Pride Edition
Beloved SA drag performer Kristi Waters steps out of spotlight for health battle
Publisher Michael Wagner
Editor in Chief Sanford Nowlin
General Manager Chelsea Bourque
Editorial
Digital Content Editor Stephanie Koithan
Contributing Arts Editor Bryan Rindfuss
Staff Writer Michael Karlis
Contributors Abe Asher, Bill Baird, Ron Bechtol, Danny Cervantes, Amber Esparza, Brianna Espinoza, Anjali Gupta, Colin Houston, Kiko Martinez, Mike McMahan, Kevin Sanchez, M. Solis, Dean Zach
Advertising
Senior Account Executive Mike Valdelamar
Account Manager Parker McCoy
Creative Services
Graphic Designer Ana Paula Gutierrez
Events and Marketing
Events Director Chelsea Bourque
Events & Promotions Coordinator
Chastina De La Pena
Circulation
Circulation Manager Chastina De La Pena
Chava Communications Group
Founder, Chief Executive Officer Michael Wagner
Co-Founder, Chief Marketing Officer Cassandra Yardeni
Chief Operating Officer Graham Jarrett
Vice President of Operations Hollie Mahadeo
Art Director David Loyola
Director of Digital Content Strategy Colin Wolf
Digital Operations Coordinator Jaime Monzon
Project Manager Megan Nally
chavagroup.com
National Advertising: Voice Media Group
1-888-278-9866, vmgadvertising.com
San Antonio Current sacurrent.com
Editorial: editor@sacurrent.com
Display Advertising: marketing@sacurrent.com
The San Antonio Current is published by Chava Communications Group
San Antonio Distribution The Current is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader.
Get listed 1. Visit sacurrent.com
2. Click “Calendar” and then “Submit an Event”
3. Follow the steps to submit your event details
Please allow 48 hours for review and approval. Event submissions are not accepted by phone.
Copyright notice: The entire contents of the San Antonio Current are copyright 2023 by Chava 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 emailed to the addresses 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.
in this issue
16
Resolved to Resist
Despite Texas’ inhospitable environment, members of SA’s trans community say they’re staying put
07 News
The Opener News in Brief
Taking It to the Street
Who’s organizing San Antonio’s 50501 protests and what’s next for them?
Cityscrapes
San Antonio’s new elected leadership should call a timeout on Project Marvel until more details become clear
Bad Takes
Trump’s deportation dragnet should be called out for its cruelty
18
Calendar
Our picks of things to do
22 Arts
‘Slay You Later’
Beloved San Antonio drag performer
27 Screens
Pattern Breaker
San Antonio native Elizabeth Chambers takes unflinching look at toxic relationships in docuseries
South Texas Celluloid
Documentaries celebrating Tejano music highlight this year’s CineFestival San Antonio
31 Food
Simply Delightful
By getting the basics right, Primo’s rises above standard neighborhood Italian
Cooking Up
Conversation: Pink Shark’s Amber Hernandez
Hernandez and partner Jessica Marinez pride themselves on creating safe, inclusive nightspots
Band Geeks bringing ambitious setlist to San Antonio
Remembering Ram
20th Annual Ram Jam to celebrate proprietor of legendary SA music venue Taco Land
Critics’ Picks
Auditor’s Certification:
Kristi Waters to step out of the spotlight to battle cancer
35 Music
Starship Trooper
Yes singer Jon Anderson and the
On the Cover: The Current’s annual Pride issue features a story on beloved drag performer Kristi Waters taking a break from performing to focus on a health issue. Here she’s photographed on the streets of New York.
Photo: Mateo Oscar. Design: David Loyola.
Courtesy Photo Hunsen Abequeer
That Rocks/That Sucks
HA new report from Texas’ state auditor’s office found that the agency responsible for overseeing jails statewide repeatedly failed to sufficiently investigate inmate complaints. In nearly half of the cases surveyed, investigators with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards never even contacted the lockups from where the complaints came. The report also found the commission didn’t keep accurate records of investigations and also failed to conduct legally required jail inspections.
The accrediting body overseeing the merger of the University of Texas at San Antonio and UT Health San Antonio last week approved the schools’ combination. The merged university is set to be rebranded as UT San Antonio in September. “We are combining two superb institutions to form a new transformational university — one that is nimble, creative and unlike any other in Texas or the nation,” Taylor Eighmy, acting president for the institutions, said.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton last week requested a new execution date for Robert Roberson, the East Texas man convicted of capital murder 22 years ago in the death of his two-year-old daughter Nikki. Roberson has maintained his innocence in the years since, arguing that new evidence suggests his daughter died of a severe illness. Texas legislators on both sides of the aisle have sought to delay Roberson’s execution as he continues to appeal his conviction.
After canceling her Alamodome concert earlier this month due to structural issues with her stage, Latin pop star Shakira has rescheduled for July 5. The show will begin at the same time, 7:30 p.m., and the Alamodome will honor all tickets purchased for the original concert. Shakira’s San Antonio performance was initially scheduled for Frost Bank Center last November, but moved to the Alamodome due to high ticket demand. — Abe Asher
Crusading against the demon weed with Lt.
Gov. Dan Patrick
Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark.
During an unhinged Monday press conference, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick accused foreign terrorist organizations and Mexican drug cartels of operating smoke shops and dispensaries that sell THC-containing hemp products around the state.
“We have no idea who is making these products,” Patrick said without offering any proof criminal groups are involved in the state’s hemp industry.
“Are they terrorists? Is this a terrorist money laundering scheme in Texas? Is it a cartel money laundering scheme?”
Patrick called the press conference roughly 12 hours after fellow Republican Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed Senate Bill 3, a top legislative priority of the lieutenant governor’s that would have banned sale and possession of all THC products statewide.
In conjunction with the veto, Abbott called a special session asking lawmakers to return to Austin to pass regulations for the hemp industry, including purchase age limits, product testing requirements and licensing rules. In an online statement, the governor said SB 3’s defects were “undeniable” and that it would be indefensible in court, meaning enforcement of the ban “could be enjoined for years.”
In response, Patrick accused Abbott of wanting to legalize recreational marijuana — something the governor has never said he favored — and warned continuing hemp sales would ruin the state economy. Never mind that THC-containing products such as delta-8 and delta-9 have been legally available here for years thanks to state lawmakers legalizing hemp in 2019.
“We think we’re going to attract business here if we got a bunch of people high on marijuana at very high levels?” Patrick asked reporters at his presser. “Is
that who wants to come here and build their plant here, open up a business, move their family here?
We’re not Colorado, we’re not Oregon and we’re not Washington State.”
Patrick added that he’ll never allow legal recreational cannabis use in Texas.
“If people want to vote me out of office for that, so be it. Not going to do it,” he said.
Looks like some folks may be willing to do just that. A poll released this month found that 61% of registered Texas voters oppose the THC ban Patrick championed in SB 3. The same survey even found GOP voters opposed the measure by a 44%-31% margin.
Further, Patrick said that he was unaware Abbott planned to veto SB 3, adding that the governor assured him earlier in the session the legislation was good to go.
“We will work through it, hopefully,” Patrick said. “But it’s not the state I want. I don’t want my kids, my grandkids, growing up in a state where everybody’s high.”
Maybe not, but this assclown’s bizarre performance Monday is enough to make us wonder what the fuck he’s been smoking. — Michael Karlis
YOU SAID IT!
“The San Antonio Spurs, at the heart of America in Texas, is the future of the league, growing their fandom rapidly, and the most international team the NBA has to offer.”
Pascal Gauthier,
CEOofFrenchcryptosecurityfirmLedger, theteam’snewuniformsponsor
San Antonio and Bexar County issued a joint disaster declaration last week in response to flooding that left 13 people dead. The flood, which swept along Beitel and Leon creeks in Northwest San Antonio, was one of the worst the area has suffered in years. The disaster declaration will allow the city and county to seek additional resources to aid for recovery efforts and may include federal assistance. The causes of the flood are currently under investigation.
San Antonio’s Ethics Review Board last week ruled that two City Council members violated ethics rules during their recent re-election campaigns. The board found Councilman Marc Whyte in violation for using city facilities, personnel, equipment or time for private purposes while on
city time, and it also found Councilwoman Sukh Kaur in violation of the same section of the ethics code after her chief of staff passed out campaign materials while representing her council office. Whyte was fined $2,500.
A member of the board of the Edwards Aquifer Conservancy resigned last week after a KSAT investigation reportedly uncovered racist, sexist and anti-LGBTQ+ posts on his X account. Among Don Laffere’s posts was one that allegedly called Adolf Hitler “a somewhat prophet” and a reported repost suggesting the assassination of President John F. Kennedy was the result of a Jewish conspiracy. Laffere defended the posts, telling the TV station that “some people don’t like the truth.” — Abe Asher
Taking It to the Street
Who’s organizing San Antonio’s 50501 protests and what’s next for them?
BY STEPHANIE KOITHAN
More than 10,000 people took to San Antonio’s streets on Saturday, June 14, to protest President Donald Trump’s birthday parade, a turnout unprecedented in recent memory.
The Alamo City gathering happened in conjunction with 2,000 similar actions nationwide, which drew a combined 5 million demonstrators, according to NPR. Some estimates place the total draw even higher.
The day of action, organized in part by the decentralized grassroots anti-Trump group 50501, is considered one of the largest such mobilizations in United States history. To get a better sense of
who this group is and how it’s funded and organized, the Current tracked down one of the key movers in its local chapter.
San Antonio’s 50501 chapter is organized by Alex Svehla, a social worker and program manager at University of Texas at San Antonio. He shares duties with co-organizer Sara Ramirez, who works as a nurse, according to LinkedIn.
Svehla’s work in political activism started in 2012 as an organizer for former Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat. Since then, Svehla has stayed involved, including work with the Bexar County Democratic Party.
Svehla told the Current a group of roughly 30 dedicated volunteers round out the local 50501 chapter, serving in roles that range from managing social
media to handing out water bottles at events.
Though the national structure is nebulous, the local organizers are very real and part of the local community, Svehla said.
Who’s paying for this?
Due to 50501’s decentralized nature, the San Antonio chapter receives no funding from a national pot, Svehla said.
That means he and other local organizers must get creative. All their supplies are donated or loaned by volunteers. Those range from the PA system used at events to canopies, tables, water coolers and walkie-talkies.
“We just have some amazing people out there that are contributing in so many different ways,” Svehla said.
Though not registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the San Antonio 50501 chapter does accept monetary donations.
“But it’s not enough to really make a huge impact,” Svehla said. “It’s enough to like cover the supplies we want to bring out each time.”
That can include bottled waters, snacks and porta-potty rentals, he added. While parade organizers are required to pay for police protection, Svehla said local 50501 marches aren’t required to come up with that money since they qualify as a First Amendment-protected activity.
