WHAT'S NEXT FOR SALA DIAZ? | CAT LADY CAROLE BASKIN | RESTAURANT INDUSTRY LABOR PAINS MAY 19 - JUNE 1, 2021
BULL SESSION SESSION The Legislature's hard-right push may placate the GOP base, but it didn't deliver for the the rest of Texas
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sacurrent.com | May 19 - June 1, 2021 | CURRENT 3
in this issue Issue 21-10 /// May 19 – June 1, 2021
San Antonio Current Publisher: Michael Wagner Editor-in-Chief: Sanford Nowlin
Editorial
Digital Content Editor: Kelly Merka Nelson Contributing Arts Editor: Bryan Rindfuss Food and Nightlife Writer: Nina Rangel Contributors: Ron Bechtol, Chris Conde, Daniel Conrad, Jade Esteban Estrada, Dan R. Goddard, Lance Higdon, Steven G. Kellman, Hannah Lorence, Kiko Martinez, M. Solis, Gary Sweeney, Lea Thompson, Abe Asher Editorial Interns: Emily DiTomasso, Brianna Espinoza, Katie Hennessey, Cristela Jones, Jay Moreno, Dana Nichols, Emily Schmalstieg, Jada Teague
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10 Feature
Bull Session
The Legislature’s hard-right push may placate the GOP base, but it didn’t deliver for the rest of Texas
09 News
National Advertising: Voice Media Group (888) 278-9866, vmgadvertising.com San Antonio Current 915 Dallas San Antonio, Texas 78215 sacurrent.com
talks animal activism, presidential pardons and zombie tigers
The Opener News in Brief
‘Marching Orders’
In video, right-wing group’s leader brags that it wrote ‘19 provisions’ in Texas’ voter-restriction bill
14 Calendar Calendar Picks
16 Arts
What’s Next for Sala Diaz?
Heyd Fontenot sheds light on the future of one of San Antonio’s most essential galleries
19 Screens Cat Lady
San Antonio native Carole Baskin
21 Food
WHAT'S NEXT FOR SALA DIAZ? | CAT LADY CAROLE BASKIN | RESTAURANT INDUSTRY LABOR PAINS MAY 19 - JUNE 1, 2021
Labor Pains
The San Antonio Current is published by Euclid Media Group
Hospitality industry employees say working conditions, not government checks, are keeping them from returning
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Posh ’Cue in the Park
Pinkerton’s brings smoked meats, decent sides and exceptional cobbler to downtown San Antonio
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27 Music
Remembering Ram
Memorial mosaic of slain Taco Land owner finally installed at site of legendary club
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BULL SESSION SESSION The Legislature's hard-right push may placate the GOP base, but it didn't deliver for the the rest of Texas
O
n the Cover: Texas is less than two weeks away from wrapping up another legislative session. So far, there’s been little to show for it except red meat for the GOP base. Design by Samantha Serna.
Copyright: The entire contents of the San Antonio Current are copyright 2019 by Euclid Media Group LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Publisher does not assume any liability for unsolicited manuscripts, materials, or other content. Any submission must include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. All editorial, advertising, and business correspondence should be mailed to the address listed above. Subscriptions: Additional copies or back issues may be purchased at the Current offices for $1. Six-month domestic subscriptions may be purchased for $75; one-year subscriptions for $125.
sacurrent.com | May 19 - June 1, 2021 | CURRENT 5
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ID#
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MAKE
MODEL
VIN NUMBER
FEES
4048500
1900
OTHER NOT IN LIST
TRAILER
NO VIN
$3,927.15
3917246
2000
OTHER NOT IN LIST
TRAILER
NO VIN
$5,745.75
3919662
1999
OTHER NOT IN LIST
TRAILER
NO VIN
$5,702.45
3915146
2000
OTHER NOT IN LIST
TRAILER
NOT VISIBLE
$5,767.14
4055254
1900
OTHER NOT IN LIST
TRAILER
NO VIN
$3,840.55
Registered owners may pick up vehicles 3966226 by showing proof of ownership & paying 4070849 all towing & storage fees prior to Auction.
FEES ACCRUE DAILY AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
2014
TRAILER GENERIC
TRAILER
5VNBU1215ET125262
$5,074.60
2006
HYUNDAI
AZERA
KMHFC46F46A109080
$3,624.05
3706300
2000
OTHER NOT IN LIST
GOLF CART
JR1101748
$9,577.80
4049926
2011
HONDA
OTHER
JH2PD010XBM200694
$3,905.50
3562707
2000
GMC
CAB
NO VIN
$11,288.15
3699997
2019
TAO TAO
MOPED
L9NTCGPG5K1010926
$9,686.05 $3,667.35
4070192
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CURRENT | May 19 – June 1, 2021 | sacurrent.com
3625 Growdon Rd. San Antonio, TX 210.881.8440
OTHER NOT IN LIST
MOPED
L9NTCGPB7L1000405
3858995
2000
OTHER NOT IN LIST
ATV
NOT VISIBLE
$6,611.75
4042567
2005
KAWASAKI
MOTORCYCLE
JKBVNKA125A016248
$3,602.40 $6,222.05
3316065
2017
OTHER NOT IN LIST
TRAILER
5VNBU1623HT182471
3828430
2011
OTHER NOT IN LIST
TRAILER
1B9BT1313B2692857
$7,088.05
3862608
2001
SUZUKI
MOTORCYCLE
JS1GV77A912102114
$6,568.45
3974264
2000
BMW
3 SERIES
WBAAM334XYCB26093
$4,988.00
3345723
2000
OTHER NOT IN LIST
BIKE
NOT VISIBLE
$13,842.85
3952668
2000
OTHER NOT IN LIST
TRAILER
NO VIN
$5,269.45
4031219
1999
OTHER NOT IN LIST
OTHER
NO VIN
$4,208.60 $4,425.10
4014821
2000
OTHER NOT IN LIST
TRAILER
NOT VISIBLE
4100049
2000
OTHER NOT IN LIST
TRAILER
NOT VISIBLE
$3,191.05
4205237
2000
OTHER NOT IN LIST
TRAILER
NOT VISIBLE
$1,608.80
4053191
2000
TRAILER GENERIC
UTILITY TRAILER
NOT VISIBLE
$3,256.00
3877166
2000
OTHER NOT IN LIST
TRAILER
NO VIN
$6,330.30
3944978
1990
OTHER NOT IN LIST
TRAILER
NO VIN
$5,377.70
4085982
2000
TRAILER-GENERIC
TRAILER
NOT VISIBLE
$3,407.55
4016759
1973
CADILLAC
OTHER
6L67S2Q404238
$4,403.45
3846937
1992
HUMMER
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SN0126436
$3,277.65
4033002
1981
HONDA
MOTORCYCLE
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MOUNTAIN BIKE
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sacurrent.com | May 19 - June 1, 2021 | CURRENT 7
8 CURRENT | May 19 – June 1, 2021 | sacurrent.com
H
Republicans in the Texas House last week passed a bill that would restrict public school teachers’ ability to discuss how racism played a part in history. House Bill 3979 is part of a nationwide GOP push to prevent schools from teaching students about how racism and white supremacy have shaped American life. Rep. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, was the lone Republican to vote against the bill, which at press time was headed to the supportive Texas Senate.
H
It’s official: Texans can now order beer, wine and mixed drinks with to-go food orders from restaurants. Initially instituted as a means of helping restaurants boost sales during the pandemic, Texas has become one of a number of states to pass legislation this year making the sale of alcohol with takeout orders permanent.
