Fun Things to Do in San Antonio This Week (11/1-11/7)

Wed 11/1, Renee Fleming
Bringing Classical music to a new generation, singer Renée Fleming is an American opera singer and soprano who is best known for singing Richard Strauss, Mozart, Handel, bel canto, lieder, French opera and chansons and jazz. In 2010 though, Fleming stepped into the indie world releasing the album Dark Hope which included covers of Arcade Fire and Death Cab For Cutie which she didn’t sing all operatically if you were wondering (though that might be kind of cool to hear). For a taste of something outside of your comfort zone of indie rock, metal or whatever shows you frequent, broaden your horizons and musical pallet by watching Fleming sing from an impressive classical catalog that garnered her a National Medal of Arts. $54.50-$149.50, 7:30pm, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org.

Wed 11/1 - Thu 11/2 , Dia de los Muertos Celebrations

Evidenced by multiple recent events themed after iconic Mexican illustrator José Guadalupe Posada’s beloved character la Calavera Catrina, many San Antonians couldn’t wait for Día de los Muertos to get dolled up as the grande dame of death. Expect to see plenty more Catrinas roaming around as venues and organizations across the city observe All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2) with celebrations honoring the dearly departed with creative and heartfelt altars (ofrendas), performances, processions, readings and traditional hallmarks like pan de muerto, sugar skulls and marigolds.

Venturing off-site to its outpost in the heart of the Westside, the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center invites community members to celebrate “dearly departed familia, friends and ancestors” with a neighborhood procession, displays of community altars, readings of literary ofrendas, face painting, items for purchase from artisans and Cooperativa MujerArtes members, and live music from El Tallercito de Son, Conjunto Heritage Taller, Las Tesoros de San Antonio, Azul Barrientos, Grupo Tayer and Los Texmaniacs with Flaco Jimenez (free but donations appreciated, 4-10:30pm Wed, Rinconcito de Esperanza, 816 S. Colorado St., (210) 228-0201, esperanzacenter.org).

Joining the festivities for the first time, the Pearl decks out its campus for a two-day celebration that includes a collaborative community altar (feel free to bring a photo of a lost loved one), artist-made altars, a sugar skull workshop, presentations by inaugural San Antonio Poet Laureate Carmen Tafolla and artist Bertha Sandoval (aka La Catrina Mexicana) on Wednesday; and a formal procession, complimentary paletas and live music by all-female mariachi troupe Las Coronelas and bilingual roots rocker Patricia Vonne on Thursday (free, 4-8pm Wed, 5-9pm Thu, Pearl, 303 Pearl Pkwy., (210) 212-7260, atpearl.com).

Following a procession to The Wall of Remembrance mural to add the name of a community member lost to violence, the Westside nonprofit San Anto Cultural Arts’ annual offering takes shape as a Día de los Muertos “fandango” with music, dancing, face painting, food and art workshops (free, 6-9pm Thu, San Anto Cultural Arts, 2120 El Paso St., (210) 226-7466, sananto.org).

Taking a reverent approach with individual ofrendas honoring three Mexican icons (writer/photographer Juan Rulfo, ballet choreographer Amalia Hernández and artist José Luis Cuevas) as well as the victims of Hurricane Harvey and the recent earthquakes in Mexico, the Mexican Cultural Institute hosts a reception complete with tamales, pan de muerto and hot chocolate (free, 5-9:30pm Thu, Mexican Cultural Institute, 600 Hemisfair Plaza Way, (210) 227-0123, icm2.sre.gob.mx/culturamexsa).

Proudly one of the Alamo City’s “biggest and oldest” Día de los Muertos happenings, Centro Cultural Aztlan’s 40th annual celebration tops off the nonprofit’s community-driven group show “Altares y Ofrendas” with pan de muerto and ponche de frutas, a Catrina-inspired runway presentation featuring fashions from designer Henry de Leon and body painting by Oscar Galvan and Beyond the Canvas, an “Avenida de los Artesanos” with handcrafted wares for purchase, and a performance by URBAN-15’s skeleton-faced drum and dance troupe Carnaval de los Muertos ($3 suggested donation, 6-9pm Thu, Centro Cultural Aztlan, 1800 Fredericksburg Road, Suite 103, (210) 432-1896, centroaztlan.org).

Capping things off with a big bang, Planet K takes over Woodlawn Lake Park with a fireworks spectacular preceded by a car parade, face painting and a memorial balloon release (free, 5-8:30pm Thu, Woodlawn Lake Park, 1103 Cincinnati Ave., planetktexas.com).