What’s next
The local 50501 group’s next protest will take place at Saturday, July 5, at downtown’s Travis Park. The gathering will run 10 a.m.-1 p.m. with a march scheduled for 11 a.m.
The group of dedicated members met the Monday following last month’s “No Kings” to recap the successful protest and decide on the theme of the next action. They landed on “We the People,” according to Svehla, and due to the decentralized nature of the movement, the local chapter doesn’t need to seek approval for the theme.
“Here in San Antonio, we don’t have anyone higher up to answer to,” Svehla said. “It’s just us doing what we feel is
Courtesy Photo 50501 San Antonio
best for us. And that’s how all the major cities across America are working.”
Even so, all chapters try to coordinate their protests for the same day.
Coordination among the chapter leaders largely takes place in social-media group chats, Svehla explained. The movement also collaborates with other activist groups such as Indivisible, which came up with June’s “No Kings” theme.
The core group of volunteers behind San Antonio 50501 will need to grow if the chapter expects to keep managing crowds of 10,000 or more, Svehla said. Those who want to volunteer can sign up on the local group’s official Instagram account, instagram.com/ fiftyfiftyone.satx.
Given the chapter’s small crew and its huge demonstration turnouts, Svehla said he’s proud that the events have so far remained peaceful.
Underground network
50501, which has taken some criticism for its decentralized structure, appeared to spring from nowhere this January, when an anonymous Reddit user called u/ Evolved_Fungi posted a call to action for nationwide protests against the Trump White House’s authoritarian moves.
“We come from dust, and to dust we will return. But first, we were Fungi, and Fungi we will be again,” read u/Evolved_ Fungi’s initial manifesto, which has since been deleted. Even so, screenshots remain online.
The battle cry of Fungi invoked the principle of a mycelium network, which is essentially what 50501 became. Throughout the country, the decentralized group spored an underground network of grassroots chapters communicating with each other and building an invisible but massive movement.
But Fungi’s call to action was more than a spontaneous online rant. 50501 launched with a fully formed identity, complete with branding, logo, press kits and other collateral to support its loosely formed chapters.
Even though the national organization remains murky, some figureheads have emerged, including national press coordinator Hunter Dunn.
However, it’s still unclear who u/ Evolved_Fungi is. In a Newsweek interview, the elusive figure declined to disclose their true identity. The only way Newsweek was able to verify that its staff
was interviewing u/Evolved_Fungi was via internet signature.
Many movements throughout history have clustered around a single figurehead, making them susceptible to falling apart if a top leader leaves or dies. 50501’s decentralized structure solves this problem, though its opacity creates others.
That opaque structure has created suspicion among some organizers and activists. Leading up to “No Kings Day,” some people insisted in online posts that activists shouldn’t pre-register for 50501 rallies because the group could be collecting data for nefarious purposes.
Though registration isn’t required to attend a 50501 protest, Svehla said, it’s given the group an imperfect way to estimate crowd size. Not everyone who registers attends, though, and not everyone who attends registers, he added.
Wide range of issues
The 50501 movement has also been at the center of a wide array of intersecting critiques of the Trump admin-
istration. Signs at the group’s San Antonio demonstrations have called for freeing Palestine, protecting LGBTQ+ rights, shielding immigrants, defending the Constitution, unmasking law enforcement, restoring abortion rights and more. Anyone from young keffiyeh-clad revolutionaries to septuagenarian, blue-dog Dems appear to have found homes in the marches so far.
These disparate interests, all connected in their opposition to the Trump regime, have made for a “broad coalition” or “big tent” feel for which many organizers have long pined. Still, some online critics fret that 50501’s appeal may be too broad.
Svehla said he hasn’t seen the criticisms because he’s not on social media much.
Still, he admitted he also was a little skeptical of the new movement when it first cropped up. In fact, he wondered if it might sputter out after a protest or two.
“But it did happen the very first time, and then it also happened the second time,” Svehla said. “And so I definitely took notice of the movement, and
that’s when I jumped in at the end of February of this year.”
Svehla quickly was put in charge due to his past experience, he explained.
Last month’s “No Kings” rally marked the first time many in attendance ever attended a protest, according to Svehla, who’s encouraged to see the demonstrations are drawing more than the usual die-hard activists.
“I just think that’s super amazing,” he said. “I think that shows people are fired up, that they feel personally attacked by what’s going on.”
The end goal is to get 3.5% of the U.S. population into the streets in protest, a vital threshold for creating change, according to Harvard researcher Erica Chenoweth, who studied nonviolent protests throughout history.
“The fight is far from over,” Svehla said. “We are going to do this until we get the positive change and the society that we want. And the more that are willing to come out, the better.”
Courtesy Photo 50501 San Antonio
San Antonio’s new elected leadership should call a timeout on Project Marvel until more details become clear
BY HEYWOOD SANDERS
Cityscrapes is a column of opinion and analysis.
Project Marvel keeps barreling ahead in a manner appropriate to its moniker.
“Community planning workshops” about the proposed downtown sports-and-entertainment district are scheduled to begin June 24, ostensibly giving residents their first chance to “engage” with the grand plan.
But the real marvel here is how little of the grand scheme city officials have bothered to make clear, and how little say the public ultimately will have in a project whose price tag could reach $4 billion.
Marvel was birthed and developed behind closed doors at City Hall, obviously intended to be pushed through at the May city election with Mayor Ron Nirenberg and a supportive city council still in office. But County Judge Peter Sakai was apparently unwilling to commit to the scheme with so much uncertainty still surrounding its cost and specifics.
Sakai’s unwillingness to immediately jump on board pushed back the original schedule, and a public vote is now more likely for November. Even so, the delay hasn’t really produced any more substantial answers to the most fundamental questions about the project, namely its feasibility, its financing, its timing, and indeed, its purpose and strategy.
City staff have presented residents with a single, grand, long-term plan with no opportunity to consider options, alternatives or other possibilities. It’s been packaged as a take-it-or-leave-it deal, with only a limited public say on some elements of the overall
scheme, notably the vote on the county venue tax and a likely vote on some $250 million in infrastructure improvements needed to make the first phase work.
With that in mind, here’s a brief rundown of the things we still don’t know:
• The realistic cost of the proposed Spurs arena that would be a centerpiece in Protect Marvel, which staff has so far estimated at $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion;
• What the Spurs are prepared to pay and how;
• How much the county venue tax will cover;
• How much the city’s components of the deal — the project financing zone (PFZ) and tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ) — will contribute;
• How much will come from private sources;
• The specifics of the arena itself;
• What events beyond Spurs games the city is planning for, which it categorizes in presentations as “large scale national and international events;”
• What “an activated district full of amenities within a quarter-mile walk” would actually contain and look like;
• Who the planned “private developers” associated with the project would be or what or whether they would contribute to paying for the public development;
• Anything about the market feasibility or actual performance delivery of the new convention center proposed under Project Marvel;
• Why we need a new 1,000-room hotel that also would be part of the project;
• What kind of new private development the city is seeking and planning for;
• What’s involved with the “re-imagined Alamodome” proposed under Marvel or how much it might cost;
• The cost of the proposed Land Bridge linking the Alamodome and the Spurs arena;
• How the Frost Bank Center, the Spurs’ current home, will be used in the future;
• How any new development might be attracted to the vicinity of the Frost Bank Center;
• What the plans are for the neighborhoods around the Frost Bank Center.
When city staff revealed initial details about Project Marvel last November, the timeline included finalizing funding mechanisms, exploring delivery options and identifying project and hotel partners by the end of 2025. We’re now being asked to vote in November on a project where we have yet to see a finalized funding plan or project and hotel partners — and where residents have been presented with no other alternatives.
All of these questions need firm, definitive answers before there can be any meaningful community planning or engagement process.
But, above all, we need to have real choices. Why not a new arena at the county fairgrounds site? Why not improvements to the existing Frost Bank Center? Why not other sites they might require less costly infrastructure and development of a land bridge?
Then there are the choices surrounding the proposed 1,000-room hotel. Why not
a smaller one? Why not a different site? What about the “UTSA School of Hospitality” that was pictured in staff’s November presentation on Marvel? Or choices about the “re-imagining” of the Alamodome and the cost of further public investment.
Above all, San Antonio residents need to have some meaningful choices about what the Spurs are prepared to commit. Not only in terms of their financial outlay for the arena, but their long-term commitment to this city and supporting the community. With up to $4 billion in public funds at stake, the entire community — not just the Spurs organization, its ownership and die-hard fans — should benefit from this project.
Newly sworn-in Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and the reconfigured City Council should at least call a timeout on Project Marvel. We need answers to all the above questions and more, and we need a meaningful process of participation, involvement and choice. We don’t need a rush to a vote in November.
That lack of choice has been an all-toocommon fixture of past projects pushed by the City of Sn Antonio. Too often, residents have suffered through an inadequate planning process so leaders could rush to a vote, and that’s given us public projects that cost more than estimated, take longer to realize and ultimately fail to deliver on the grand promises.
San Antonio can and should do better. Heywood Sanders is a professor emeritus of public administration at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Courtesy Photo Frost Bank Center
Trump’s deportation dragnet should
be called out for its
cruelty
BY KEVIN SANCHEZ
Bad Takes is a column of opinion and analysis.
During a 2012 talk at the University of Notre Dame, the philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre, who died last month, spoke evocatively of “the needs of the hungry and the homeless; the needs of single mothers; the needs of migrant farmworkers; the needs of refugees and illegal immigrants; the needs for good high schools for deprived children; the needs of the physically and the mentally ill; the needs of those in prison and of ex-prisoners,” and especially, “the needs of children: children who are hungry or homeless; children of prisoners; children whose schools fail them; children whose parents don’t have the means of caring for them.”
Then, which characteristic moral clarity, the Scottish American devotee of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas posed the following question: “What would it mean to live in a society where it was widely felt to be intolerable that those needs should not be met in the ordinary course of life?”
More than 77 million people voted for Donald Trump last year, supplying ample proof that we don’t yet live in such a society. If recent events qualify as a return to “law and order,” I’d hate to witness what anarchy looks like to the apologists for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
While the Trump White House has repeatedly said it’s prioritized deporting criminals, NBC News two months ago reported that ICE data shows more than half of those whom the agency has in custody have no criminal convictions.
An ICE officer who blew the whistle on corruption at a Houston field office said they were intimidated with an 8-inch tactical knife by a fellow officer in what’s
supposed to be a weapons-free facility. What’s more, investigative journalists at The Intercept this month documented what they called “just the latest in a long line of allegations of waste, mismanagement, abuse, cover-ups and other wrongdoing across the agency and among its contractors.”
And as ICE’s net has widened to include masked raids at job sites, even U.S. citizens, tourists and people on work and student visas have found themselves swept up.