H
A new study has found that Texas’ decision to return to in-person school last fall “gradually but substantially accelerated” the spread of COVID-19 and resulted in at least 43,000 additional cases and 8,000 additional deaths statewide. Researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research tracked cases in the eight weeks before and after schools re-opened in the fall. For the first time in its 192-year history, Yuengling beer is coming to Texas. The Pennsylvania-based brewery, the oldest in the United States, has begun brewing in Fort Worth as part of a partnership with Molson Coors. Starting this fall, supermarkets across the state will carry Yuengling’s flagship Lager, Light Lager, Golden Pilsner and super light brew Flight. — Abe Asher
YOU SAID IT!
“Can’t imagine Republican House Members would go with Chip Roy — he has not done a great job, and will probably be successfully primaried in his own district.” — Donald Trump, in a press release commenting on U.S. Rep. Chip Roy’s bid to become the third-ranking House Republican after U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney’s ouster from that spot.
ASSCLOWN ALERT
Patrick Von Dohlen Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark. San Antonio Councilman John Courage may be a lot of things — a retired teacher, a former Air Force police officer and a guy with some progressive ideas elected in the traditionally conservative-leaning District 9. But one thing we’re pretty sure he isn’t, is a Marxist. Yet Patrick Von Dohlen, Courage’s opponent in the June 5 runoff, has accused him of being just that. Von Dohlen has also alleged that his rival wants to defund the police and supports “federally funded abortion on demand,” according to an Express-News report cataloging the candidate’s increasingly absurd accusations against his opponent. As if that rhetoric wasn’t overheated enough, Von Dohlen — a financial advisor who already ran two losing races against Courage — last week made unsubstantiated claims that his rival sought help from “gun-grabbing” Beto O’Rourke and “ultra-leftist” Wendy Davis, the daily reports. Although Von Dohlen didn’t return the Express-News’ calls requesting comment, the motivation behind his desperation move is clear. Sensing the polarized mood in national
news
That Rocks/That Sucks
Facebook / Vote Patrick
politics, he’s trying to gin up fear that Courage, who’s run a nonpartisan campaign, is a leftist boogeyman. That Von Dohlen couldn’t gain traction against Courage in 2017 and 2019 and only ended up ended up with 36% of the vote to Courage’s 47% in the four-candidate May 1 contest suggests the strategy won’t bear fruit. But, hey, at least Von Dohlen outed himself as an assclown unfit for office. — Sanford Nowlin
The San Antonio Police Officers Association (SAPOA) spent big to narrowly defeat Prop B — despite what its official state filings show. An investigation by the Express-News found that SAPOA spent in excess $600,000 to fight the ballot measure rather than the $100,000 the media initially reported. The discrepancy comes because the union reported two major expenditures under the name of its treasurer rather than its own. A SAPOA spokesperson said union wasn’t trying to hide anything. The Bexar County Democratic Party has censured its one-time chairman, current State Rep. Leo Pacheco, for voting to nix the requirement for Texans to obtain a permit to carry handguns. Pacheco, who was elected to his seat in 2018, was one of just seven Democrats to vote for the open-carry bill advanced in the legislature. Texans overwhelmingly opposed the measure in a recent poll, but Gov. Abbott is expected to sign it regardless. Pacheco chaired the Bexar Democrats for four years in the 1990s. — Abe Asher
Facebook / Leo Pacheco
Find more news coverage every day at sacurrent.com
news
Wikimedia Commons / Chmorich
Bull Session
The Legislature’s hard-right push may placate the GOP base, but it didn’t deliver for the rest of Texas BY SANFORD NOWLIN
B
y any reasonable measure, the Texas Legislature had big issues to tackle this session. There was the crippling February snowstorm that left millions without power, exposing the instability of the state’s electrical grid. There was the prospect of a Medicaid expansion that would have helped the one in five Texans with no medical insurance. And then there was the expansive George Floyd Bill that could have reined in police use of excessive force amid a nationwide reckoning on racial justice. But with less than two weeks left in the session, the Texas House and Senate have yet to pass promised legislation to stabilize the grid and weatherize power plants. They put off dealing with the Medicaid expansion. And we can probably write off that package of police reforms offered up by Black lawmakers. Instead, the Republican-controlled Lege, goaded on 10
CURRENT | May 19 – June 1, 2021 | sacurrent.com
by Gov. Greg Abbott, embraced a hard-right agenda long on ideology and culture war rancor — and short on addressing the practical concerns of everyday Texans. If things play out as expected, Abbott will sign off on bills that will allow virtually any adult in the state to carry a handgun without a permit, impose voter restrictions that critics are likening to a new Jim Crow era and ban women from getting abortions after six weeks — a time before many are even aware they’re pregnant. “The Republican Party of Texas is taking cues from the national Republican Party in a way they never have been before, and as we know, it’s now the party of Trump,” said veteran Democratic political consultant Laura Barberena. “It’s really a shame and a disservice to the state of Texas. They’re essentially telling moderate Republicans, ‘We no longer want you in our party,’ and that’s unfortunate.”
That stands in sharp contrast to the 2019 session, when the Lege worked together in a more-or-less bipartisan manner to avert a budget meltdown and keep schools funded. Instead, this session seemed more like a steroid-enhanced version of 2017, the session when Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick conducted an embarrassing full-court press to keep transgender people from using public restrooms. The difference in 2017, was that former House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, stood in the way and didn’t allow the bathroom bill to gain traction in the lower chamber. But with Straus retired and that moderating voice gone, the culture war is at the top of the GOP agenda. While the prospects for a pair of toxic anti-transgender bills — one barring student-athletes from playing on teams of the gender with which they identify and another banning gender-confirming health care for minors — dim with each day the session’s end draws closer, that’s not saying Republican lawmakers didn’t give them a solid push. And if those don’t fly, observers point out that plenty of other legislation, namely the voter-restriction bills that were priority legislation in both the House and Senate, certainly bear the stamp of placating the Trump base. More than 50 judges have rejected the laughable claims that the 2020 election was sto-
len as Trump claimed, but Texas’ Republicans have continued to defend their bills as efforts to shore up election integrity.
‘And it doesn’t cost you a dime’ Polling suggests Texans aren’t exactly clamoring for the priorities put forth by Texas’ Republican leadership. For example, the majority of the state’s voters oppose open carry and want to see an expansion of Medicaid, according to a recent survey by the University of Texas and the Texas Tribune. But average voters aren’t who the party honchos are worried about, political observers point out. The post-Trump Republican party is fractured, and lawmakers are hoping to win support among the most conservative and engaged voters so they can withstand primary challenges from the party’s right fringe. Abbott already faces a primary challenge from former State Sen. Don Huffines, who’s blasted the governor for being too slow to reopen the state during the pandemic. Tea Party bomb-thrower Allen West, the one-term Florida congressman who now heads the Texas GOP, is also considered another possible challenger. Political experts have said Abbott and other Republicans want to make it look like they’ve done just enough to address concerns over the winter storm while shoring up their conservative credentials by forcing through bills that hurl red meat to the base. “That stuff with the electrical grid is hard work, and you get very little feedback and positive support for it,” said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. “Not to mention, fixing real problems requires money. With these culture war bills, you’re whipping up your base and it doesn’t cost you a dime.” While banning transgender kids from sports teams or imposing new abortion restrictions wouldn’t create a drain on state coffers, Jillson cautions that they still incur opportunity costs during the session. “While those issues don’t completely supplant lawmakers’ ability to work on other legislation, they do take up time and mental bandwidth,” he said.