Wed 11/1, Ted Koppel
If you flicked on ABC at any point in the last 50 years, you’d likely find Ted Koppel sitting behind the news desk. Koppel, who joined ABC in mid-’60s, has been around for nearly every major news story since. He was one of the first to interview Lyndon Johnson after the JFK assassination, covered the civil rights marches sparked by Selma’s Bloody Sunday, reported on the Vietnam War from Hong Kong, tackled Watergate, the Iran Hostage Crisis and the nuclear arms race. In 1980, Koppel became the first host of ABC’s Nightline — a role he held until 2005. More recently, he’s also known as the guy who tore Sean Hannity a new one on CBS. This Wednesday, Koppel’s coming to Trinity to speak on the future of journalism in conjunction with the university’s Distinguished Lecture Series. And as someone who’s seen a fair amount of journalism’s past, Koppel’s probably the most experienced source up to the task. Here’s the pitch: “Koppel provides insights into the evolution — and in some cases regression — of how we get our news. With humorous rapport and personal anecdotes, Koppel takes audiences into the future, helping them to better understand how the news affects every aspect of our lives.” Free, 7:30pm, Trinity University, Laurie Auditorium, One Trinity Place, (210) 999-8406, events.trinity.edu.

Thu 11/2, Iron and Wine
“Naked As We Came” and a lot of Iron and Wine’s catalog represented a time in the early-to-mid 2000s when “indie” music was beginning to become more and more popular creating a shift in the singer-songwriter aesthetic. Artists like Iron and Wine, Jose Gonzalez, Joanna Newsom, and Sufjan Stevens (when he wasn’t writing full on orchestrations) approached songwriting with simply an instrument and a melody, allowing audiences to focus on the timber of these artists’ voices and how they interacted with their instruments. $40.25, 8pm, Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com.

Thu 11/2, Spurs vs. Warriors
According to oddsmakers in Vegas, the Warriors entered the NBA season as the highest favorited team to win a championship in any sport, ever. Golden State steamrolled the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals last summer, on the way to their second title in three seasons. With Tony Parker and potentially Kawhi Leonard still on the mend, San Antonio phenom Dejounte Murray and a reinvigorated LaMarcus Aldridge will be tasked with keeping offensive pace with Steph Curry and company. The 21-year-old Murray has been a breath of fresh air at the point and Aldridge is off to a strong start, after his offseason heart-to-heart with head coach Gregg Popovich. Newcomers Rudy Gay and Joffrey Lauvergne will get their first crack at the defending champs in this early season litmus test for the Spurs. $43-$2,632, 7pm, AT&T Center, One AT&T Center Pkwy., (210) 444-5000, attcenter.com.

Thu 11/2 - Fri 11/3, First Thursday & Friday Preview

The penultimate First Friday of the year rolls into Southtown this week with an assortment of shows (some of which open Thursday) worthy a spot on your social calendar. Unveiled in October, Blue Star Contemporary’s sprawling fall show “Home Bodies” collects works by local, regional and international artists exploring the inherent bonds and conflicts within familial relationships (free, 10am-8pm Thu, 10am-9pm Fri, Blue Star Contemporary, 116, Blue Star, (210) 227-6960, bluestarcontemporary.org).

Proving that big things often come in small packages, the University of Texas at Arlington artists’ collective MACHINE’s group show “CUFT” comprises a diverse array of works (encompassing everything from glass and glitter to found objects and photography) that “occupy no more than a cubic foot of space” (free, 6-9pm Thu-Fri, Terminal 136, 136 Blue Star, (210) 458-4391, art.utsa.edu).

Uniting a number of longtime local champions of Día de los Muertos (including curator Raul Servin, artist Ramon Vasquez y Sanchez and gallerist Deborah Keller-Rihn), Studio 209’s “Circle of Life and Death” enhances the works on view with live music by Fania (Thursday) and Los Inocentes (Friday) and poetry and calaveras readings by Anthony “The Poet” Flores” (free, 6-9pm Thu-Fri, Studio 209, 1420 S. Alamo St., (210) 800-5441).

Developed in response to “an increase in the policing of female bodies and body autonomy that has occurred in both politics and the media in recent years,” the four-woman showcase “Persona” seeks to “normalize discussions of sexuality, mental and reproductive health, and everyday discomfort that women may face” (free, 6-9pm Thu, Corporate Gallery, 116 Blue Star, (210) 219-8640). Over at Haus Collective, local artist Forton Keeeman presents a new series of paintings (free, 7-10pm Thu, Haus Collective, 108 Blue Star, (512) 923-9704, facebook.com/hauscollectivesa).