“Every day, in communities throughout the U.S., local police enable the arrest, detention and deportation of immigrants, often by entering them into the ‘traffic stop-to-deportation pipeline’ or by collaborating with ICE on immigration home raids,” sociologist Alex Vitale and public health researcher William Lopez wrote for nonprofit news outlet The Truthout.
Refusing to give in to fear, millions of protesters from Los Angeles to San Antonio marched in the streets, braving rubber bullets and tear gas and exemplifying an alternative aspiration for a more humane, welcoming U.S.
But on seas as stormy as this, ethical motion sickness should be expected. Take, for example, a confused editorial recently carried in the Express-News by Ruben Navarrette Jr., the nation’s most widely read Latino columnist.
“Democrats are masters at contradicting themselves,” Navarrette asserted. ”In June 1963, they applauded when President John Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard and removed Gov. George Wallace from the doorway of the Uni-
“Whatever happened to the calls to abolish ICE?” stand-up comic Francesca Fiorentini asked for Zeteo news in May. “Back in 2017, amidst the outrage over child separations, ‘Abolish ICE’ was a rallying cry. So now that people are being disappeared into gulags abroad, are dying in ICE custody, now that mayors are being arrested, now that people are being kidnapped at their workplaces, at immigration appointments, where’s the call?”
While many Dems fail to meet the moment, some Republicans have flinched as well.
versity of Alabama where the notorious segregationist was blocking the entry of Black students. Now, in 2025, when the president in question is Donald Trump and the armed forces being federalized belong to the California National Guard, Democrats suddenly aren’t so keen on the idea of a presidential override of a governor’s authority.”
“About 10 seconds of thought should tell you how radically disanalogous those situations are,” philosophy professor Ben Burgis said in response to the slapdash historical parallel on his podcast. “Jim Crow was about the maintenance of a bunch of unconstitutional mini-police states around the country that terrorized a subset of their citizens into not exercising their democratic rights. The ICE raids going on in LA were just an ostentatiously over-the-top display of cruelty making a big dumb performative show of maximally inflicting pain”.
One can believe extraordinary measures were necessary to desegregate schools and protect civil rights activists while also believing that trying to intimidate substantially peaceful protesters with the military is worse than unnecessary, it’s disgusting. So where exactly is the supposed contradiction?
Navarrette should have had no trouble finding more glaring hypocrisies on the part of the Democratic establishment. For instance, despite rhetorical grandstanding, congressional Dems have repeatedly voted to balloon ICE’s budget. ICE spending went from $8.4 billion in the last year of Trump’s first term to upwards of $10 billion under Joe Biden, records show.
“Every minute that we spend pursuing an individual with a clean record is a minute less that we dedicate to apprehending terrorists or cartel operatives,” six Republican U.S. Reps, including Texas’ Monica De La Cruz and Tony Gonzales, wrote in a letter to acting ICE Director Todd Lyons. “We strongly agree that convicted criminal aliens — smugglers, murderers, and sex offenders — pose an immediate threat to our homeland security ... . That said, we are also concerned that your limited resources may be stretched to pursue individuals that do not constitute an immediate threat to public safety.”
Other decidedly un-leftist stalwarts have commendably held down even stauncher positions.
“If Trump’s deportation dragnet had real MS-13 kingpins to boast about, he wouldn’t need to bend the law to toss Kilmar Ábrego García — a man with no convictions — into a foreign prison,” immigration expert Alex Nowrasteh wrote for the right-wing Cato Institute. “Trump’s scandalous deportation of noncriminals to supermax prisons in El Salvador without due process, his unconscionable violation of court orders, and his silly public defenses make more sense when you realize that he’s staked much of his political career on the falsehood that there’s a massive illegal immigrant crime wave.”
When asked in 2014 whether undocumented immigrants have freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and the right to petition the government as guaranteed by the First Amendment, the late conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia replied simply, “I think anybody who is present in the United States has protections under the United States Constitution.”
Echoing MacIntyre, perhaps the first question for us to answer today is: What would it mean to live in a society where ICE’s treatment of noncitizens was widely felt to be intolerable?
Courtesy Photo DHS
Resolved to Resist
Despite
Texas' inhospitable environment, members of SA's trans community say they're staying put
BY SANFORD NOWLIN
When the U.S. Supreme Court last week upheld Tennessee’s controversial ban on gender-affirming care for minors, the news hit hard for Hunsen Abequeer, an Alamo City drag performer who’s transitioning from a woman to a man.
The high court’s decision will allow similar bans to remain in place in Texas and around two dozen other states. Statistics suggest the inability of minors and their families to access gender-affirming care will have devastating effects on their
mental health and well being, said Abequeer, who considers himself lucky to have moved as a child from a rural Texas town to more accepting San Antonio.
“I don’t think the Supreme Court realizes they have blood on their hands now,” Abequeer said. “Kids are going to die, kids are going to kill themselves, and I’m not being dramatic, not trying to fearmonger. If you look at the statistics for the amount of, not just LGBT people, but specifically trans people that try to commit suicide before the age of 21, it’s horrifying.”
To Abequeer’s point, roughly 46% of transgender and nonbinary young peo-
ple seriously considered attempting suicide last year, according to the advocacy group the Trevor Project. What’s more, a total of 14% of transgender and nonbinary young people actually attempted suicide last year, the organization reported.
In addition to the Supreme Court ruling and a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ actions taken by the Trump administration, Texas lawmakers continue to pass legislation aimed at making it more difficult for trans people to live their lives.
During the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature’s most recent session, lawmakers filed more than 100 anti-trans bills in the most recent session.
While most failed, legislators did pass at least 10, including a law defining “man” and “woman” by a person’s reproductive organs and another creating a new section on state medical records listing patients’ assigned sex at birth and any physical sexual development disor-
Ma message of resistance during a recent show.
ders. Additionally, they banned LGBTQ+ clubs from schools and barred minors from accessing resources for gender-affirming counseling through the state’s rural pediatric mental health system.
Advocacy groups have repeatedly ranked the Lone Star State among the nation’s most unsafe places for transgender people, and Abequeer said he’s thought of leaving for one of the blue states held up as trans sanctuaries.
However, the reality is he’s not ready to disrupt the life he’s built in the LGBTQ-friendly 2-1-0.
Abequeer said he regularly calls state lawmakers to express his concerns, even though it doesn’t seem to have done much good so far. He’s also incorporated protest-oriented messages into his
Courtesy Photo Hunsen Abequeer
Drag performer Hunsen Abequeer shares
performances at local clubs — including messages about protecting transgender minors.
“Just getting up and leaving, that’s a privilege that I don’t have,” Abequeer said. “I have too many roots put down here in San Antonio, not just family, but my jobs, my work, my me: Hunsen. People don’t realize it, but as a drag artist, moving from one city to another is not easy. Generally, if you do that, you are starting from the bottom.”
Visibility and role models
San Antonio real-estate broker Kasandra Alicea, a trans woman, said she’s worked with client families who are leaving Texas due to the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for kids. However, like Abequeer, she said her strong ties to the area are too strong to break, even in the current inhospitable environment.
Alicea, who transitioned when she was a teenager in the mid-’90s, said she has a different perspective from younger members of the community because she lived through a period when considerably less local support existed for trans people.
“Because I lived through what I’d generalize as scarier times, I know that this is just temporary,” Alicea said. “Of course, I have to pay attention to what laws have been passed, what’s been said, what narratives are being put out there. But I try to focus, for the most part, on what’s to come, which I feel is an eventual turn back to the positive. Basically, I know we’ll get through this, but we have to fight the fight to get there.”
Thanks to her successful brokerage business, Alicea said she’s able to use her social media presence to present herself as a positive role model for younger trans people or those considering transitioning.
“So, if I can give a bit of hope to someone to try to keep them happy and focus on something positive, I feel like that will trickle down to other things in their life and create a different outcome for them,” she said. “Because in a little less than a year and a half, we’re going to be able to vote again, and we’ll change things. And then in another three and a half years, we’ll make an eve bigger change. So it’s just a matter of riding it out.”
Alicea lives outside San Antonio city limits in what she describes as a predominantly red area. Even so, whether showing houses or striking up conversations at her local H-E-B, she said she’s heartened most people don’t appear to
M“Basically, I know we’ll get through this, but we have to fight the fight to get there,” says real-estate agent Kasandra Alicea.
harbor the same resentment she’s seen from right-wing political figures.
“Once in every blue moon, there’s an instance where you think, ‘Oh, that was odd,’” she said. “But for the most part, 99.5% of the time, there is no issue. I’m sure some people realize, ‘Oh, wait a minute, that’s a trans person out in public,’ and they may have their own feelings about it, but they don’t say anything.”
Standing up
As one of San Antonio’s most outspoken advocates for trans rights, Luka Rios has seen the state’s political shift
Tale, that show, and it’s crazy.’ And we’re heading that way. We’re heading in a way where it’s going to affect our personal lives, our state of minds — and that’s crucial for sure.”
Rios, who also works in real estate, said she’s throttled back her activism but still remains politically active by meeting with local elected officials about the trans community’s concerns. Even so, the current political climate has made her less likely to let others outside of her advocacy know she’s transgender.
“It’s not an obvious thing when people meet me,” Rios said. “And, for me, for a while, I just try to stay under the radar. It’s like where it seems to be heading right now. A lot of trans people don’t want to be put under the spotlight like that.”
While Rios said she’s heartened more cisgender people are beginning to understand the political storm facing the trans community, she added that they must be more than silent allies.
“I think one message should be, if you see someone being affected by the current political environment, do what you can,” she said. “Call your council people and advocate. Even post something online that’s positive [about trans people]. We live in a world of social media and everyone’s on it. So, even small things like that can help.”
Abequeer, the drag performer, said he’s steadfast in his resolve to stay in San Antonio. Just the same, he worries for families with trans or nonbinary kids and also for young people just awakening to their sexual identities.
first-hand. She began advocating with the Human Rights Campaign around 15 years ago, becoming the first trans woman to serve as state co-chair. She was also a member of former Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s first LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee.
While Rios, a San Antonio native, said she’s intent on staying in her home town, she has friends who are weighing whether to leave Texas because they fear for their safety.
“They don’t like where things are heading,” she said. “Literally every single person I’ve talked to that’s thinking about leaving Texas, says, ‘Dude, this is literally straight out of Handmaid’s
“Stop listening to the fear-mongering of these politicians who don’t have your best interest at heart,” Abequeer said. “Listen to the doctors, who are certified to tell you what’s best for your child, OK? Because I am just so worried about the youth right now, especially considering that the Supreme Court just made it so that we’re not protected by the Constitution.”
In the end, Abequeer said, the trans community is the latest politically expedient target for lawmakers who see political gain in turning Americans against each other.