Faced with those court fights, Kauffman said the Texas Attorney General’s Office will need to undergo a hiring spree. And it won’t come cheap: adding lawyers to the payroll will run taxpayers roughly $250,000 a pop, he added. What’s more, the state will be on the hook for court costs in cases that it loses. That latter concern certainly applies to the state’s pending abortion ban, which stops the procedure once a fetal heartbeat is detected. Other states, from Ohio to Louisiana, have tried to pass similar “heartbeat bills,” and they’ve been repeatedly shot down in the courts. In 2018 alone, seven states passed such bills; none withstood a legal challenge. The authors of the Texas legislation argue that their clever use of language makes theirs legally defensible. But that argument doesn’t fly with abortion-rights groups. They argue that provisions in Texas’ bill allowing pretty much anyone to sue any person who helps a woman obtain an abortion considered illegal under the measure — from a doctor to the Uber driver who gives her a ride to the clinic — make it even more likely to be rejected by the courts.
‘Heartbeat’ precedent As with the “heartbeat” bills offered up in other states, critics say it’s apparent that Texas lawmakers are hoping theirs will make it to the conservative-dominated U.S. Supreme Court, which will use it as a vehicle to overturn Roe v. Wade. Legal scholars question whether the high court, even after its power shift during the Trump era, is prepared to throw out decades of legal precedent. And abortion-rights groups added that the legal fight to get there will be costly to the state. “With multiple [abortion-related] cases moving through the courts, the state of Texas will likely be on the hook for millions of dollars in legal fees,” said Elisabeth Smith, chief counsel for state policy and advocacy for the Center for Reproductive Rights.
After “heartbeat” bills surfaced in their legislatures, both North Dakota and Montana declined to make the measures law in part due to the cost of defending them in court, Smith added. “In many places there’s a conversation going on about the cost of litigating unconstitutional abortion bans,” she said.
Opposition party? For now, though, Republicans in the Lege are breathing a sigh of relief that they’ll be able to point to the session as a strong stand for conservative principles. If not all of their culture war legislation gets to Abbott’s desk, they can always blame the Dems, observers said. And if the courts push back much of their agenda, they’ll point to that as more evidence the GOP needs to extend its control so it can continue to appoint right-leaning judges. “Until there’s a functional opposition party in the state, I expect we’ll continue to see the Republicans pushing the same kind of agenda,” SMU’s Jillson said. Political consultant Barberena views the session as a short-term win for the Texas GOP — one that will only be bolstered as redistricting gets underway later this year. Even so, neither of those changes the fact that Texas is becoming a more diverse state, she added. And that doesn’t bode well for the Republican Party if it continues creeping to the right. Texas’ down-ballot races didn’t break Democrats’ way in 2020, but Barberena argues the top of the ticket suggests the direction of the state. After clobbering Hillary Clinton in Texas by 9 points in 2016, Trump pulled off a slimmer 5.6-point victory over Joe Biden four years later. “The Republicans feel the growth of their party is on the right,” Barberena said. “I think that’s very shortsighted. Long-term, they can’t stop the destiny of demography. They just can’t do it.”
Legal expenses Legal experts also warn that the most controversial bills championed by the GOP this session are all but certain to be challenged in court. And those legal battles will come with steep price tags. St. Mary’s University Law School Professor Albert Kauffman, a voting-rights expert, said the voting-restriction legislation alone is likely to burn through tens of millions of dollars as the state defends it in court. He also predicts pushback against other bills, including one that would limit what public school teachers can say about racism’s part in U.S. history — a ban that invites challenges under the First Amendment. “It seems like there are an incredibly high number of bills this session that are just litigation bait,” Kauffman said. Courtesy Photo / Texas Governor’s Office
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CURRENT | May 19 – June 1, 2021 | sacurrent.com
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Seeking Volunteers
‘Marching Orders’
In video, right-wing group’s leader brags that it wrote “19 provisions” in Texas’ voter-restriction bill BY SANFORD NOWLIN
T
he leader of a top conservative group bragged to donors about helping write one of Texas’ new voting restriction bills in a leaked video shared last week by Mother Jones magazine and watchdog group Documented. The video purportedly shows Jessica Anderson, executive director of Heritage Action for America, at an April 22 meeting in Tucson, telling big donors that her group crafted Georgia’s voter-suppression law and is repeating the effort in Texas and other red states. In the clip, Anderson says the dark money group penned “19 provisions” in Texas’ Republican-backed House Bill 6, which would place more restrictions on voters in Texas, already one of the hardest places to vote in the country. “In some cases, we actually draft [the bills] for them,” said Anderson, whose group is affiliated with the conservative Heritage Foundation, “or we have a sentinel on our behalf give them the model legislation so it has that grassroots, from-the-bottom-up type of vibe.” Among other things, Texas’ HB6 would make it illegal for election officials to send mail-in ballots to people who don’t specifically request them. It would also slap criminal penalties on election workers who try to remove partisan poll watchers they worry are intimidating voters. “Gov. [Greg] Abbott will sign it quickly,” Anderson said, according to the Mother Jones report. Supporters of the Texas’ voter restrictions bills argue they’re intended to ensure election integrity, despite no proof of widespread election fraud in the state. Voting-rights groups argue the bills — which echo former president Donald Trump’s unfounded claims of a rigged election — are meant to keep poor people, people of color and other likely Democratic voters away from the polls. In the video, Anderson said Heritage is spending $24 million in Texas and seven other states, creating “this echo chamber” demanding more restrictive voting laws. She added that her orga-
Researchers at at UT SanAntonio Antonio conducting a Researchers UTHealth Health San areare conducting a research study investigate new drug combinations. research study to to investigate newopioid opioid drug combinations. The study involves 6 visits. All information is confidential. The study involves 6 visits. All information is confidential. Researchers at UT Health San Antonio are conducting a Study participants: For more Study participants: research study to investigate new opioid drug combinations. • Previously used opioids information call • Previously used opioids The study involves21-65 6 visits. Allold information is confidential. • Adults years For210-567-4273 more information
Seeking Volunteers
• Adults 21-65 years old
YouTube / Mother Jones
call 210-567-4273
Study participants: Eligible participants will receive: nization coordinates a weekly call with Eligible will receive: • Previously used participants opioids other right-wing groups to marshal • Compensation for time For more information their efforts, according to Mother• Jones. Compensation for time Adults•21-65 years old
call 210-567-4273
“We literally give marching orders for the week ahead,” Anderson said. “All so Eligible participants will receive: we’re singing from the same song sheet Principle Investigator Dr. Ameet Nagpal of the goals for that week and where the • Compensation forstudies, time visit us at http://vpr.uthscsa.edu/findastudy/ For other state bills are across the country.” In response to the video, Anderson provided a statement to Mother Jones saying her group had been “transPrinciple Investigator Dr. Ameet Nagpal parent” about its recommendations to For other studies, visit us at http://vpr.uthscsa.edu/findastudy/ Principle Investigator Dr. Ameet Nagpal lawmakers, adding “we won’t be intimiFor other studies, visit us at http://vpr.uthscsa.edu/findastudy/ dated by the left’s smear campaign and cancel culture.” The Texas Democratic Party said the leaked video is proof that Republicans, who control all the levers of power in the Lone Star State, are trying to maintain power by suppressing votes. “The GOP lost the presidency, the House, the Senate and a lot of ground in 2020 — but instead of addressing the real problems Texans face, they continue their race to the bottom by appealing to right-wing extremists and putting forward wildly unpopular and discriminatory policies,” Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said in an emailed statement. “They are letting outside interests like Heritage Action control them and try to tell Texans how to live and how to vote. It won’t work.” Ed Espinoza, executive director at Progress Texas, said the video shows the need for Congress to pass legislation to protect voting rights. “This video proves what we’ve known all along: anti-voter bills like those in the Texas legislature are part of a coordinated, national voter suppression effort,” he said in an emailed statement. “Low voter turnout used to ensure comfortable win margins for Republicontact for any custom design: tresleches18@gmail.com cans, but higher turnout has made the earring in photo: Tribal ($7) | Photo by: BXJstills state more competitive in the past two election cycles - that’s the real reason behind these suppression bills.”
