank Everybody I’ve Ever Met…
Having just watched the Tony Awards (ok, I admit it) I’m in the mood to thank people. First, I want to thank mom who set the stage for my becoming a writer by teaching me to read at an improbably early age, thenâ?¦oh, wait, I got carried away by the laundry lists of shocked and…
Krebs steps down from SAGA presidency
Ruby Mae Krebs, the charismatic and visible president of the San Antonio Gender Association, is relinquishing her title at Thursday night’s regular meeting, effective immediately. Vice President Aaron Laughher will step up until next month, when the organization â?? which advocates for gender-identity equality â?? will hold an election. Krebs took office in February, just…
‘Thanks, Dad!’ Beeville student victim of Global Warming spoof
Not really a doctorâ?¦ J.R. Castillo admitted fraud on Friday. Greg Harman gharman@sacurrent.com The South Texas grade school student’s science fair entry was news fodder from the get-go. Down in 12,000-population Beeville headlines can be hard to come by, and getting jabs in at international climate conferences even harder, it appears. When a fourth-grade student…
Cornyation funds Newly Empowered Women
The QueQue has so much fun at Cornyation’s ribald roman a clef each year â?? even when we’re not King Anchovy â?? that we sometimes forget the program’s good works: a half-million dollars raised for organizations that fight AIDS and support kids since its eat-humble-pie beginnings. This year, the organization that has done more to…
AACOG keeping â??watchful eye’ on ozone monitoring question
Greg Harman gharman@sacurrent.com Right this instant, the ozone, or smog, levels in Bexar County are pretty good (right), but when EPA tightens the definition for what qualifies as clean air next year, putting the San Antonio region into near-certain non-compliance, reps from the Alamo Area Council of Government will have their eyes glued to the…
Heroin bust at jail a distraction from blistering suicide review
Greg Harman gharman@sacurrent.com Given the number of deaths that have occurred inside Bexar County Jail in the past couple years related to heroin withdrawal (See here and here and here for at least three examples), it’s tempting to root for the sheriff’s deputy arrested this morning on suspicion of trying to deliver narcotics to detainees…
ALERT: Vote up SA urban gardens
Greg Harman gharman@sacurrent.com Before you break out of your cubicle and pop in your Twilight caps or whatever, donate a helpful mouse click or two to San Antonio’s Southwest Workers Union to help them grab some competitive grant funds from Brighter Planet. From SWU’s application, we read that Bexar County was “recently ranked 211 out…
Chaléwood No. 31: Yul Vazquez
Yul Vazquez – The A-Team By Kiko Martinez San Antonio Current contributing writer kiko@cinesnob.net In the film adaptation of the 80s TV show The A-Team, Cuban actor Yul Vazquez plays Gen. Javier Tuco, a character he describes as “off his rocker.” Vazquez, who started his career playing a band member in the 1992 film The…
Regulators brief a special slice of San Anto on coming air regs
Concerned for the littlest asthma suffers, everyone. Greg Harman gharman@sacurrent.com In case you hadn’t heard, the EPA doesn’t think your air is quite clean enough. To those of you who have been sheltering in place these last few middle-to-bad ozone days declared “unhealthy for sensitive groups” this likely comes as no surprise. Those of you…
Mexicans With Guns interviewed by LA Times
San Antonio’s own electronic mixmaster, Ernest Gonzales, aka Mexicans With Guns, gets some thoughtful well-written love from the Times music blog in advance of a benefit appearance (see flyer, below) in Botox City on Friday. In part the Times describes MWG as “a luchador-mask-sporting alter ego who makes adamantine beats that sound like dubstep remixes…
Aquifer interests will likely clash with City’s density plans
Between (karst) rock and hard place: Rice discusses state of our water. Greg Harman gharman@sacurrent.com If the Edwards Aquifer Authority survives its fourth round before the Texas Supreme Court (see “Rule of Fracture”), that won’t be the end of its fight to protect the sea of near-pristine water beneath us. The Authority must still do…
Young Frankenstein: A Monster Mash
When it opened on Broadway in 2007, the critical reaction to Mel Brooks’ musical Young Frankenstein was so poor that the press corps wondered if it had inadvertently created a monster (so to speak). After all, Brooks’ earlier The Producers–likewise adapted from a beloved Brooks film and likewise directed by Susan Stroman–had received near-universal hosannas,…
FELA!
FELA! Composer: Original Broadway Cast Conductor: Original Broadway Cast Label: Knitting Factory Release Date: 2010-06-09 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording If the exclamation point alone doesn’t frighten longtime Kuti lovers, a glance at the tracklist might: “Expensive Shit,” 3 minutes, 45 seconds; “Zombie,” 4 minutes, 22 seconds; “Coffin for Head of State,” 4 minutes, 22 seconds;…
Looking for Eric
Critic’s Pick Looking for Eric Director: Ken Loach Screenwriter: Ken Loach Cast: Steve Evets, John Henshaw, Stephanie Bishop, Eric Cantona Release Date: 2010-06-09 Rated: NONE Genre: Film Sometimes — a lot of times — character is everything. Take Looking for Eric (or leave it, I guess; it’s still not exactly must-see) for example: a stone-faced…
The Reason of the Insane ones & .Us.