“So, if it’s not trans people, it’s Muslims. If it’s not Muslims, it’s immigrants. If it’s not immigrants, it’s always going to be somebody,” Abequeer said. “Right now it’s our turn, and that sucks. But what can we do about it, except continuing to live on and continuing to fight like we’ve been fighting this whole time?”
Courtesy Photo Kasandra Alicea
ONGOING
“FUTURES PAST: REFLECTIONS FOR JUNETEENTH”
A group exhibition that considers Texas’ tardy emancipation, “Futures Past” opened at Artpace San Antonio on June 13, but provides plenty of reason to visit even after Juneteenth is the rearview mirror. Featuring Robert Hodge, Sir Isaac Julien, Cauleen Smith and Wangechi Mutu, themes of cultural memory emerge on a knotted continuum. Much of the work stretches from archival explorations of postcolonial histories to the personal agency harnessed by contemporary artists to create speculative futures. Hodge salvages found objects for his mixed-media sculptures that address his immediate environment, while Julien’s work — often presented as multi-channel video installations — sculpts narratives out of cinematic language and form. Smith and Mutu share this speculative dialectic, depicting imaginings of the present and future that consider freedom as something that occurs in stages, recognizing Juneteenth as one tradition steeped in history and potential. Free, Artpace San Antonio, Hudson Showroom, 445 N Main St., (210) 2124900, artpace.org. — Anjali Gupta
RESISTANCE & JOY SCREENING TOUR
Color Congress and Monte Video are presenting a screening of Resistance & Joy, an innovative film program amplifying the voices of BIPOC documentary filmmakers. This dynamic screening tour features five groundbreaking films that capture the spirit of social justice, the fight for equality and the enduring power of resistance over the span of a near two-hour event. Following the screening of Ternura Radical by Texas-based filmmaker Celina Galicia, in which women in Ciudad Juárez transform art into fierce acts of resistance against rampant disappearances and femicides, a guest moderator from San Antonio’s P.E.A.C.E Initiative will lead a thought-provoking discussion exploring the film’s themes and impact. Free, 7 p.m., Arthouse at Blue Star, 134 Blue Star, (210) 212-9373, colorcongressinitiative.org. — Kat Stinson
PRIDE BIGGER THAN TEXAS FESTIVAL AND PARADE
As the largest U.S. city to be actively led by an openly queer mayor, San Antonio deserves a big Pride bash, and the Main Strip’s annual festival and parade on the last weekend of Pride Month certainly fits the bill. The fun begins at 11 a.m. Saturday with the Pride Bigger Than Texas Festival in Crockett Park. Expect lots of food, lots of queer-owned small businesses and lots of tables from local nonprofits. Family-friendly entertainment — for better or worse — is also on the agenda, as is a massive Pride wedding. And did we mention wrestling starting at 3 p.m.? Yes, Sabino Blaze, first gay graduate of the Texas Wrestling Academy, will provide the main event. Once the sun goes down, be sure to stick around for the free-to-watch parade, which starts at 9 p.m., and runs down Main, passing a performance by drag icon Lyn-Z Andrews on the way. Net proceeds from the festival will benefit nonprofits such as the San Antonio AIDS Foundation, the San Antonio Gender Association and the Diversity Recovery Alliance, all the more important in an era where the political party in charge is banning gender-affirming care for trans people and slashing funding for HIV testing and prevention. It’s the perfect opportunity to add your voice to a crowd of others saying, “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it.” $12 presale general admission, $15 at gate, free for those 11 and under, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Crockett Park, 1300 N. Main St., pridesanantonio.org. — Dean Zach
Courtesy Photo Artpace
Courtesy Photo Colorcongress
Jaime Monzon
SUN | 06.29
SPECIAL EVENT
PRIDE WRAP PARTY & DRAG SHOW
Not only is this event the quintessential luxurious soiree to close out Pride Month, it’s also one of the last chances to see San Antonio drag icon Kristi Waters live in action before she takes some time off from performing to focus on her health. Waters, who claimed the title of Best Drag Performer from 2020-2024 in the Current’s Best of San Antonio poll, on June 17 announced that she’s taking a break due to a cancer diagnosis. Waters is adored for her Lady Gaga tributes and one-woman comedy shows. She’s also served as drag mother to both Aruba Waters and San Antonio-born superstar Jorgeous, who earned recognition on Season 8 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. This high-energy celebration will be the literal pinnacle of Pride events thanks to its illustrious location at Tenfold Rooftop, the stylish bar perched on the Kimpton Santo hotel with astounding views of the downtown skyline. Both general admission and V.I.P. ticket options are available for this elevated shindig. Meet-andgreets, bubbles and reserved lounge seating await V.I.P.s, in addition to the music, divas and ethereal vibes guaranteed for all. $36.64 and up, 6-8 p.m., Kimpton Santo San Antonio – Riverwalk, 431 South Alamo St., (210) 222-1000, pridesanantonio.org. —
Rae Drady
TUE | 07.01 - TUE | 07.15
SPECIAL EVENT
SEX IS NOT A FOUR-LETTER WORD WITH LAURA CASTORO
The word copulation isn’t very sexy. Neither is fornication. So, how do writers craft language that describes lovemaking in a way that’s as sensual and sultry as the act itself? Award-winning author Laura Castoro is stepping into the role of sex-scene therapist to guide wordsmiths of every genre in piquing the desired level of arousal in their readers. Castoro explains that the course she’s offering at Gemini Ink will demonstrate how to create memorable sex scenes that fit the characters, plots and POVs of work in multiple genres. Participants will explore the many ways of writing about sex — whether for a thriller, science fiction, romance, suspense, mystery, western or general fiction manuscript — through the use of writing prompts inspired by books, song lyrics, visual images, short videos and more. The class is open to scribes 18 and older. Castoro has published 47 novels with major publishers including Dell, Berkley, Avon and William Morrow. This instructional series is offered both in-person and online via Zoom. $129 for members, $150 for nonmembers, $105 for those with student or military ID, 6:30-8:30 p.m. July 1, 8, 15, Gemini Ink, 1111 Navarro St., (210) 734.9673 geminiink.org. — RD
Courtesy Photo Kimpton Santo
Courtesy Photo Gemini Ink
THU | 07.03
JULY BLACK HISTORY FILM SERIES: AMERICAN COUP: WILMINGTON 1898
Just in time for the July Fourth, the San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum (SAAACAM) is partnering with the city’s Office of Historic Preservation to present a documentary on the fundamentally American heritage of antidemocratic white supremacist violence in whose shadow we all live. Showing at the Little Carver Civic Center on the East Side, American Coup: Wilmington 1898, directed by SAAACAM collaborator Yoruba Richen, uncovers the story of the late 19th century massacre that transpired in Wilmington, North Carolina. Initial accounts of the incident in the white press painted it as a race riot orchestrated by Black people, while this 2024 doc offers a more historically accurate retelling. In 1898, in the name of “restoring democracy,” an insurrectionist mob led by prominent white business leaders and politicians violently overthrew Wilmington’s democratically elected interracial government, burned the offices of the state’s only Black newspaper, The Daily Record, and killed and banished scores of Black residents. The coup, one of the few successfully staged in the U.S., ushered in an era of voter suppression and segregation, which lasted more than seven decades, although its stain remains attractive for some in power today. A panel discussion follows the film. Free but registration required, 5:30-9 p.m., Little Carver Civic Center, 226 N. Hackberry St., (210) 724-3350, saaacam.org. — DZ
MON | 07.07 - FRI | 07.11
CHESS CAMP
Chess isn’t just a game. It teaches critical thinking skills essential for leading a successful life. The Molly Pruitt Library’s Chess Camps for adults and kids will allow those seeking to learn more about the game to practice with Chess Master Alex Weinberg. While the contemplative game may not seem like the ideal summer diversion, experts argue it has surprising power to enhance the brain’s ability to run more efficiently. As players become more familiar with the game pieces, their movements and basic strategy, they begin to recognize patterns and possible scenarios, in turn boosting the brain’s ability to think faster under pressure. From choosing the best move (problem solving) to contemplating every possible outcome (abstract learning), while keeping a clear mind under the constraint of a ticking clock (concentration), all while discovering that patience fosters better decision-making, chess is a full-body workout for the brain. New players are asked to familiarize themselves with the game’s rules at chess.com before attending. Free, 1 p.m., 5110 Walzem Road, (210) 650-1122, www.mysapl.org. — Becky Hardin
Courtesy Image PBS
Anastasia Shuraeva
‘Slay You Later’
Beloved San Antonio drag performer Kristi Waters to step out of the spotlight to battle cancer
BY BRYAN RINDFUSS
San Antonio drag icon Kristi Waters has been showered with love and support since sharing news about her stage three cancer diagnosis earlier this month.
“I’ll be stepping away from performing for some time to focus on treatment and my recovery,” Waters posted on social media on June 17. “I’m determined to fight with everything I’ve got and come back stronger, healthier and more grateful than ever to do what I love.”
Amid the swift outpouring was a post from a local drag production company stating, “360 Queen Entertainment is sending all our love, strength and support to our incredible friend Kristi Waters as she takes on stage three cancer with the same power, grace, and fire she’s always brought to everything she does. … She’s been a guiding voice, a fierce presence and a source of endless love for this community.”
A Corpus Christi native who moved to San Antonio in “2015-ish,” Waters worked as an elementary school teacher before dedicating herself to drag full-time. Living up to an admirable work ethic she attributes to her parents, the 38-year-old now boasts a 19-year career that goes beyond the expectations of drag. In addition to an exhaustive performance schedule, Waters has developed one-woman comedy shows such as I Promise I’m Funny, acted in campy plays and served as general manager of a buzzy rooftop bar. Currently, Waters is multitasking as the star performer, entertainment director and DJ at Let’s Be Honest, where she’ll continue working throughout Pride month.
Impressively, Waters’ vital role in the community has brought her a level of mainstream recognition that most drag performers could only dream of. In 2022, she was tapped as Grand Marshal for Visit San Antonio’s inaugural Pride River Parade. The following year, Mayor Ron Nirenberg presented Waters with an official commendation applauding her efforts within the LGBTQ+ community. And in 2024, Waters was crowned Countess of the River Walk based on scholarship funds she raised benefiting Alamo Colleges
emphasized about the event, which will be complemented by other community fundraisers, including a benefit hosted by Artisan Distillery & Craft Bar (10 p.m. Thursday, June 26) and a “Dancing for Kristi” cardio dance at Let’s Be Honest (7 p.m., Thursday, July 24).
“I feel like the entire community and city have wrapped their arms around me,” Waters shared in a follow-up post on social media. “Thank you all so much for the love and support! Happy Pride! Be kind!”
We recently caught up with Waters to chat about her impressive career and ways her many friends and fans can show their support during her journey.
Let’s rewind a bit before we get into the matter at hand. Did your teaching career overlap with you becoming a drag performer?