www.tres-leches.com sacurrent.com | May 19 – June 1, 2021 | CURRENT
13
FRI | 05.21
er experience with the genre. Though now closely associated with and a dominant force in Latinx culture, conjunto was also heavily influenced
FI LM
by German settlers, who introduced the accordion in the late 1800s.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
They brought musical influences like waltz and polka, which then
The San Antonio Museum of Art’s Film on the Green series will offer
crossbred with traditional Mexican music. This year’s event will be on-
films in an outdoor, socially distanced setting beginning Friday, May 21
line due to the ongoing pandemic. Friday night will feature a presenta-
with ’80s classic Back to the Future. Moviegoers can sit under the stars
tion of Nicolas Valdez’s Conjunto Blues, a stage play adapted for screen
and watch 17-year-old Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) get thrown back to
late last year. A question-and-answer session with Valdez will follow.
the 1950s in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by eccentric scientist
Saturday will feature a workshop from Valdez, which will include not
Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd). As the cherry on top, SAMA visitors
just his research into the history of conjunto but also a look at the
can view the original DeLorean with its flux capacitor at the museum’s
music’s influence on wider culture. However, the music is the main
pop-up exhibit “Movie Metal.” The screening is a joint venture with out-
event, and Saturday night’s throwdown will include Los Texmaniacs,
door entertainers Slab Cinema, and patrons can bring their own chairs
Los Cucuys de Rodney Rodriguez, Los 2 G’s, Los Morales, Las Monarcas
and blankets. A cash bar and food truck will offer on-site refreshments.
de Pete y Mario Diaz, Eva Ybarra, Hometown Boys and Boni Mauricio y
To maintain safe social distancing, attendance is limited and will be
los Maximos with special guest Linda Escobar. $15, 7 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m.
granted on a first-come, first-served basis. Free, 8 p.m. Friday, May 21,
and 6 p.m.-midnight Saturday, guadalupeculturalarts.org. — MM
San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 West Jones Ave. samueseum.org. — Katie Hennessey
Courtesy Photo / LOL Comedy Club
haven’t been part of an actual booty call, you’ve certainly uttered those words out loud. Bellamy, who got his big break on Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam, will hit SA for a rockin’ five shows. He’s showed his range in movies ranging from Fled to Any Given Sunday to Kindergarten Cop 2, and he’s even been an MTV host. Currently, he’s hosting Bill Bellamy’s Who’s Got Jokes? on TV One and last year starred in the Netflix miniseries Self Made. Bellamy’s known for impersonations, including one of the late DMX. “It’s unfortunate about DMX,” Bellamy said of the rapper’s recent passing. “It is what it is. It’s a struggle to put it all together, but I celebrate his life.” Bellamy’s also weighed in on getting back into the swing of standup after a pandemic-forced break. “It was amazing because I hadn’t been out of my house, and it made me realize how much I love comedy. Interacting with fans is everything.” $70-200, 7:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Friday, 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, 7:00 p.m. Sunday, Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, 618 NW Loop 410, (210) 541-8805, improvtx.com/sanantonio. — Mike McMahan
FRI | 05.21 SAT | 05.22 SPECIAL EVEN T
TEJANO CONJUNTO FESTIVAL Conjunto has been a force in South Texas for years, and the 39th Tejano Conjunto Festival aims to highlight not just music, but also offer a larg-
MON | 05.24 TUE | 06.01 ART
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
“BLACK AMINE”
FRI | 05.21 SUN | 05.23
Photographer, poet and performance artist Trulei Versatile caps off her MFA at UTSA with the interdisciplinary solo exhibition “Black Amine.” Described by the artist as “the translation and transmutation of the Black experience of living in America,” the exhibition collects poetry,
COMEDY
film and portraits to portray the Black American story and also address-
BILL BELLAMY
es “the controversial topic of African American dysphoria mixed with conversational cultural stigmatisms and stereotypes that are placed on
If you’ve ever used the phrase “booty call,” you’ve got comedian Bill Bellamy to thank for coining the term. And let’s be honest here: even if you 14 CURRENT | May 19 – June 1, 2021 | sacurrent.com
Courtesy Photo / UTSA
Facebook / Tejano Conjunto Festival
Black American people, specifically Black women.” “Black Amine” will
calendar
be on view from May 24-June 4 during regular gallery hours
Briscoe Western Art Museum, 210 W. Market St., (210) 299-4499,
as well as by appointment, with a closing reception on June
briscoemuseum.org. — KH
4 from 4-6 p.m. Appointment requests should be submitted
TUE | 06.01
one week in advance to accommodate schedule coordination with UTSA art department staff. Free, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and by appointment through June 4, UTSA
FILM
Main Art Gallery, Arts Building 2.03.04, One UTSA Circle, (210)
ALIENS
458-4352, art.utsa.edu/black-amine. — Kelly Merka Nelson
TPR Cinema Tuesdays resumes its virtual watch parties with
TUE | 05.25
a classic of ’80s cinema: James Cameron’s Aliens. Decades after fleeing the Nostromo in Alien — and destroying it
behind her — Lt. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is found
FI LM
adrift in hypersleep in an escape shuttle with the ship’s
YOJIMBO
only other survivor, orange tabby cat Jonesy. However, we
As the latest entry in Slab Cinema’s Arthouse Edition, which
wouldn’t have a sequel without one of our plucky protag-
features microcinema programming meant for social dis-
onists getting thrust right back into the xenomorphs’ dual
tancing, the outdoor entertainers will screen 1961 Japanese
maws — and, as Ripley tells Jonesy, “You little shithead,
samurai film Yojimbo at downtown’s Legacy Park. Directed by
you’re staying here.” Thrown in with a unit of elite soldiers
Akira Kurosawa, the action-packed comedy follows a name-
on an ostensible rescue mission, Ripley heads back to LV-
less ronin into a small Japanese village, where the samurai
426, the planetoid from which the Nostromo picked up its
without a master finds himself at the center of a feudal
unwelcome passenger in the original film, now the location
gang war between two rival businessmen. If the plot sounds
of a colony of human settlers. Unsurprisingly, it’s “game
familiar, that’s because Sergio Leone unofficially remade
over” soon after landing, and Ripley and the survivors must
the film as the spaghetti Western A Fistful of Dollars. In what
face off against a plurality of parasitic monsters. For its vir-
Slant Magazine’s Rob Humanick called a “textbook example
tual screenings, TPR Cinema will use Amazon’s Prime Video
of the perfect crowd-pleaser,” the film serves up plenty of
Watch Party function. Those that register prior to the event
laughs and action to go around. Seating at the Legacy Park
will be entered in a drawing for a door prize and will receive
screening is limited and tickets are required. Guests are
the watch party link on Tuesday afternoon. Free, 7:30 p.m.,
welcome to bring chairs and blankets and can park their
Amazon Watch Party, tpr.org/tpr-cinema-tuesdays. — KMN
vehicles for free at COSA facilities. $5-10, 8 p.m., Legacy Park, 103 W. Houston St., slabcinema.com. — KH
Courtesy Photo / Briscoe Western Art Museum
FRI | 05.28 TUE | 06.01 ART
“STILL IN THE SADDLE: A NEW HISTORY OF THE HOLLYWOOD WESTERN” Debuting at the Briscoe Western Art Museum on May 28, “Still in the Saddle: A New History of the Hollywood Western” showcases the cinematic art and storytelling of classic Western films in the context of the changing American landscape of 1969-1980. “In the 1940s and 50s, the Western was the most popular movie genre in America,” Briscoe President and CEO Michael Duchemin said. “As the world outside of the theater doors changed, many thought the Western would ride off into the sunset. Yet the Western remained as rich and complex as at any time in its history.” For the exhibition, the Briscoe will transform into a late
Reminder:
1960s movie theater and showcase an array of costumes, props and vintage movie posters. Paired with the exhibition, the museum’s Summer Film Series returns with Western classics including True Grit (July 18), Little Big Man (June 20) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (May 30). Andrew Patrick Nelson, guest curator and author of Still in the Saddle: The Hollywood Western, 1969-1980, will introduce each movie and explain its significance in the history of the genre. The Criterion Collection
$6-12, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursdays-Mondays through September 6,
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Although live events have returned, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Check with venues to make sure scheduled events are still happening, and please follow all health and safety guidelines.