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2010-06-09 Written and directed by AtticRep’s creative director Roberto Prestigiacomo, who was recently named artist of the month by SA’s Office of Cultural Affairs, The Reason of the Insane Ones is an “emotionally charged” comedy based on Don and Marc’s acceptance of their lives — past and present. The oddly styled…
Art Opening: Mujeres de Aztlan
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2010-06-09 Back in the dark ages, I walked in a bizarre fashion show David Casas organized at Centro Cultural Aztlan ? one of the more memorable perks of growing up as a teen art-slut in SA. Since then, Aztlan has also grown up and moved to the Deco Building, where they’re…
“Art on the Hill” Art Walk
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2010-06-09 The Tobin Hill Arts Alliance’s Art on the Hill Artwalk will celebrate its first anniversary on Friday. If you’ve never been, it’s high time you check it out. This casual monthly happening encompasses La Casa Rosa Art Studio, High Wire Art Gallery, the Josephine Theatre, 621 Screen Printing, Serendipity Artspace,…
39th Texas Folklife Festival
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2010-06-09 Billed as the biggest cultural celebration in Texas, the Texas Folklife Festival is in its 39th year. Some 40 cultural groups will be on hand to showcase a diverse array of cuisine (Greek, Hawaiian, Indian, and Lebanese to name a few), music, dance, and arts and crafts. Among the featured…
Young Frankenstein: The Musical
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2010-06-09 The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein, as it’s officially titled, has been criticized for not living up to the level of brilliance theater-goers expect from Brooks, whose smash hit The Producers is a tough act to follow — as is Brooks’s 1974 film Young Frankenstein. Based on reviews, it…
Iron Maiden & Dream Theater
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2010-06-09 Most likely, the iron maiden is a fake. Not the band, of course, but the 7-foot torture cabinet that serves as an ominous namesake. Supposedly used during the Spanish Inquisition, this spike-filled upright coffin was more likely created in the late 18th century by combining a few less-horrifying devices found…
Neither Model Nor Muse: Women as Artists
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2010-06-09 A friend recently asked me to consider whether women are truly happier today, when they have so many more (bewildering) choices, than they were 100 years ago. A Room of One’s Own provides one kind of answer; this exhibit is another. Whether you define happiness as productivity, contentment, or in…
Art Opening: 2010: Processions
Critic’s Pick Release Date: 2010-06-09 Back in the dark ages, I walked in a bizarre fashion show David Casas organized at Centro Cultural Aztlan ? one of the more memorable perks of growing up as a teen art-slut in SA. Since then, Aztlan has also grown up and moved to the Deco Building, where they’re…
The Black Dirt Sessions
The Black Dirt Sessions Composer: Deer Tick Conductor: Deer Tick Label: Partisan Records Release Date: 2010-06-09 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording Christ Jesus, this is a depressing album. Apparently, Deer Tick’s founder and lead songwriter John McCauley, still in his mid-20s yet already known for what my parents call “music to commit suicide to,” held the…
Thank Me Later
Thank Me Later Composer: Drake Conductor: Drake Label: Cash Money Release Date: 2010-06-09 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording Sounds like somebody broke Drake’s heart because (according to his sure-to-chart version of the story, anyway) she couldn’t take the stress of his rapidly growing success. The bitter-ex lead-off tracks — “Fireworks,” for which Alicia Keys can’t quite…
Distant Relatives
Distant Relatives Composer: Nas and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley Conductor: Nas and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley Label: Universal Republic Release Date: 2010-06-09 Rated: NONE Genre: Recording Nas and Marley (one of Bob’s sons) first hooked up a few years ago for a track on Marley’s Welcome to Jamrock album. For Distant Relatives’ 13 songs, they…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The “secret” is in plain sight. The “hidden resource” is freely available for anyone who intends to use it with integrity. The “lost key” is very close to where you left it when you last used it. The “missing link” is missing only in the sense that no one recognizes it…
Rent Boy Match Game
Gentlemen. We shouldn’t have to tell you this, but if you insist on making a name for yourself by opposing the civil rights of LGBT people, you probably shouldn’t have a boyfriend. If you leave a trick trail, don’t go about declaring that Jesus hates people because of whom they love — Jesus never said…
Life With Dad
It’s high noon, Memorial Day Weekend, and the car is packed with beer and bathing suits. Just as we start cruising toward Corpus Christi, the praying begins. “Let’s start with the blessed mystery.” My brother and I are headed to the beach with our great-aunt, Emilia, who happens to be a Polish nun. We exchange…
Two Wheels Good
In which our June columnist discusses cycling as (WHAT!?) everyday transportation — the thrills, perils, and honking. If you’d like to submit a Two Wheels Good column, send your idea and/or essay to sfisch@sacurrent.com. Two Wheels Good appears every second Wednesday of the month. My shoes don’t lock into my pedals. I don’t own any spandex clothing,…
¡Ask a Mexican!