I was still kind of doing drag at the time [but] I quit for a little bit to focus on teaching. Then I quit teaching to do drag full-time.
Did you enjoy being a teacher?
I guess in the beginning, yeah. But towards the end, I was just done
You’ve proven yourself as a comedian with your one-woman shows. Do you ever collaborate with writers or comedians — or is that all you?
The ones that I’ve done in the past, I kind of just threw them together by myself. I’ll just pick a playlist, and go off the music to [build] the show.
Hospitality Management students. Her popularity is also routinely evidenced in our annual Best of San Antonio readers poll, in which she’s perennially named Best Drag Performer. Perhaps unsurprisingly, her leadership and kindness made her the drag mother of choice for local performer Aruba Waters and San Antonio-born Drag Race superstar Jorgeous — the latter of whom is on the stacked lineup for Waters’ upcoming “Slay You Later” benefit show on July 5 at Woodlawn Pointe.
“It’s not a farewell show,” Waters
We’ve enjoyed your performances as Blanche Devereaux in the Golden Girls parody Thank You for Being a Friend. We were supposed to do one this year, but there was too much going on. Those shows are based on scripts from specific episodes — so we just recreate the episode [live onstage].
Did you specifically go after the role of Blanche?
Before we ever did the show, we were randomly at Woodlawn Pointe one night and someone said we should do the Golden Girls as a skit for one of the drag shows we were doing there. And I said, “Well, I guess I’ll play the slutty one.”
You’ve been pretty busy the last couple years. Can you give us a snapshot
Kevin Ryan Conlon
of what you’ve been up to?
Now that I’m at Let’s Be Honest, I’ve been doing a lot more events and shows and traveling a little bit more. And in the past couple of months, I’ve been doing a lot of work with the [local brokerage firm] Real Estate Dolls. I’ve been doing their videos and helping them with editing and stuff. And then ev-
CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN
erything else was kind of happening in the background. I guess I was just kind of putting up with the pain and still working.
How and when did you receive your cancer diagnosis?
I had surgery in May, and that’s when they found a mass. And then I got the diagnosis
Search for “Support Kristi Waters Fight Against Cancer” on gofundme.com.
PRIDE WRAP PARTY
about two weeks ago. I’ve been performing the whole time — through everything. And I’ve just been pushing through and doing as much as I can. But now it’s time to take it seriously and get it fixed.
Do you know how long your treatment will take and what it entails?
They said a minimum of six weeks. So I’ll be out for six weeks, and it could be more. I just don’t know how I’ll react to the chemo and radiation.
How can people help?
So I’m still working for the next week at Let’s Be Honest. We have the Saturday and Sunday drag brunches and my Saturday night shows. And then I’m planning a “Slay You Later” show at Woodlawn Pointe. It’s not a farewell show — it’ll be kind of like a party. And right now I also work Sunday nights at Pink Shark — I’ll be working there for Pride. And then I have a Pride Wrap Party at the Kimpton Hotel on the last Sunday of the month.
Beyond folks coming out to show support in person — and hopefully tipping you generously — is there a crowdfunding campaign?
Yes, my friend Jamie Zapata started a GoFundMe. And I have my CashApp and Venmo details listed in my Instagram bio link.
I also meant to ask you about your strategy for winning Best of San Antonio? How do you rally the troops?
Mainly just by posting Stories on social media.
You’re great at marketing yourself, did you study marketing at all?
No, I just grew up with a strong mindset from my parents: If you want something, you have to work hard for it. I owe my work ethic to my parents. I would rather be working than doing anything else. It’s gonna be tough not being able to perform for so long — I truly will miss it.
I hope you’ll at least sing in the shower. (Laughs.) Lip-syncing!
arts
Hosted by Kristi Waters with performances by Miss Kendoll, Kylie Gorgeous Dlux and Nilaya Mathews. $10-$50 at eventbrite.com, 6-8 p.m. (VIP meetand-greet at 5 p.m.) Sunday, June 29, Tenfold Rooftop, Kimpton Santo Hotel, 431 S. Alamo St., (210) 222-1000, santohotelsanantonioriverwalk.com.
‘SLAY YOU LATER’ ALL STAR BENEFIT SHOW
Hosted by Nadine Hughes with performances by Jorgeous, Chola Magnolia, Foxxy Blue Snacks, Jasper St. James, Salem, Shayla Shimmy and many more. $10 donation at the door (reserve advance VIP tables by texting the number below), 9 p.m. Sat, July 5, Woodlawn Pointe, 702 Donaldson Ave., (210) 213-5127, woodlawnpointecenter.org.
Scarcliff
Pattern Breaker
San Antonio native Elizabeth Chambers takes unflinching look
at toxic relationships in docuseries
BY KIKO MARTINEZ
San Antonio-born actor Antonio Raul Garcia is on his way back to his hometown after spending most of his childhood in Los Angeles pursuing a Hollywood career.
When TV personality, journalist, business owner and San Antonio native Elizabeth Chambers set out to create Toxic, her new docuseries for Investigation Discovery, it wasn’t just a creative project: it was a personal mission.
After navigating a highly public divorce from actor Armie Hammer and the emotional reckoning that followed, Chambers found herself confronting deep-rooted trauma, not just for her own healing, but to protect the future of her children.
The series, born from those reflections and countless hours of research and therapy, is a bold, unflinching look at the quiet dangers of toxic relationships and the hidden patterns that perpetuate them.
With Toxic, Chambers steps fully into her journalistic instincts, balancing empathy with accountability to create a series that’s as emotionally raw as it is socially relevant.
During a recent interview with the Current, Chambers, who also owns Bird Bakery in Alamo Heights, talked about the inspiration behind Toxic and why identifying red flags is critical in all relationships.
All six episodes of Toxic are available on Investigation Discovery and HBO Max.
What initially drew you to create Toxic?
This was such a pivotal moment and a privilege for me, because I’ve never been able to create a show from scratch before. Jason Sarlanis, who was a producer of mine when I was at E! 20 years ago, said he wanted me to do a show that’s meaningful based on my recent experiences — when I was going through my divorce. Divorce, in and of itself, is trauma. So, I asked myself, “How do I make this decision I know is best for me and for my children, so they don’t accept [toxic relationships] later in life. How do you mitigate trauma during a divorce?”
How were you able to answer that question for yourself and your family?
Well, I spoke to every family separation therapist that would take my call. What I learned about was generational patterns. There had been infidelity in many generations before that I was
a little bit aware of but not completely. Looking at my kids, I didn’t want my son to continue this. I didn’t want my daughter to be in a relationship like this. It was a year of therapy and building knowledge that my kids could put in their toolbox for later. I wanted them to have the skills to make good decisions and to bring generational patterns and trauma to an end. That’s why I became obsessed with the show.
What was your goal for the series?
My goal is for the show to help everyone. Our show is an extreme example of how things can go wrong. I want everyone to end every episode and ask themselves, “Am I in this kind of relationship? Is my sister? Could my kids be later?” I also want [viewers] to look for micro red flags that are maybe not so obvious. Maybe there are little things in your marriage or relationships at work or relationships with friends that are not healthy. [Toxic] comes down to humanity, relationships and patterns. Not everyone’s going to be happy all the time, but we need to be living our lives to the fullest.
It must feel good to return to your journalistic roots, but how did you balance having empathy for these women and being professional when speaking to survivors about these emotional experiences?
You know, obviously you’re sobbing, and you want to hug them, but you also, at the end of the day as a journalist, must tell a balanced story. So, we needed to reach out to every single perpetra-
tor for comment. I made sure there was a chance to tell that side of the story. As for the women, I needed them to tell their story in a safe space where they felt heard. And I couldn’t cry even though I wanted to a lot of the time. I would hold my tears back trying to be a professional journalist. But I cared so deeply about them.
How did you prepare yourself emotionally? I had to approach it as if I was helping to save somebody from that same situation. It was difficult to sit there and ask a woman who has had her life burned to the ground, “Why are you still living in this house where you were almost killed?” That can feel judgmental, but it’s also a question everyone is asking. It’s about understanding the psychology behind how someone can get so deep. It can happen to anyone.
What do you say to someone who watches Toxic and thinks, “That could never happen to me?”
If you examine your life closely, you probably see little micro examples of this all around. No one is immune to it. We’re taught to just be grateful when someone loves us. We’re not taught to have boundaries. That’s just not a conversation that people have. That goes beyond romantic relationships. Our demographic is every living, breathing human. It’s for people who have dated, people who are dating, people who will date and people who are in any relationship. Unless you’re a recluse, this show is for you.
screens
Find more film stories at sacurrent.com
screens South Texas
Celluloid
Documentaries
celebrating Tejano music highlight this year’s CineFestival San Antonio
BY SANFORD NOWLIN
The nation’s longest-running Latino film festival is back for a sequel.
The 46th CineFestival San Antonio will take place July 9-13, bringing dozens of feature films, documentaries and shorts to screens around the city, some free of charge. Organized by the Guadalupe Cultural Cultural Arts Center, this year’s event will lead with a pair of highly anticipated feature-length documentaries focusing on Tejano music and culture.
Selena y Los Dinos, directed by CineFestival alumni Isabel Castro (Mija, Darlin) uses archival footage for a fresh view of Tejano superstar Selena Quintanilla and her family band some 30 years after her tragic death.
Meanwhile, Take It Away, directed by Adrian Alejandro Arredondo and Myrna Perez, examines the legacy of TV host Johnny Canales, who become one of the most important media ambassadors for Tejano music.
“At CineFestival, we share the pride that Selena y Los Dinos brought to the Mexican American communities of Texas and beyond, and we celebrate director Isabel Castro’s affectionate portrayal of an American icon and the family that rose to unprecedented success,” CineFestival director Eugenio del Bosque said in a statement.
“Thematically, the two great documentaries about Tejano music set the tone to a program that proudly represents the diverse tapestry that American culture and society are fortunate to be,” del Bosque added. “Family, immigration, citizenship and civil rights are also strongly represented in the program, and women filmmakers dominate a large portion of this year’s festival, including Tejana filmmakers and authors, a showcase of U.S. short films directed by women, and other national and
MThe documentary Take It Away looks at the legacy of Tejano music champion Johnny Canales.
international productions.”
This year’s CineFestival screenings will take place at the Carver Community Cultural Center, 226 N. Hackberry St., and at the Santikos Mayan Palace, 1918 SW Military Drive. Festival pass information, including a full screening lineup, is available online at guadalupeculturalarts. org/cine-festival. Individual tickets for all screenings are also available for purchase.
Other features scheduled for this year’s CineFestival include:
• Uvalde Mom, which tells the story of Angeli Gomez, the mother who captured national attention when she rushed into Robb Elementary to save her two sons from a mass shooting.