Sala Diaz Consulting Director (and occasional warlock) Heyd Fontenot is taking a thoughtful approach to arts programming in the COVID era.
a
Chris Creese
What’s Next for Sala Diaz?
Heyd Fontenot sheds light on the future of one of San Antonio’s most essential galleries BY BRYAN RINDFUSS
E
Find more arts coverage every day at sacurrent.com
stablished in 1995 by San Antonio-born artist Alejandro Diaz, Southtown stalwart Sala Diaz has played an integral role in defining the Alamo City’s distinct art scene. Not unlike Artpace — which intriguingly also opened its doors in 1995 — Sala Diaz champions the experimental and conceptual, often hosting world-class exhibitions that challenge viewers and defy categorization. Situated in a 1920s-era duplex, Sala Diaz is essentially the public anchor of the Compound — a collection of five historic structures owned by beloved San Antonio personality Mike Casey. For decades, Casey has rented the Compound’s duplexes to local artists for a fraction of market value. In doing so, he’s invested in the careers of numerous San Antonio creatives — including Chuck Ramirez, who lived next door to Sala Diaz until his tragic death in 2010. With the late, great Ramirez as a key instigator and impromptu event planner, the Compound became an eclectic gathering place for San Antonio’s art community at large. Since Alejandro Diaz’s 1997 departure for New York — where he still lives and works — Sala Diaz has only had three directors: Hills Snyder (1997-2015), Anjali Gupta (2015-2020) and now Heyd Fontenot, who was named consulting director earlier this year.
A native of Louisiana, Fontenot directed the Dallas-based gallery and artist residency CentralTrak from 2011 to 2016 and landed in San Antonio the following year as part of Artpace’s International Artist-in-Residence program. Following a two-year stint with Oklahoma’s Tulsa Artist Fellowship, Fontenot returned to San Antonio in 2019 and set up shop at Casa Chuck — a residency program that’s under the Sala Diaz umbrella and housed in Chuck Ramirez’s former home. Through that residency, Fontenot became an active member of the community that surrounds Sala Diaz. “When I moved into Casa Chuck, I had known about Sala Diaz, but that was where I really got a sense of Sala Diaz and the history of Casa Chuck,” Fontenot said. “But that was also right before quarantine. I was going to parties and always invited along with people who were part of the Sala Diaz family. And then the social scene in San Antonio just evaporated due to COVID. … I was working on my own things but as I learned more about Sala Diaz through Casa Chuck, there were all these things I wanted to [propose] … types of programs or strategies to strengthen Sala Diaz. I was just thinking about the overall health of the organization and directions it might go in — just wanting to be helpful. … And then they asked me if I’d like to be the
director since Anjali was leaving.” Importantly, Fontenot has the support of both his predecessor and Sala Diaz founder Alejandro Diaz. “It is my understanding that in these globally uncertain times Heyd has taken on the role of consulting director, which is essentially spearheading the gargantuan effort to compile a comprehensive archive of Sala Diaz’s rich 26-year-history,” said Gupta, who stepped down from her post to pursue independent curating and writing projects. “I had a great run at the most challenging and — in my opinion — important independent, experimental art space in town. I fully support Heyd in all his endeavors.” Diaz himself said he was never able to attend Sala Diaz meetings since he lives in New York and the gatherings were held in person. “I’m thrilled that I can now attend and have more of an active role since meetings are conducted via Zoom,” he said. “In just these short months, Heyd has brought a series of new and exciting projects to the table. … He’s a person of many ideas and many talents and is taking a complete 360 approach to guiding Sala Diaz into its next post-COVID phase.” We recently caught up with Fontenot to quiz him about the future of Sala Diaz, arts programming in the COVID era and the looming sale of the Compound, now on the market for $1.2 million.
Any highlights you can share about your new position?
One thing I brokered recently is that the archive of Sala Diaz has been accepted by UTSA. As I acquainted myself with Sala Diaz, and realizing what a rich history there was, and 25 years of contemporary art in San Antonio, it lined up on the timeline with Artpace. And I was like, “Wow, what kind of astrological situation allowed these two organizations to be founded at the same time?” And [they’ve] been able to sustain themselves and do so much cool stuff that really helped define San Antonio’s art scene. … As it happens, a graduate student at UTSA is going to write her dissertation on the history of Sala Diaz. Ethel Shipton is heading up an effort to collect oral histories around Sala Diaz. That resource will also enter the archive. … Alejandro Diaz is sending more things from his personal effects. He’s got things from the first few years of Sala Diaz — party pictures, video tapes that’ll enter the archive too.
When does your programming kick in?
We’re planning some shows for the fall but, due to the pandemic, I’m a little hesitant about programming that is high-contact.
As we have a moment to pause, look at Sala Diaz’s 25-year history [and] dig into the archives, [I’d like to] deemphasize physical, in-person programming and gatherings. Because I just want people to be safe. … Every day, you hear people say, “Oh I can’t wait for things to be back to normal.” And guess what? Things aren’t gonna be normal. Things are going to be forever changed by this pandemic, and by this moment in history, where we’re looking at a lot of systems that weren’t working before. Especially for people of color and other oppressed minorities. Sala Diaz, being founded by a queer person of color, it’s always been an organization that considered these things.
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That being said, do you have a mental list of artists that you want to get into the space, or are you going to do open calls?
Definitely not open call. Because I think that creates a rush, and I want to be really thoughtful. … I know this might sound like a pretentious example, but you know like when John Galliano takes over at Christian Dior and he’s looking at what the house meant, what the shapes were and what the house is known for? I could put my imprint on it, like immediately, but I want to be more sensitive to the history of Sala Diaz. … I have a wide network of artists that I’ve worked with before, that I’d love to work with again, and I’d love to bring them to San Antonio. But I think it’s still too early for me to say. I know that we’re gonna do a show in the fall with Celia Muñoz, [who had] one of the first shows at Sala Diaz.
Does your directorship carry over to Casa Chuck? It does. I’ve got a couple of critical writers who have done projects with us since I started. … It’s been primarily a place for critics and writers. Right now, we have a poet in residence named Clem Heard. I actually invited him when we started, because Casa Chuck wasn’t occupied and Clem has this really important book that’s going to be published this fall about the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. [It seemed] like a very good fit for us. It’s very timely. Also, Casa Chuck can’t really support a visual artist’s work — unless they work with miniature, because while it’s a really comfortable cottage, there’s not proper studio space. … Clem’s going to be with us most of the year. And again, that’s a product of the pandemic. Just out of safety, we don’t want a high turnover in the space, because as we’re still learning more about COVID, we wouldn’t want to endanger anyone. So, it makes sense to slow everything
Heyd Fontenot
Casa Chuck poet in residence Clemonce Heard’s forthcoming book explores the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.