The latest installment of the Presa House Pop Up exhibition series, “La Ciencia Avanza Pero Yo No (Science Advances But I Do Not)” brings Houston-based artist Ángel Lartigue to FL!GHT for a San Antonio debut that’s anchored by the interactive installation Sub Scientist Booth — which invites spectators to donate DNA samples (read saliva) to an artistic experiment that’s part altar, part laboratory — but also includes previous works such as the photographic series “Self Portraits as I Were Muertx” (free, 6-11pm Fri, FL!GHT Gallery, 134 Blue Star, facebook.com/presahouse).

Fri 11/3, Moving Units
Los Angeles outfit Moving Units, which has now been doing its thing for 15 years, operates in a pretty unique sonic space. The band’s music is generally described as post-punk or dance-punk, both of which are accurate to a point (the former perhaps more than the latter), but Moving Units’ sound also encompasses elements of industrial and progressive rock, indie rock, and pop. In the final analysis though, it’s hard to parse these seemingly disparate elements, as the band has reached a point where its sound is best described in terms of itself, rather than with referential signposts. In the live setting, above all else, Moving Units is a gem, boasting a propulsive, dance-party-for-the-apocalypse atmosphere. $12-$15, 8pm, Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com.

Thu 11/2 - Sat 11/4, Muertitos Fest
For its 11th annual Muertitos Fest, a culturally relevant celebration of art, life, and death, the staff and students of SAY Sí will be presenting three days of activities/displays including “student art, altars to honor the departed, family folk art workshops, food booths, an artisan mercado as well as live cultural performances highlighting local dancers, musicians and entertainers.” This year’s fest, which takes the Mexican Revolution as its theme, will also include the revealing of two large-scale sculptures created over the summer in collaboration with Colectivo Ultima Hora, a talented team of artists from Mexico City. Proceeds from the opening night of Muertitos Fest, the only day for which there’s a cover charge, will benefit SAY Sí’s efforts to foster students’ “artistic and social skills in preparation for higher educational advancement and professional careers.” Aside from all the student performers and artists, the fest will also features musical performances from talented local acts Chisme, Grupo Frackaso and Chulita Vinyl Club. Free (opening night $35-$40), 7-10:30pm Thu, 6-10pm Fri, noon-4pm Sat, SAY Sí, 1518 S. Alamo St., (210) 212-8666, saysi.org).

Fri 11/3, Tom Segura
Let’s cut to the chase: If you have dentures, will you be admitted to Tom Segura’s No Teeth No Entry Tour? Of course, the Aztec’s guidelines make no such stipulations for attendees who are all gums, and Segura’s stand-up act, chronicled on albums such as 2012’s White Girls with Cornrows can be merciless toward its intended targets, but signs indicate he is just kidding — probably. His podcast — recorded with his wife, fellow comic Christina Pazsitzky — is called Your Mom’s House but they don’t mean anything by that, maybe. In the intro to his 2016 Netflix special Mostly Stories, he ridicules his home turf of Los Angeles before heading off to Seattle to perform, but that’s just an affectionate jab, right? Consider said special contains compassionate quips such as: “I don’t even want to lose weight to live long or be healthy. I don’t. I just want to make fun of fat people again, and know for sure that they’re fatter than me.” Say, wait a minute … OK, maybe he’s kind of a dick, but he’s a funny one. $25-$35, 7pm Fri, The Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com.

Sat 11/4, Diwali
Launched in 2009 as means to partake in the Hindu festival of lights and strengthen San Antonio’s ties with its sister city of Chennai, India, Diwali illuminates La Villita the first Saturday in November. A lively affair that celebrates the Hindu belief that good ultimately triumphs over evil, the annual favorite routinely brings together nearly 15,000 people for an evening combining Indian cuisine, cultural performances, artisan vendors, remarks from local dignitaries, a river parade and a traditional diya ceremony that sets floating candles adrift along the River Walk. After noshing on classic and fusion-minded fare (from India Oven, Mangoes, Bombay Salsa and Biryani Pot, among others) and browsing vendors specializing in saris, jewelry, artwork and henna tattoos, guests can take in a stage show featuring dances representing 13 Indian states, get moving to DJ beats or Bollywood Zumba in Plaza Juarez, and stake out a spot for the grand finale — a full-on fireworks extravaganza (9:15pm). Free, 5-11pm, La Villita, 418 Villita St., (210) 273-2200, diwalisa.com.