• Carnalismo, which depicts a family passionate about cumbias and low rider bicycles in Durango, Mexico.
• Hola Frida, an animated feature that recreates the early life of iconic Mexican visual artist Frida Kahlo.
• Prodigal Daughter, in which director and former punk artist Mabel Valdiviezo reunites with her family in Peru after 16 years of silence.
• The Ladder, a science fiction story directed by CineFestival alum Emilio Miguel Torres, that examines age, second chances and morality.
CineFestival includes the Mesquite Award Nominees for Best Texas Short Film, which includes 13 narrative films and three documentaries. The fest’s Vistas de San Antonio section also highlights films made in the Alamo City, including the feature My Rocking Chair and 17 shorts.
The Texas Showcase will screen 15 shorts from across the Lone Star State representing the work of both established and upcoming young talent, while the Youth Films screenings will highlight creations from media programs around San Antonio as well as Texas and surrounding states.
Courtesy CineFestival
Simply Delightful
By getting the basics
right, Primo’s rises above standard neighborhood Italian
BY RON BECHTOL
“Simple stuff done right” is how owner Michael Wilkerson characterized the menu at San Antonio dining spot Primo’s when he stopped by the table at the end of a Tuesday meal.
Wilkerson and chef Nels Christensen co-own the budding restaurant, now approaching is third month of operation. The two are veterans of “Southern-inspired” Ida Claire, which operates locations in Addison and San Antonio.
While they learned hospitality lessons at the chain, they bring little of its Dixie-inflected menu with them. Primo’s simplicity skews unabashedly Italian.
The most complicated-sounding item on the menu’s appetizer section may be the wine-steamed mussels with lemon aioli and focaccia, but I suspect that the arancini, or stuffed rice balls, are harder to pull off.
Sometimes thought of as a way to use up yesterday’s risotto, at its simplest the dish involves forming cooked rice and cheese into balls, coating them in breadcrumbs and deep-frying them into golden orbs often served with a lightly spicy arrabbiata sauce. Primo’s uses aged provolone rather than the usual mozzarella, and it melds beautifully with the creamy rice and the thin, crunchy coating.
Pasta dishes aren’t priced to be thought of as a prelude to the menu’s list of large plates, as they traditionally would be in Italy. A sausage orecchiette with broccoli rabe will set you back $25, and scallop tagliatelle clocks in at $29 — the latter costing as much as the roasted pork porterhouse. So share.
The baked trotolle — a curly pasta with hefty chunks of porchetta, slivers of roasted bell pepper and tangles of fresh spinach, all in a creamy besciamella-like sauce — comes in a clay casserole, the better to maintain heat. In this case, sharing might involving passing it around carefully. The crunchy topping of cheesy bread crumbs makes it worth the effort alone.
Including that porterhouse, Primo’s selection of large plates is confined to a trio of offerings that also include crispy garlic chicken and seared flatiron steak with risotto.
I’m not sure whether it’s the garlic or the chicken that’s supposed to be crispy, but there was little garlic in evidence, so not that. And with no skin on the chicken, it was hard to detect crispness either.
Despite the accompanying smashed parmesan potatoes not being boldly cheesy, the simply presented plate seems to work regardless. The juicy breast was generously peppered and accompanied by an equally peppery arugula, a few burst cherry tomatoes and a comforting pan sauce.
Not a destination dish, but not bad, either.
And then there’s pizza. Primo’s has resisted adding a burger so far — a meatball sub doesn’t count — but six pies round out its menu. All have improved since an early soft-opening visit. The crust isn’t obsessively artisanal, but it’s more than merely serviceable. And the toppings on the Primo’s Supremo — pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, green olives, red bells and onion — are well distributed over a tomato-sauce base that’s just right in proportion.
A glass of wine — red, please — is both good with pizza and while waiting. Gives one a chance to check out the crowd. I arrived to a nearly empty dining room around 6:15 p.m., and by the time I left a little over an hour later, the place had filled up with a mix of generations that appeared to skew to its Monte Vista- and St. Mary’s Strip-adjacent location.
Wilkerson confirmed that the neighborhood had welcomed Primo’s, adding that he’s usually seeing
PRIMO’S
one turn per night from 40 to 50 patrons, many of them repeat visitors. Apparently, that’s enough to merit the restaurant recently advertising for a new chef on Instagram.
The menu will get a few minor tweaks over the summer, but the owners plan to wait until fall for a major overhaul, according to Wilkerson.
The modest wine list could use a little fine-tuning now, however. The two Southern Italian reds I tried, the usually powerful and profound Nero d’Avola and Primitivo, sounded pizza-perfect, but both were disappointing. Simple food doesn’t necessarily mean simple wine. Think Champagne and fried chicken, for example.
It’s a little surprising that Primo’s has a cocktail program at all given its stick-to-simple approach, but of the two drinks sampled, one gave me hope the bar may develop further. Although the Tuscan Smoke, featuring mezcal and grapefruit and full of tumbled-looking ice, was reasonably complex the moment it hit the table, it began to dilute quickly after that. Holding its own to the end, though, was a minty Southside SA based on gin with lime and cucumber.
Simple. And, like most of the menu, done just right.
702 E. Mistletoe Ave., primosrestaurant.com, (210) 998-2031
Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday
Price range: $24-$34 dinner entrees
Best Bets: Arancini, steamed mussels, baked trotolle, crispy garlic chicken, Primo’s Supremo pizza
The lowdown: Newly opened by hospitality-industry vets, Primo’s is the epitome of a smallish neighborhood restaurant with just enough aspirations to make it interesting to a larger crowd. The Italian-focused menu delivers appetizers including golden arancini and garlic-scented steamed mussels, also good as a light lunch. Pastas include a comforting baked trotolle with porchetta. Large plates are confined to garlic chicken, pork porterhouse and seared flatiron steak with risotto. The pizzas will satisfy all but the most ardent fan of Neapolitan-style pies.
Find more food & drink news at sacurrent.com
Ron Bechtol
food Cooking Up Conversation: Pink Shark’s
Amber Hernandez
Hernandez and partner
Jessica Marinez pride themselves on creating safe, inclusive nightspots
BY KAT STINSON
Name: Amber Hernandez
Job: Co-founder of Pink Shark, Pick’s Bar and Howdy Sore Loser Years in food and beverage service: 15 years
Hometown: El Paso
Big Impact: Hernandez has slowly built a strong bar portfolio in San Antonio with her wife Jessica Marinez. Each of the pair’s businesses features its own unique identity and branding. The couple have been active in San Antonio’s nightlife scene for years as bartenders before branching out to build the bars of their dreams.
Money Quote: “It’s the best compliment when a patron considers our bars a safe space to be themselves. To have created spaces that are seen as LGBTQ+ friendly and safe for all of our guests that walk through our doors is something that we take great pride in, especially because it happened organically. No matter how you identify, you’re welcome at all of our bars as long as you’re down for a damn good time.”
What inspired the name Pink Shark? I’ve heard some crazy stories from guests about what they think inspired the name — but let’s just all of they have been wrong so far! We like keeping the origin of the name a mystery.
Is Pink Shark a gay bar?
We get that question a lot, but Jessica
and I like to think of our bars as a place where everyone is safe to be themselves and dance. So we don’t define Pink Shark as a gay bar per se, but we love that it’s become notable for being a LGBTQ+ friendly space.
How do you and Jessica come up with the unique cocktails at each bar?
We both come from an extensive bartending background. Jess started as a bartender when she was 19, and I started when I was 21. With each concept, in general, we want every bar to have its own unique style, and the cocktails are no different. Like the quirky mural in the front space of the surfers with shark heads, we want people to be intrigued
patrons two entirely different experiences in the same bar.
For example, we have a different menu for the front and back rooms at Pink Shark, because each space serves a different purpose. There’s more room for dancing in the back room, and there are different drink options, like our Clarified Blue Hawaiian and Tiki Old Fashioned.
Have you had fun celebrating Pride Month?
Heck yes! We love creating special themed menus for different occasions, and Pride Month was no different. We’ve also had some amazing events like a Pride theme party earlier this month with the incredible Kristi Waters. We want to support her during her ongoing cancer treatment, so we plan to donate a portion of proceeds from several upcoming drag shows at Picks and Pink Shark toward her treatment.
When is Howdy Sore Loser officially opening?
We’ve been in a soft opening phase for a while, but we’re aiming for an official grand opening in July.
What does it mean to you and Jessica when you hear that your bars are seen as safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community?
by the menu and go, “What’s that? I want to try it.”
Food-wise, we knew we needed some kind of bar bites at each spot. We think simple is best — So Picks has tacos, tortas, chicken-on-a-stick and elote, while Pink Shark has more of a nautical influence to match the theme, with oysters, ceviche, light sandwiches and a charcuterie board.
Is the back room at Pink Shark a speakeasy?
We don’t like calling it a speakeasy, because at this point everyone knows how to find it! But that space hadn’t been used in years — it definitely took some work and TLC, but we love how it gives
It’s the best compliment when a patron considers our bars a safe space to be themselves. To have created spaces that are seen as LGBTQ+ friendly and safe for all of our guests that walk through our doors is something that we take great pride in, especially because it happened organically. No matter how you identify, you’re welcome at all of our bars as long as you’re down for a damn good time.
Courtesy Photo Pink Shark
Starship Trooper
Yes singer Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks bringing ambitious setlist to San Antonio
BY SANFORD NOWLIN
Jon Anderson possesses one of the most distinctive voices in rock.
As the longtime lead singer of Yes, Anderson’s countertenor voice brought a melodic approachability to the pioneering progressive rock band’s radio staples such as “Starship Trooper,” “All Good People” and “Owner of a Lonely Heart” along with epics such as “Close to the Edge.”
Anderson, 80, is currently touring with the Band Geeks, an ensemble originally formed by Blue Oyster Cult’s Richie Castellano to perform together on YouTube. Anderson began collaborating with the band after a friend urged him to check out the group’s online performance of “Heart of the Sunrise,” an 11-minute workout often considered one of Yes’ heaviest and most complex tracks.
Anderson and the Band Geeks will perform Friday, June 27, at San Antonio’s Tobin Center for
the Performing Arts on a tour showcasing both 1970s Yes classics and songs from True, a collaborative album released last year.
The Current caught up with Anderson via phone from his home in California, where he talked about his continued work with the Band Geeks, keeping his voice healthy and his tenures in Yes, the last of which ended in 2008 after he was diagnosed with respiratory failure.
The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
It seems like a leap of faith bringing a crew of musicians you were largely unfamiliar with on the road based on a YouTube performance. Well, someone sent me the video saying, “Check these guys out,” and I was just amazed how good they were. And not only that, how happy they looked performing “Heart of the Sunrise,” which is not an easy song. So, I just rang up ... I got Richie’s phone number and said, “Hey, let’s go on tour.”