M
down. … We’re not going to embrace a model of trying to change over shows every six weeks.
I noticed that the Compound is for sale, and I’m wondering what that sale would mean for Sala Diaz.
Sala Diaz actually owns our building, and so we’re not part of that sale. But the other four houses are for sale. They’re owned by Mike Casey and they’re historic and protected by historic codes. … No one knows what’s going to happen there. But Sala is very much married to that space. … Because Mike Casey deeded it to Sala Diaz — and also just the history, and so many people have very nostalgic emotions around Chuck Ramirez and that period of time. … So, we’re not going anywhere. … But the other four houses, I guess just any variety of things could happen. It would be great if somebody stepped forward and wanted to preserve the history of the Compound. But it’s a high price tag, so who knows. … Mike Casey was so generous for so long, and I think a lot of artists probably owe so much to him in terms of what they’ve been able to do and how they’ve been able to manage time and focus on their careers because they had cheaper rent — and that’s tremendous. What Mike Casey has done for the San Antonio art scene is kind of beyond comprehension.
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San Antonio native Carole Baskin talks animal activism, presidential pardons and zombie tigers BY KIKO MARTINEZ
T
he first time Carole Baskin sat down to watch the true-crime docuseries Tiger King on Netflix over a year ago, she was shocked. Baskin, a big-cat protection activist and a subject of the series, said she thought she’d been working with the producers for five years on a show about animal abuse. What she saw during her initial viewing was something completely different. “We binged watched [Tiger King] like everyone else, and we could not believe that was the end result of five years of working with these people,” Baskin, 59, told the Current during a recent interview. “It was a missed opportunity to show how much tigers are suffering and how it’s causing us to lose them in the wild. Nobody got that from Tiger King. People just got entertained by a bunch of redneck hillbillies running around shooting and blowing up stuff.” During the early months of the pandemic, Tiger King became a national phenomenon that hooked viewers on the rivalry between Baskin — CEO of the nonprofit animal sanctuary Big Cat Rescue near Tampa, Florida — against archnemesis Joe Exotic, the eccentric private zoo operator at the center of the Tiger King narrative. Exotic was sentenced to prison in 2019 for hiring someone to kill Baskin. The film also turned Baskin into one of the most hated women in America by stirring up allegations that she killed her first husband, Don Lewis, and fed him to the tigers at her sanctuary. During our interview, Baskin — who was born at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio in 1961 — talked to us about why she would say “yes” to the series again, why she was worried that Donald Trump might pardon Exotic before he left office and what she thinks about the zombie tiger in Zack Snyder’s new film Army of the Dead.
How has Tiger King impacted your life since its release on Netflix over a year ago?
A lot of people ask if I would do it again. My husband Howard says “no” because all that hatred and vitriol and misunderstanding of who I am was directed at me. I think that was painful for him to see that happen to someone he loves. From my perspective, I would do it again because I feel like, even though it was a very tough time for the first three
screens
Cat Lady
Courtesy Photo Netflix
months because people were being so cruel, [the series] did some good. If it gets our federal bill [Big Cat Public Safety Act – H.R. 1380] to pass, which bans the private possession of big cats and cub petting, it will be worth everything we went through.
What did you think when filmmakers started asking you more about Joe?
They would ask me questions like, “Joe says you killed your husband and fed him to the tigers. What do you say to that?” I’d say, “Joe’s been saying that kind of crap for 20 years.” I’d respond to it, but I’d ask, “How is this important to the overall issue of how these animals are being treated?” [Producers] told us that Joe was only going to be a small part of [the series]. About a week before Tiger King came out, we saw the teasers and were like, “Who’s doing that show?”
Have you heard from any of the TV shows that are in development about Joe’s story? Kate McKinnon is playing you in one of them, so I’m assuming it’s a comedy.
They haven’t reached out to me, so God only knows what their story will end up being. There was nothing funny about losing my husband. That was a tragedy in our family. But as far as the rest of these people who are involved in the exotic cat industry, they’d be a pretty entertaining bunch if they weren’t so freaking scary.
Before Donald Trump left office in January, was there any part of you that believed he might pardon Joe?
You know, I wouldn’t talk about it before he was out of office, because I was so concerned that if I breathed any air into that stupid idea that it would get enough people talking about it that he would do it. But I really was scared. Anybody that’s seen the transcripts of the trial knows that Joe belongs in jail. Joe is just one of the people who has threatened to kill me all these years. I go after all these bad guys, and they’re all a lot smarter than Joe. That’s why Joe’s in jail. If he had been pardoned, it would’ve been fair game. I would’ve had a huge bullseye painted on my back.
How did you feel when you found out that one of your tigers was used as the model for the zombie tiger in Zack Snyder’s new film Army of the Dead?
We have had so many film crews come to film our cats over the years and rarely ever learn how the footage is used. This was such a delight to hear that our white tigers had been the models for zombie tigers, especially since breeding white tigers causes so many birth defects and is such a horrid practice. I hope no one ever wants to pay to see a white tiger again after seeing this zombie tiger. CGI is what we should be doing. If we want to have these magnificent animals acting on cue, use CGI. I may actually watch a zombie movie.
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food
Labor Pains
Hospitality industry employees say working conditions, not government checks, are keeping them from returning BY NINA RANGEL
A
ndrea Sanchez, a 15-plus-year food service veteran, returned to work last fall at Southtown’s Maverick Texas Brasserie with serious reservations. Due to the pandemic, she worried about risking her health while working for greatly reduced earnings. “I didn’t really want to go back in August, because I saw so many other people in the industry reinventing themselves, no longer working themselves to death for an entity that doesn’t care about them,” she said. “But I love my guests, I love people, and I want them to feel welcome.” Sanchez said she was pleasantly surprised by diners when restaurants first opened. They respected COVID-safety requirements, and they tipped well. But neither lasted long. “At this point, eight months later, I’m not even scared to get the virus. It’s more about people not respecting the restaurant,” she said. “So many people are not even attempting to wear a mask, not respecting the sixfoot rule, being blatantly rude and dismissive of the fact that the staff they see on the floor is everyone we have. And then they tip 15% after occupying a table for three hours. I just can’t do it anymore.” As if a 15-month pandemic hasn’t been devastating enough for food service establishments, those that made it through are struggling to rebuild amid a crippling labor shortage. But hospitality workers say that shortage isn’t because they’re lazy or don’t want to work. While some restaurants are offering signing and referral bonuses, those simply aren’t enough to draw workers back to the dining room floor. The National Restaurant Association reports that 93% of operators say retaining employees will likely be more difficult after the pandemic is over than it was before it started. With workers facing higher risk of exposure to the coronavirus, many say they’re not enticed to return to an industry known for long hours, often meager wages and minimal healthcare and retirement options.
‘Groceries, gas or rent’ Lisa Amaya tended bar for nearly eight years at Northeast San Antonio sports bar Roxy after years of working at corporate entities such as Olive Garden. After 15 years in the
Nina Rangel
business, she saw the pandemic as a chance to reboot her career and get out of a business that was yielding fewer and fewer rewards. “Empathy is a dying human trait,” she said of her frustration with the service sector. Amaya, who has bachelor’s degree in psychology from UTSA, recently accepted a job with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, working with families to assess their eligibility for food stamps and other programs. While she never considered herself a “lifer” in the restaurant industry, she never expected a worldwide health crisis to push her into another line of work. “I feel like I’ll still be in a service position, it’s just a totally different realm,” she said. “It’ll be something completely new, and maybe this is better for my mental health because I won’t have the chance to get so invested in the families I work with. Not like I did with my regulars from the bar.” In the months that Texas bars were forced into closure, Amaya noticed a dynamic change in some of her patrons’ behavior. Keeping in touch via social media opened the doors for her regular patrons to see more of
San Antonio food service veteran Andrea Sanchez returned to the industry last fall.