Dear Mexican, I worked a summer job during college in southern Arizona during the late 1960s, where most of my co-workers were Mexicans from the state of Sonora. Their favorite expression when something was broken was no vale verga, literally “Not worth dick,” but actually meaning “totally fucked up.” What happened with this expression? Forty…
On The Rocks
Sometimes what you need is right under your nose. OTR hadn’t yet tackled tequila head on, and the question of where to do it loomed large. Who’s got the best selection in town, the most savvy bartenders, the best ambience … and, of course, the best margarita? We realize that the answer to that last…
The QueQue
Eraserheads A great piece of art inspires, defines a community, and provokes … even when it depicts a giant hot-sauce bottle and a soccer game. In 1994, Vincent Valdez created such an art piece (facilitated by a mural-design contest sponsored by Tabasco McIlhenny), on the exterior wall of Luther Burbank High School, where he was…
Rule of fracture
It’s called the Rule of Capture, or more directly, the Rule of the Biggest Pump. And in a state where the moisture index plummets from plumb soggy to high desert within the 830 highway miles linking Beaumont to El Paso, it’s become one enormous pain in the ass. At least it did for the state’s…
The house that Tandi built
Not only is Erica Andrews “the most beautiful drag queen in captivity” (to steal a line from her friend and collaborator, the hilarious and legendary Shady Lady), she’s also the one of the busiest. I caught up with Andrews during her Trashy Tranny Thirsty Thursday Revue, which was transformed last week into a fundraiser for…
Dub your pleasure
If you want to get technical about defining Dubstep — discuss things like beats per minute and syncopated triplets — we’ll be here all day. For local dub selector Manny Martinez, aka Intager, aka Zero, however, it’s mostly visceral. “Dubstep is music made to be felt,” Martinez, interviewed via email, says. “It takes time to…
Shock-value love songs
Can I just say it’s too loud? I’m too fucking loud!” Annele Spector, one half of semi-fictitious hardcore rockers the Methane Sisters, is onstage at the Jump-Start theater for a Thursday-night rehearsal with fellow Sister Monessa Esquivel. Two members of the backing band have stripped off their shirts in response to Director Steve Bailey’s decision…
Operator’s manual
Their band name is the greatest uni-word translation of adolescent sexuality ever, and their singer was an out-of-the-closet (back when that closet was awfully crowded) U.K. punk-rock “star” whose songs moved from a grim Manchester basement to American TV ads pimping Toyota (“What Do I Get”) and — gasp! — AARP (“Everybody’s Happy Nowadays”). You’ll…
Short Shorts
As anyone who has ever passed through border crossings knows, customs is a sweaty, tiring, and stressful experience. On the border, life is always in crisis. The immediacy of this story results from that subject as well as the second-person narrative, which requires the reader to think about his or her own judgment. “Customs” concretizes…
Live & Local
Now, this is noise. Local duo the Transsexuals play like they’ve never heard the word “song” before, and when special guest Philip Krumm — a St. Mary’s alum avant-garde composer whose credentials make excellent reading for an exercise in humility — cranks up the custom-made box o’ electronic mayhem the Transsexuals apparently keep on hand,…
Rock the cradle
As a member of the great prayer actuary team in the sky, St. Anthony oversees lost articles, mail (somewhat redundantly), travelers, the elderly (again, bit of redundancy there), Native Americans, and our namesake city, among other of God’s creations. One imagines his intercession card is stacked deeper than a sleeve of corn tortillas. But San…
The Sound & The Fury
Wednesday: Lisa Frank, Shellshag, and Eets Feats at the Ten Eleven if you like it loud (theteneleven.com); Phonolux, The Crazies Will Destroy You, and Marcus Rubio at Sam’s Burger Joint if you’ve got ironic facial hair (samsburgerjoint.com); or Two Brothers at Scout Bar for a midweek hip-hop fix (scoutbarsa.com). Thursday: Get twice as smooth with…
Still queer
Not too long ago, I received an email from Carla Patullo of the Austin-based company District 512 (and the band White Widow), announcing that Sandra Bernhard would be kicking off Austin’s gay-pride celebration with a performance titled “We’re Still Queer Honey!” with White Widow as her supporting band. Within an hour, I had a telephone…
Meatless in Steer City
A restaurant that advertised a “Baltic oven” would not draw much business outside Gdansk. But because of the popularity of the “Mediterranean diet,” a regimen stressing fresh produce and minimal meat, “Mediterranean Grill” conjures up the prospect of enhanced health and prolonged life. Of course, it is foolish to generalize about cuisines in a vast…
Chisme y Chicle
I seem to be on a burger kick lately, which is unusual for me. It must have been Bunsen Burgers that started the ball rolling `read our review, “Ecstatic rotations,” April 7, at sacurrent.com`, and the last stop was Timbo’s near the Pearl. Theirs is a good example of a traditional burger, and fans of…
Dear Uncle Mat
I have suffered the recent revelation that I do not like a lot of the people in my life. I have a best friend, and he is great (though I am not sure that he doesn’t want to date me), but that is about it. All of my girlfriends are mean and shallow. Well, not…
