Arts

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SA Writer Enrique Lopetegui’s new book Nobody Told Me Nada collects years of fearless music writing

BY MIKE MCMAHAN

San Antonio-based music critic Enrique Lopetegui got the writing bug as a teen when he sent a fi redup missive to a newspaper in his native country of Uruguay. In it, he criticized a martial arts style whose progenitor could allegedly kill bulls with a single punch — a claim that does sound like bullshit. It’s easy to see why Lopetegui was pissed.

The le er ran in the paper, and the rest is, well, history.

It’s history because Lopetegui wrote it, and he continued to write because he was unimpressed with the state of South American music criticism. But he didn’t stop there. By 1984, he’d relocated to LA, where he’d become a Hare Krishna and worked in an ice cream shop. Eventually, he landed a gig as the Los Angeles Times’ Latin pop music critic, then became the Current’s music and screens editor from 2008 to 2014.

It may be that Lopetegui’s early le er defi ned his style, because the pieces collected in his new book Nobody Told Me Nada: Latin Pop, Llama Poop & Other Unexpected Writings: An Enrique Lopetegui Selection (1992-2021) are short and punchy — not unlike a well-crafted le er to the editor.

Published by Yulelé Media, the book also is organized chronologically, so the pieces refl ect his career arc as a music scribe. Some read like dispatches from the frontlines of the live music circuit. For example, he opens a piece about South Texas music legend Freddy Fender with the choice quote “When I read in Rolling Stone that ‘Thee Midniters were the original rock en español,’ I wanted to puke.”

In Nobody Told Me Nada, Lopetegui repeatedly pulls off a maneuver that separates world-class cultural critics from aspirants: describing music and placing it in context. His ability to do that is on full display in a 1992 LA Weekly piece about Mexican rock band La Lupita that might as well have hypertext. By 1993, the writer was talking to Mexican pop icon Juan Gabriel about slam-dancing and sexual orientation.

Though the collection’s early writings are focused on Latin music, by the time Lopetegui’s award-winning San Antonio era arrives, readers get to see him expand his focus to include interviews with and essays about B.B. King, Morrissey, Charlie Chaplin, Slash, Manu Ginobli and Linda Ronstadt. Lopetegui’s profi le of San Antonio’s much-missed Girl In A Coma is one of the highlights, as is a confrontation with Public Enemy’s Chuck D over the weakness of the Democratic Party.

Through this whirlwind, Lopetegui’s fearless spirit is always on full display.

“With all due respect to the New York Dolls and the Ramones, I boldly declare: without [Emerson, Lake & Palmer], there would be no punk,” he writes in a piece on the often-derided prog rock trio. Lopetegui then follows up that bold statement by asking the band’s Carl Palmer himself if drum solos are just excuses to “show off .”

A man not afraid to piss off martial arts masters, prog legends or punk rockers. Godspeed, sir.

Courtesy Image / Yulelé Media

San Antonio’s Briscoe Museum kicks off its Summer Film Series with The Searchers on June 19

Critically acclaimed 1956 Western The Searchers leads the herd this month as the fi rst fi lm in the Briscoe Western Art Museum’s Summer Film Series.

Directed by John Ford, The Searchers follows Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) on a treacherous mission across Texas to fi nd his niece Debbie (Natalie Wood), who’s been kidnapped by Comanches. The fi lm has been described by critics as a relevant commentary on racial prejudice and the dangerous consequences of revenge.

The series will continue with screenings of Dances with Wolves on Sunday, July 17 and Wind River on Sunday, Aug. 21.

All screenings will take place in the Briscoe’s Jack Guenther Pavilion. Each is included with general museum admission and will be preceded by a short presentation on the common themes and qualities of Western fi lms. Free beverages will be served, courtesy of Ranger Creek Brewery, with popcorn and other snacks available for purchase.

The fi lm series will occur alongside the museum’s latest exhibition, “The Sons of Charlie Russell: The Cowboy Artists of America,” which will remain on view through Sept. 5. Curated by Emily Wilson, the show features an eclectic collection of more than 70 works from 1890 to the present that encompass the steadfast traditions of Western art. Museum visitors can immerse themselves in works by 19th-century Western art pioneers in addition to contemporary contributions to the genre. $6-$12, 1 p.m., Sunday, June 19, Briscoe Western Art Museum, 210 W. Market St., (210) 299-4499, briscoemuseum.org.

— Caroline WolFF

HBO Max

FRIDAY, AUG. 26 | WITTE MUSEUM

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