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her personal life, and that came with baggage. “[After bars reopened,] I had people come in and try to start arguments with me about politics in the bar,” she said. “Everything is so polarized now, and it became harder to be happy to see these people because I knew my mental and emotional health would suffer. There was always a comment about my being a stickler about masks or Trump or my lifestyle. Why couldn’t I have just served them their drinks and been on my way?” Ultimately, Amaya left Roxy Sports Bar not because she lacked support from coworkers or management, but because a job with the state offers something many small food service businesses can’t: benefits. Medical, dental, 401(k), you name it. “I knew the bar life wasn’t the end-all, be-all for me,” she said. “But I was never really able to save up enough money to better myself, to
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better my life. It’s tough to do that, to save and pay for school and monthly expenses on a wage like that. I’m so fortunate that my girlfriend and I can now afford for me to accept this job, take the time I need to train for it and not feel the anxiety I used to about how I was going to pay for groceries, gas or rent.”
Broken system Lisa Asvestas, owner of popular downtown-area eateries The Cove and Five Points Local, is used to hearing about the financial anxieties felt by food service workers. To her, they’re a sign of a broken system. “There’s some truth to the fact that some people likely enjoy sitting at home and getting these [unemployment] benefits,” Asvestas told the Current. “But business owners can either sit around and bitch about how nobody wants to work, or we can do something about it. This is part of the model shifting.” Asvestas began making major changes to her restaurants in 2019, adding health and wellness plans aimed at improving working conditions. In addition to implementing a $15 hourly minimum wage, she also hosts weekly check-ins and free yoga classes for employees and offers them paid leadership training and access to affordable healthcare. “I’m working on appreciating
Lisa Asvestas (right) of The Cove added health and wellness plans at her businesses to improve working conditions.
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the team that I have,” she said. “As a business owner, I had a shitty year and then two really good months where we turned a profit. March and April were so great, considering the last year. So, I’ll be implementing a profit bonus for my team members, because it took the whole team to make that profit. It wouldn’t have happened without them.” Both Sanchez and Amaya said they feel positive about their future job prospects. And Asvestas too feels like something positive will come out of the pandemic. All three said they’re hopeful that the pains being felt in the industry as it struggles through its restart are growing pains. “I feel like COVID has pushed the industry to the spotlight, about the fact that these issues have been brought into the light,” Asvestas said. “We can’t change what we don’t acknowledge. And you know, people are now seeing that it can be done. Restaurant owners can make sure people can make a living wage. … The question is really whether we’re all willing to do what it takes to make sure these systems benefit everyone.”
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food Posh ’Cue in the Park Pinkerton’s brings smoked meats, decent sides and exceptional cobbler to downtown San Antonio
W
ho’s got time to click through all of the food stories coming out of Countdown City these days? We get it, you’re busy and just need quick tidbits to get you caught up on the latest culinary happenings. Welcome to Hot Dish, where we offer up the latest savory scoops in quick, easy-to-digest servings.
BY RON BECHTOL
I
’m breaking a long-held personal rule by suggesting this, but eat dessert first to make sure there’s room. And then order more to take home. Aunt Ruby’s Blueberry Cobbler from Pinkerton’s Barbecue travels well if you can resist the urge to dive in again as soon as you get back to your own table. The cake-meets-crumb topping is the perfect combination of tender and crunchy, and the just-sweetenough blueberries aren’t mired in goop. Which is not to trash the rest of the menu at posh Pinkerton’s Barbecue, which opened in February on an entire shady block in the shadow of the new Frost Bank Tower. Fans of subtly smoked brisket will be thrilled to “come and eat it,” as owner Grant Pinkerton suggests. The meat is moist, thickly cut and wreathed in a visual bark with little textural bite. This may be the just the right style for a barbecue sandwich, since it doesn’t fight the restaurant’s sturdy, better-than-basic bun. The restaurant’s lacquered pork also slides easily from its ribs — although, for the life of me, I can’t say which of the two I got, dry rub or glazed. I asked for dry rub, but the pair on the tray looked proudly glossy. Regardless, the tender meat was not too sweet, a plus in my book, but also not too distinctive when compared to some more inventive options around town. Smoked turkey, again thickly cut, was another possibility from the pit. In my mind, turkey is always the barbecue bridesmaid, never the bride, no matter what kind of dress you put it in. Pinkerton’s didn’t change my mind on that. Even so, it’s impeccably moist and made a great foil for the house sauce: fruity, sweetish, hot-ish — something for everyone, in other words. Just don’t use too much or the turkey taste will disappear altogether. Of course, there’s also sausage. While my order’s snappy skin was spot-on, the jalapeño cheese link — regular ones are also an option — was a disappointment. I largely blame the cheese: it seemed to be of the American ilk and lent more lubrication than taste. But this may be a personal thing. If I’m consuming cheesy calories, I want them to be creamy, even funky, not oily. Pulled pork, chopped pork, and chicken wings are Pinkerton’s other meaty offerings, served in various forms. It pays to have an idea of what you want before arriving, since the abrupt entry situation can lead to a clot of deer-in-the-headlights newbies trying to read the strung-out menu just inside the door. There are no pre-ordained combo plates, adding to the anxiety. The odd setup calls for diners to order sides first.
Ron Bechtol
Those options include jalapeño cheese rice, potato salad, coleslaw, South Texas beans, rosemary bacon mac and cheese, and duck-and-sausage jambalaya. They also come in various sizes, adding another layer of complexity and hesitation. Desserts are pre-packaged, and of the two — bread pudding is the other possibility — I never saw more than one at a time. An ordering snafu on one visit meant that I got beans twice, and though they are smoky, thicker than most and meaty, perhaps from the addition of burnt ends, I had a lingering suspicion they included chili powder. Was that the presumed “South Texas” part? Discreetly dressed, the bi-colored slaw was moderately tangy and defiantly crunchy. The mustard-tinged potato salad was merely adequate, but then, so is most potato salad at joints around Texas. The jambalaya does stand out, though, even if the duck is hard to distinguish in the clingy rice’s exuberant seasoning. Small isn’t an option with this classic Cajun dish, so consider sharing it. While the ordering process was cumbersome, service was thoughtful once I found a spot at one of the generously spaced picnic tables. Servers replaced a paper towel roll just in time, brought a to-go container without me asking and quickly retrieved trays. The park-like outdoor setting, somehow appropriate to Pinkerton’s domesticated ’cue, makes this an especially family-friendly destination as well. Go and eat it. Cobbler first, if that suits your style.
PINKERTON’S BARBECUE 107 W. Houston St. | pinkertonsbarbecue.com | (210) 983-0088
OPENINGS Connecticut-based Wayback Burgers has opened a second San Antonio-area location, this one in Universal City. A new smoothie and açaí bowl shop called NOVO has opened near Lackland Air Force Base. Viet-Cajun crawfish eatery Pinch Boil House will open an Alamo Heights satellite to its original downtown location. Restaurant and bar Lucy Cooper’s Texas Ice House will expand with a new location in New Braunfels this summer. California-based chain North Italia will open first San Antonio-area location at The Rim on June 9. The Denton-based Rusty Taco chain will make its San Antonio debut at Bulverde Road and Loop 1604 later this summer.