And of course he said, “Are you really Jon Anderson?” I said, “Yeah, let’s go on tour. Come on. I’d love to take you out there together. We can do ‘Close to the Edge,’ we can do ‘Gates of Delirium,’ we can do serious stuff. The classic Yes — Epics & Classics, we’ll call it.” And that’s what we did.
The set list I’ve seen for this tour includes a lot of ambitious pieces, some of the longer, more involved ones. It’s not structured like a typical classic-rock greatest hits package. How much input did you have on the set list, and what
went into the thought process of creating one that was so focused on more expansive pieces that may not be the most familiar to casual listeners?
Well, I said, “First thing, let’s start off with ‘Close to the Edge.’ It’s a monumental piece of music.” So Richie said, “Yeah, let’s do that. What else do you want to do?” I said, “Well, ‘Gates of Delirium’ would blow people away. It’s a wild piece of music. And then ‘Starship Trooper,’ and then...” It’s endless, the amount of songs that I’d love to sing again with a band that can play the damn things.
You’ve since recorded new material with the Band Geeks as well—
Yeah. Well, the next thing we did, we did the 12 shows, and at the end of the 12 shows, I said, “We’ve got to make an album.” And I sent [Castellano] some songs that I had, a couple of songs that I thought were [in the] classic Yes style.
And lo and behold, within a couple of weeks, he actually sent me production of some of these songs — so beautiful. Richie’s a very talented producer. Not that I knew anything about it, but man, he’s so good.
So, that’s how it all developed. It just developed from the joy of playing Yes music that I haven’t sung for many years. And by going on tour now, we’re doing a couple or three new songs, four songs from the new album, so what we’re actually doing what is sort of Yes-Ism.
I was listening to YouTube clips of recent
Find more music coverage every day at sacurrent.com
Courtesy Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks
music
performances. Your voice is in remarkably good shape after all these decades of performing, especially after I learned about the serious health issues that you had in 2008. What’s enabled you to keep your voice in such amazing repair? Well, because I’m happy. I’m very grateful to do what I do. I’m very blessed to have a beautiful wife, and we travel together all the time.
I remember when I got really sick, the guys in the Yes band, they decided to find another singer, and I went, “Wait a minute. Oh, OK. I’ve got a guitar. I’ll practice.” So, I practiced the guitar, kept playing the guitar and putting on a show — just me with a guitar and my wife on tour, and it was the most wonderful experience of my life, really.
Do you have any interest in collaborating with the remaining members of Yes, or have you kind of moved beyond that? Yeah, you’re going to like this because I collaborate with them every night, because I know Chris is there, Alan’s still there on stage, spiritually, emotionally. I’ve had some really good happenings, if you want to call it that. I go for a walk every day. It’s about a two-mile walk up and down the hills around where I live. And I was thinking about a song, which is on the new album. It’s all about a good friend of mine, and I’m holding hands with Chris and Alan subconsciously as I’m hearing the song, to say, “This is for you.”
We did a show up in Seattle, and I was happy and very proud to say that we decided, to do “Awaken.” I don’t know if you know the song “Awaken?”
Yep.
It’s a very special piece of music. It’s a very spiritual piece of music about if we all wake up a little bit and dream a better dream, this world won’t be so bad. That kind of thing.
And I was able to say, “I’m dedicating this to Alan White, he really helped me write this song,” which he did, and we were working together in Switzerland when we made the Going for the One album. And Alan and me really got on very well writing, and I felt really proud to be able to say — his wife Gigi was there with the kids — and I said, “This is for Alan White. Thank you, Alan.”
And as I played the song, it was such an emotional night for me to remember what Alan put into my life musically, because he was a beautiful guy, and he was actually my best man at my wedding. So, you have these feelings that you never lose.
As for anybody else who was with the band over the years, gosh, I don’t know what I would do, but I just know that I’ve worked with every one of them and had great times with Rick and Steve and everything, and I just get on with my life.
When you’re talking about the original incarnation of Yes, you’re working with musicians have quite a high caliber and quite a lot of creativity. And I assume there were some egos involved in that as well. How did you manage to keep things fruitful and moving forward for so long, considering how many strong personalities you had in that band? Gosh, I could write a book about it. But the thing was, the music drives you.
When we did 90125, my God, it’s like you’re No. 1 around the world, and everybody wants to stroke you and say, “Come on, Jon, do this, do that. Let’s do this and do that, and we’ll play in front of half a million people in Brazil.”
“Oh, yeah, I can do that.” But you just do it, and eventually you say, “I think I’ve had enough of this.” Because it’s not real. It’s not really real. It’s like one song perpetuated the whole idea.
I assume less ego comes into play with the Band Geeks. They haven’t got one ounce of ego. Well, they’re happy. It’s like being with some kids, honestly.
I just did a tour last year with 25 kids
Iceland with me and my wife, Jane, and we just had a glorious time. We only rehearsed for four days, which is kind of short, but man, the recording, the actual recording of ‘Awaken’ with these guys and the orchestra in ... what’s the capital of Iceland? I keep forgetting.
Reykjavik.
Reykjavik, yeah. So, anybody who wants to see [my] best is me doing ‘Awaken’ with the orchestra and the band musicians that were really sweet as guys and girls, singers and everything. That is the most important moment in my life, my career — how beautiful. And it’s got people typing in a review, “I’ve been crying all the way through the ending,” that sort of thing. You do. Every time I watch it, I emotionally fall apart.
I understand you’re a very spiritual person. Someone who’s borrowed— Aren’t we all?
from the School of Rock, and they were just so damn good.
And then you work with the Band Geeks, and they’re a bunch of happy guys. You want to hear them backstage, singing away, doing some song from, well, the Beach Boys to whatever. They’re just enjoying life.
Are there going to be some more recordings with the Band Geeks?
It’s already started, because I wrote some songs and sent them to Richie, and he sent me some ideas, and he’s going to start probably in October. It depends when he has a break. I looked at him and said, “You know, we should do one more album.”
And he said, “Are you sure? You’re Jon Anderson.” “Of course.”
Looking back on a lengthy musical career, what one recording would you hold up as something that encompasses everything that Jon Anderson wanted to contribute to the world of music?
Right. I got a phone call one time, probably 10 years ago now, from a guy who lives in Iceland, and he has a band of musicians and stuff like that, and he said, “Would you come to Iceland and perform?”
I said, “What song can we do?” He said, “I want to do ‘Awaken.’ We have an orchestra, we have a choir and we have a band.” And I said, “Please, I will be there tomorrow.”
And a couple of weeks later, I went to
Borrowed from here and there to follow your own bliss, as Joseph Campbell might say. How important has that been to keeping you creative and active, especially now that you’re the age you are?
Now that I’m old and gray, eh? No, I’m more excited about my life now. Over the period of the last 10 years, I wrote three operas and three musicals and have a bunch of ideas for a book I’m actually writing ... I wrote an autobiography, and then I’ve written another part of it, and now I’m writing more.
I can’t believe that I was writing stuff for the last 10, 15 years on cassette. So I’ve got about 100 cassettes sitting around waiting for me to wake up and record them.
Sounds like you’re someone who’s perpetually creative and perpetually motivated to share your creativity. At the end of the day, what motivates you to continue that?
Well, it’s a very spiritual feeling when you’re on stage and people are singing along with you, and you’re performing well, and the sound is a great sound. And the visually, the projection is good, the people are happy, and you get a feeling like, what a life, to be able to do this at the age of 80. I hope I’ll be able to do it for the next 10 years or 20 years. Who knows?
$44 and up, 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 27, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org.
Courtesy Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks
Remembering Ram
20th Annual Ram Jam to celebrate proprietor of legendary SA music venue Taco Land
BY STEPHANIE KOITHAN
The upcoming 20th Annual Ram Jam will celebrate the life of Ramiro “Ram” Ayala, late proprietor of the legendary Taco Land, a wild and often surreal bar and venue that became a nexus of the San Antonio music underground until his 2005 murder.
The two-day festival, which runs this Saturday and Sunday, will bring together a roster of Taco Land acts, including reunions by no-wave blues outfit Boxcar Satan, pop-punk trio Lucy Loves Schroder, alt-rockers World Bizarre and noise-rockers Chapstik. Other bands in the lineup include Hickoids, Flamin’ Hellcats, Michael Martin & The Infidels, Buttercup, Sexto Sol and more.
Music will run 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. both days at the Corn Pound music complex, 6336 Montgomery Drive, in Windcrest. The event is free, but donations and sponsorships are accepted.
Longtime local promoter Roland “Nightrocker” Fuentes and Hickoids frontman and Saustex Records chief Jeff Smith organized the tribute, which is taking place a considerable distance from the original venue. Located on the same block as the Pearl Brewery in what’s now a Velvet Taco location, Taco Land drew a decidedly different crowd than the one now flocking to the since-gentrified area.
A far cry from the Pearl’s modern reputation for high-end frippery, Taco Land catered to blue-collar workers, bikers, punk rockers and a variety of outsiders and outcasts. It was a place where nary a square dared to tread — and for good reason.
“Ram ruled the roost with a velvet glove cast in iron, suffered no fools, spoke in a cluster of hilarious catch phrases and loved his gaggle of misfit
regulars more than anything in the world,” Ram Jam’s promoters said in a news release about the event.
Though Taco Land existed as a taqueria and dive bar since the ’60s, it didn’t start hosting underground rock shows until the early ’80s when local punks approached Ayala about hosting a Millions of Dead Cops show no other local venue owner would touch.
The punks found a kindred spirit in the foul-mouthed Ayala, a vulgarian with a heart of gold who called his favorite patrons “pussies.”
Walk in on any given night, and one might see a drunk repeatedly bang his forehead on the old oak tree outside the door or witness a toothless regular flashing her tits at the band. Ram referred to sexual encounters inside the bar as “doing the Taco Land Shuffle.”
Ayala was also fond of commanding favorite patrons to “kiss the baby” before shoving a bottle of mystery liquor in their faces. He also responded to those who ordered water at the bar by gruffly replying, “Never heard of it.” And when people called the payphone to find out who’s playing tonight, he’d respond, “Everybody’s playin’ tonight, darlin’.”
Everyone who’s been to Taco Land has a story to tell about it, most of them wild. During an interview with the Current last year, GWAR frontman Michael Bishop — aka Blothar the Berserker — related tales of debauchery that ensued when his larger-than-life shock-rock band played the tiny tavern.
Other legendary touring bands that passed through the venue include L7, the Minutemen, Scratch Acid, Jesus Lizard, Yo La Tengo, El Vez, Butthole Surfers and more. Philly-based punk band The Dead Milkmen even immortalized it in song. “Tacoland, it’s a panacea,” the tune goes. “Tacoland, they’re always glad to see ya.”
Plenty of San Antonio acts also cut their teeth at the anything-goes venue, and some of those became legends in their own right, including Los #3 Dinners, Sons of Hercules and plenty of the outfits performing at this year’s Ram Jam.
Through its wild reputation and killer shows, Taco Land became one of the longest running — and arguably one of the most consequential — punk venues in the Lone Star State.
That is, until it all came violently crashing down.
On June 24, 2005, Ayala and employees “Gypsy Doug” Morgan and Denise “Sunshine” Koger were gunned down during an armed robbery. Koger survived the shooting and identified the suspects during a trial, putting both behind bars.
Exactly two decades since that fateful day, Ayala’s big, brash personality still reverberates in the Alamo City like feedback from a cheap amplifier cranked to top volume.
“Twenty years ago, we lost a true force in our music community,” Fuentes said. “Ram Ayala gave so much to San Antonio’s scene — space to play, gas money to broke bands and a good time you couldn’t buy. I worked with him at Taco Land, saw the magic he made happen, and now, with Jeff Smith, we’re bringing that spirit to the Corn Pound with Ram Jam — raw, real, and loud, just like he’d want it.”
Free (donations accepted), 1 - 10 p.m. Saturday, June 28 and Sunday June 29, The Corn Pound, 6336 Montgomery Drive., ticketleap.events/tickets/nightrocker-presents/ram-jam-20.
Courtesy Photo Erik Sanden
1.30
It’s easier than ever to leave your car in one place and explore Downtown, Pearl, or Southtown. Whether you’re grabbing lunch, shopping, or visiting the Alamo, you can do it all without the hassle of driving—on your schedule, for only $1.30.
Simply download the VIA Link app to book your ride within downtown.
VIAinfo.net/link
critics’ picks
Thursday, June 26
Voodoo Glow Skulls, Authority Zero, Piñata Protest
Last October, founding lead vocalist Frank Casillas rejoined his brothers Eddie and Jorge in ska-punk outfit Voodoo Glow Skulls after seven years away from the band. The Riverside, California-based Voodoo Glow Skulls have always leaned into Mexican American influences in their sound and presentation. It’s also a safe bet Frank Casillas’ return will bring extra energy to the local performance. $29.12, 7 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — Danny Cervantes
Saturday, June 28
Tony Kamel
Tony Kamel is primarily known for his Americana-bluegrass outfit Wood and Wire, but his solo career has been pickling up steam. The Grammy-nominated singer and clawhammer banjo player has made serious chart traction, and his album collaborations with Americana legend Bruce Robison show he’s more than capable of holding the stage on his own. $17, 8 p.m., Lonesome Rose, 2114 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 455-0233, thelonesomerosesa.com. —
Bill Baird
Them Dirty Roses, American Slang
Them Dirty Roses are proof that Southern rock isn’t dead. The Alabama natives channel influences such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams but manage to give them a more modern edge without losing the Dixie grit. The band’s latest EP, Lost in the Valley of Love & Hate Vol. 2., builds on its knack for homespun storytelling. $20, 9 p.m., Gruene Hall, 1281 Gruene Road, New Braunfels, (830) 606-1281, gruenehall.com. — DC
Sunday, June 29
Ruben V, Michael O’Connor, Keith Davis
In-the-round songwriter events can be worth attending to hear not just the songs but the stories told between them. This early afternoon songwriting series, billed as Words, Wood & Wire, brings together a unique trio of talents. Ruben V fuses blues, rock and Latin music in a formidable enough way that Texas legend Joe King Carrasco refers to him as “the keeper of the flame of the San Antonio vibe.” Meanwhile, Corpus Christi Songwriter Hall of Fame member Michael O’Connor spins acoustic folk magic with hard-earned grit and authenticity. Keith Davis mines similar Texas songwriter territory with a bit of a “rock star” edge. $20, 4 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com. — BB
Monday, June 30
Mr Floyd Larry, Daydream Twins
Pentagram
Shoegaze — the ethereal rock genre known for obscured vocals, distorted guitars and heavily reliance on instrumental effects — is predominantly considered a British phenomenon and one dominated by white musicians. Mr Floyd Larry shakes things up by being a Black artist hailing from South Florida. And there’s more than a novelty factor at play here. The music hits hard and definitely scratches that shoegaze itch with a full spectrum of sound, evocative songwriting and a fresh take on an old genre. $21, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — BB
Thursday, July 3
The Peterson Brothers, Cherri
The Peterson Brothers are the latest blues sensation to come from Austin. Say what you will about the yuppification of Texas’ capital city, it still produces great music, especially great blues. The Peterson Brothers have risen through the ranks with a raw, unfiltered yet modern take on the genre. For lovers of this classic American form, the Petersons have clearly picked up the torch by touring with masters including Gary Clark Jr., B.B. King, Buddy
Guy and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. $5, 8 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com. — BB
Wes Parker, Baldemar, Jakob Lui
Richmond, Virginia’s Wes Parker makes fascinating indie-pop that incorporates elements of Jeff Buckley and Radiohead. Yes, there are some repackaged elements of ’90s rock in the sound, but is that always a bad thing? Especially since Parker is a heck of a singer and has leveraged social media to the hilt. While plenty of musicians cringe at the chore, Parker’s embraced the interactions, building a following of hundreds of thousands of TikTok followers. Sounds like a ’90s star for 2025. $17, 7 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — BB
Saturday, July 4
Hudson Westbrook, Kolton Moore & The Clever Few
Texas Tech dropout Hudson Westbrook’s tune “Take It Slow” went viral on TikTok, elevating him to next-big-thing-in-country-music status. The charismatic singer-songwriter rode that
wave of online success to a major label deal, so expect more to come soon. Kolton Moore & The Clever Few should be a crowd-pleasing opener thanks to an approachable brand of country-tinged Americana. $46-191, 7:30 pm, Whitewater Amphitheater, 11860 FM 306, New Braunfels, (830) 964-3800, whitewaterrocks. com. — DC
Tuesday, July 8
The Warning, Speed of Light
The video game Rock Band inspired Monterey, Mexico’s Villarreal Vélez sisters to form the Warning and become real life rockeras. Also known as “Las Wawas,” the trio of siblings rose to stardom with a cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” Since then, the group has shared stages with Foo Fighters and Muse while also performing to sold-out shows in Mexico City and Guadalajara. The Warning’s acclaimed 2024 release Keep Me Fed further raised its stock with fans and critics. Even though this one is sold-out, it might be worth scouring the resale market. Sold out, 8 p.m., Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. — DC
Shutterstock Christian Bertrand
EMPLOYMENT
Family Medicine and Internal Medicine physician opportunities at University Health, San Antonio, Texas. Send CV to Amy.Hensz@uhtx.com EOE/AA.
Hygiene Merit, LLC seeks a full-time, year-round Operations General Manager to work in San Antonio, Texas. The Operations General Manager will oversee company operations, including scheduling, quality control, and supply management. The role involves developing and implementing policies and procedures to optimize efficiency and productivity, monitoring and analyzing key performance indicators, and leading and managing personnel, including company supervisors, janitors, and cleaners. The Operations General Manager will provide training, guidance, and mentorship to employees to ensure high standards of service and compliance with strict cleaning and disinfecting protocols, particularly for clients such as hospitals and medical centers. The position includes training staff in the use of UVD autonomous disinfecting robots and maintaining a safe work environment. The Operations General Manager will also build and maintain strong client relationships to ensure satisfaction, develop and manage budgets for cleaning operations, implement cost-effective practices, and manage payroll processes to ensure timely and accurate employee compensation. This position requires travel to Mexico once per trimester for business meetings with our partner, Nivel Q, S.A. de C.V., and to coordinate with suppliers and distributors regarding the import/export of disinfection equipment, including autonomous robots and spare parts, in collaboration with customs agents. The minimum requirements for the position are a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Business Law, or a related field (a foreign equivalent is acceptable), and 24 months of experience as a General Manager in the commercial cleaning and disinfection industry. UVD Robots certification is required, as is training in Cleaning Procedures in Operating Rooms and Terminal Cleaning, which will be provided by the employer. Due to the nature of the position, which includes leading, managing, training, guiding, and mentoring employees, and because the company has more than 40 Spanish-speaking employees and some U.S. clients who require communication in Spanish, proficiency in English and fluency in Spanish are required. To apply, contact the employer in person at 401 Isom Road, Suite 225, San Antonio, TX 78216; by phone at (210) 999-5234; or via email at info@hygienemerit.com.
“Ocean’s Four”--the bodies you know. by Matt Jones
© 2025 Matt Jones
Across
1. Hurt
5. Sound at the door
10. Round objects
14. Underground part
15. Allow, as a coupon
16. Glowing presence
17. 1 on the Mohs hardness scale
18. Ocean that’s really amused?
20. Eldest von Trapp child in “The Sound of Music”
22. Like a ghost town
23. Perfect match
25. Half of hex-
26. Ocean that’s not real?
32. Spicy
33. ___ Picchu (Peruvian landmark)
34. Carpentry joint component
36. “Got it, man”
38. A, in German
39. Boots’s travel companion
40. In stacks
42. Little pieces of paper
45. Beam of sun
46. Ocean that’s a bit of a letdown?
49. Suffix after “station”
50. Songwriter Bareilles
51. Issue with a drafty home
56. Third-to-last country alphabetically
59. Ocean full of pink flowers? (yeah, there aren’t many options)
61. Author of “A Court of Thorns and Roses”
63. French city with Interpol’s headquarters
64. V makeup
65. Pharaoh’s serpents
66. Streaming delays
67. Baby that stays up at night?
68. Rest (on)
Down
1. Sculpture and such
2. Snowman’s eyes, traditionally
3. Colorful Hindu celebration
4. Redundant abbreviation for “and the rest”
5. He’s a real Wiz
6. Word after “Neither a borrower”
7. How some audiobooks are presented
8. ___ d’Ivoire (Ghana neighbor)
9. Skater Yamaguchi
10. Like shady paths full of trees
11. Actress Lenska
12. Poison’s singer Michaels
13. One-named Nigerian Grammy winner
19. “Dance of the Nymphs” painter
21. Take to the pool
24. Least nasty
26. Lecture hall platforms (if you want to be fancy)
27. On an incline
28. Wendy’s side
29. Ancient Greek garments
30. Best Picture of 2024
31. Dr. Seuss book, with “The”
32. Joint near the waist
35. “All opposed” answer
37. Jiggly desserts
41. “Little Rascals” girl
43. It usually comes with swings and a slide
44. “Your Majesty”
47. Actress Lupita
48. Ox or fox, e.g.
51. Mountain, but smaller
52. One-named Irish Grammy winner
53. Work like ___
54. Soup, but thicker
55. “A Light in the Attic” author Silverstein
57. Facility
58. California wine valley
60. Employ
62. IRS identifier
Answers on page 33.