NEWS Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a bill permanently allowing Texans to include alcohol in take-out food orders from restaurants. Dominion-area staple The Grill at Leon Springs was completely destroyed in a fire last week. One-price menu spot Cervecería Chapultepec was named in a $20 million lawsuit alleging it served alcohol to a 24-year-old woman accused of killing a cyclist with her car. Cult classic Yuengling beer will be available in Texas this fall for the first time in its 192-year history. San Antonio-based Bill Miller Bar-B-Q will move its headquarters out of downtown, building a new West Side facility.
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays Price Range: Barbecue runs $16-28 per pound
Applications for the Small Business Administration’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund are now open.
Best Bets: Jambalaya, South Texas beans, brisket, brisket sandwich, pork ribs, blueberry cobbler The Skinny: Pinkerton’s has blown into town on a whiff of mesquite
Tickets for Whiskey Business, the San Antonio Current’s first signature food event of 2021, are on sale now.
and oak smoke from Houston — and bypassing Austin, so there’s that. Its polite evocation of a country roadhouse sits on an entire city block in the shadow of the glassy, faceted Frost Tower. The flagship brisket
San Antonio chef Pieter Sypesteyn’s Southern Rotisserie at Pearl’s Bottling Department is closing down.
is equally urbanized: moist, tender and discreetly smoky. Pork ribs are ease-off-the-bone tender. The sausages are structurally sound, and the sides are resoundingly adequate. The blueberry cobbler, however, is exquisite. Order two.
San Antonio chefs Geronimo Lopez, Jesse Kuykendall, Emily Hersh and Antonio Ruiz are expected to make appearances on TV cooking competition shows over the next few months. sacurrent.com | May 19 – June 1, 2021 | CURRENT
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Thursday, May 20
Musical Tribute to Miles Davis
music
Music Listings
The evening will feature a five-piece band, including trumpet and sax, paying tribute to one of the true giants of jazz. Gerry Gibbs, who will hold down the drums, has played with well-known players from Alice Coltrane as well as Parliament-Funkadelic. Gibbs has been the house drummer for The Blue Note Jazz Club “After Hours Band” and maintained a long-running residency at San Antonio’s Carmen’s de la Calle. $10, 8 p.m., Luna, 6740 San Pedro Ave., lunalive.com. — MIKE MCMAHAN
Friday, May 21
Dizzy Reed’s Hookers & BLOW
If Reed’s name sounds familiar, don’t be surprised. He’s the longest-serving non-Axl member of Guns N’ Roses, having first appeared on Use Your Illusion. Though Reed’s best known for his keyboard work with GN’R, Hookers & BLOW features him on guitar and occasional turns on lead vocals. Reed released his debut solo LP Rock ’N Roll Ain’t Easy, in 2018. $25-150, 7 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com. — MM
Asleep at the Wheel
It seems like most bands break up quickly, but Austin’s country traditionalists Asleep at the Wheel are certainly an exception. The band is celebrating its 50th year in business with the May 28 release of its Better Times EP. The three-song release features a new tune from bandleader Ray Benson, as well as two covers. Expect more news on the milestone anniversary celebrations later in the year. 7 p.m., $35100, 7 p.m., John T. Floore’s Country Store, 14492 Old Bandera Road, (210) 695-8827, liveatfloores.com. — MM
Corey Taylor
Sanford Nowlin
Remembering Ram
Memorial mosaic of slain Taco Land owner finally installed at site of legendary club BY SANFORD NOWLIN
R
am Ayala, the late owner of Taco Land, received a fitting tribute last Saturday with the installation of a memorial mosaic at the site of the storied underground rock club. Working under a tarp in the rain, visual artist Mig Kokinda and assistant Matt Simpson — both Taco Land regulars — assembled ceramic tiles on the outside wall of the Pearl-area Velvet Taco. The chain restaurant occupies the spot where Taco Land once stood. Kokinda stenciled the tiles with an image of Ayala, who was murdered during a 2005 robbery, alongside doorman “Gypsy Doug” Morgan. The design also includes a quote from the beloved bar owner. The project came about after SausTex Records honcho Jeff Smith and others convinced Dallas-based Velvet Taco to rethink a
wall mural it designed in-house. Smith reached out to Kokinda to design a replacement mural that would make a more fitting tribute to Ayala. But, worried how long paint would last on the brick wall, Kokinda chose tile as his medium instead. “I tried to think of how to do it, and I kept coming back to all those shrines people have in their yards on the South Side and the West Side,” Kokinda said. By early evening, Kokinda and Simpson had fully assembled the mosaic and covered it with plastic sheeting to protect it from the elements. As of press time, the pair were expected to return to apply grout Mig Kokinda and a sealer. A bronze plaque memorializing Ayala, Morgan and Taco Land will also be installed at Velvet Taco adjacent the gnarled oak tree on its patio.
You know him from Slipknot and Stone Sour, sure. But if you follow metal social media, you know that he’s a star there, too, weighing in on any number of issues and inspiring the jokey “What Corey Taylor Thinks” catchphrase. Taylor is currently touring in support of his solo album, CMFT, though his set for this outdoor show will include selections from both Slipknot and Stone Sour. Worthy of note: Taylor vocally supports maintaining COVID protocols and has encouraged everyone to get vaccinated, so count on the rules being enforced at this gig. 7 p.m., $120-400, 7 p.m., Vibes Event Center, 1223 E. Houston St., (210) 255-3833, vibeseventcenter.com. — MM
Sunday May 23
Upon a Burning Body at Vibes Event Center
San Antonio metalcore heroes Upon a Burning Body are known for intense, passionate performances. The veteran act most recently released 2019’s Southern Hostility and is known for scorching tunes including “All Pride No Pain,” “5x3” and “Texas Blood Money.” $17-20, 6 p.m., Vibes Event Center, 1223 E. Houston St., (210) 255-3833, vibeseventcenter.com. — MM
Wednesday, May 26 Ken Slavin
The renowned local crooner is making his post-pandemic return with this performance. Slavin has drawn accolades from all over the world and made the tour rounds as well, headlining concerts from Alaska and Mexico. A seasoned performer with a love for the Great American Songbook, he celebrated his 30th anniversary as a live artist last year. $20-60, 8 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com. — MM
Friday, May 28
Thunderstorm Artis
This finalist from the spring 2020 season of The Voice made his initial splash on the show with a cover of “Blackbird” from a little group called The Beatles. Since then, he’s performed at the wedding of Crazy Rich Asians director John M. Chu. His most recent single “The Prayer” dropped in December. $25-150, 7 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com. — MM
Saturday, May 29
Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol at Paper Tiger
This unusually named Austin outfit released the equally unusually named LP Burger Babes… From Outer Space! in 2020. The core of the band’s sound is stoner rock. However, it also displays some of the more off-kilter qualities of Queens of the Stone Age, from oddly phrased riffs to not taking themselves too seriously. $10, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — MM
Sunday, May 30
Giant Fricken Laser Kitties with Steve Aoki
Put on your dancin’ shoes and get ready to move. Aoki is one of the best-known DJs out there, and not just because his signature move is throwing a whole cake at an audience member. He tours heavily, often playing hundreds of dates a year. In addition, he’s remixed tracks for superstars including Drake and Kanye. $35-60, 8 p.m., Cowboys Dancehall, 3030 NE Loop 410, (210) 646-9378, cowboysdancehall.com. — MM
Reminder:
Although live events have returned, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Check with venues to make sure scheduled events are still happening, and please follow all health and safety guidelines.
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CURRENT | May 19 – June 1, 2021 | sacurrent.com
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2065 L E G A L N O T I C E S Application has been made with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for a Wine and Beer permit license (BG type) by City Sightseeing San Antonio Tours, to be located at 111 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio, Texas 78205 (Bexar County). Officers of said corporation is David Strainge, Owner.
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CURRENT | May 19 – June 1, 2021 | sacurrent.com
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