AUGUST 10 - 23, 2022
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Ahead of San Antonio show, Def Leppard dishes on the glam rockinspired Diamond Star Halos, its first album in seven years LA Story Los Lobos to play Gruene Hall in support of new covers album inspired by the band’s hometown Music Listings
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09 News The Opener News in Brief Bad Takes From ‘AIDS’ to ‘groomers,’ the American right shifts terminology to gin up fear of an equitable society Pocketbook Disparities Inflation hitting San Antonio’s Latino consumers, businesses especially hard Seven in 10 Texas teachers say they’re thinking about quitting 19 Calendar Calendar Picks 23 Arts Activist Artist Roberto Marquez’s San Antonio mural offers a memorial to the 53 migrants who died this summer in an abandoned tractor-trailer Fighter on a Mission San Antonio grappler Thunder Rosa and Mission Pro Wrestling are leveling the playing field 27 Screens Superhéroes Para Siempre Marvel writer and artist Terry Blas excited about Latino inclusion in Wakanda Forever 29 Food ‘Tool of Oppression’ Civil rights lawyers call out 14 Feature Climate of Fear Texas study shows how abortion bans put high-risk patients in jeopardy San Antonio Current Editor-in-Chief: Sanford Nowlin General Manager: Chelsea Bourque Editorial Digital Content Editor: Kelly Nelson Contributing Arts Editor: Bryan Rindfuss Food and Nightlife Editor: Nina Rangel Sta Writer: Michael Karlis Contributors: Abe Asher, Ron Bechtol, Enrique Bonilla, Daniel Conrad, Macks Cook, Brianna Espinoza, Kiko Martinez, Mike McMahan, Dana Nichols, M. Solis, Gary Sweeney
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The San Antonio
Sanford Nowlin On the Cover: A study on the effect of Texas’ so-called ‘heartbeat law’ suggests an even wider abortion ban is bad for patients with high-risk pregancies.
23, 2022
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attorney for ADA suits against small businesses on San Antonio’s East Side 500 Years of Culinary Magic San Antonio’s Mixtli showcases the cuisine of Mexico City in an elegant and inspired 10-course tasting menu
AUGUST
6 CURRENT | August 10 –23, 2022 | sacurrent.com
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8 CURRENT | August 10 –23, 2022 | sacurrent.com opendaily WeekendEntertainmentVisit MarketSquareSA.comformoreinfoWith over 100 locally owned shops, you’ll find cultural curios and artifacts, handcrafted leather goods, and a diverse collection of traditional apparel. @marketsquaresa 514 W. Commerce St. Shops.Food.Fun.
Courtesy Photo O ce of the Governor
— Jalen McKee-Rodriguez District 2 Councilman to anti-abortion activists who testified during last week’s council meeting. That Rocks/That Sucks
— Sanford Nowlin YOU SAID IT! “[While] you’re here today, there is a pro-life elected official somewhere making sure that their mistress has access to an abortion.”
The director of the San Antonio-based Texas Biomedical Research Institute’s primate center admi ed to falsifying data on two federal grant applications and in a research paper while he was working at another institution. In a se lement reached with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Research Integrity, Deepak Kaushal will keep his job as director of the $40 million research facility and be supervised for one year while conducting federally funded research.
HCity council last week voted 9-2 to approve a resolution recommending that city funds not be used in the enforcement of Texas’ anti-abortion laws. The resolution doesn’t legalize or decriminalize abortion in the city but does serve as a measure of resistance against the state’s draconian anti-abortion laws.
HA new Texas Tribune report suggests that the state’s juvenile prison system is on the verge of “total collapse,” with facilities dangerously understaffed and the 600-plus children in the system suffering. The system’s employee turnover rate hit 70% last year, forcing teachers and caseworkers to step into security roles with kids locked in their cells as long as 23 hours per day on weekends and some forced to urinate in water bo les, according to the story.
Berry’s appointment is another assclown move from an increasingly desperate governor. And it’s one that voters with any level of concern about police accountability, free speech and racial justice should remember at the ballot box.
H
Small businesses in San Antonio can now apply for COVID relief grants of up to $35,000. The latest round of grants, funded with money from the American Rescue Plan Act, are being administered by local small business lender LiftFund. The agency and the city have already provided $42 million to small businesses since the onset of the pandemic and will be disbursing $17 million more during this round of funding. Businesses can apply for a grant online. — Abe Asher
Courtesy Photo / Redus Family
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The organizations involved in the suit include the New York Times Co., The Washington Post and the Texas Tribune. Department officials have argued that they are not required to release records because the investigation into the shooting remains open. — Abe Asher Pandering to the lawand-order fringe with Gov. Greg Abbott Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark. Gov. Greg Abbo ’s done plenty of pandering during his 2022 campaign, leaning farther and farther right to shore up support from extremists in his party’s base. Which could help explain why Texas’ Republican governor last week appointed an Austin cop indicted for using excessive force to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE), the Texas Tribune reported. In case you’re unfamiliar with TCOLE, it’s the state agency that regulates police licensing and training. Abbo ’s appointee, Justin Berry, was one of 19 Austin cops indicted earlier this year over their handling of 2020 protests over the police murder of George Floyd. Barry faces two counts of aggravated assault by a public servant, according to media reports. Those are the same protests in which San Antonio college student Justin Howell suffered brain damage from a so-called “less-lethal” bean bag round fired by Austin police. The city of Austin earlier this year agreed to pay $8 million to se le a federal lawsuit from Howell. Abbo and his handlers are smart enough to understand the political liability and ro en optics of appointing Berry to a position where he’s expected to have oversight of law enforcement agencies. But it’s a safe bet they perceived a bigger payoff in pandering to the most rabid fringe of the law-and-order crowd with the appointment — rabid-right voters with a hard-on for heavy-handed police tactics.
More than a dozen news organizations are suing the Texas Department of Public Safety, arguing it illegally blocked their a empts to obtain public records about the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde in violation of the Texas Public Information Act
ASSCLOWN ALERT
The San Antonio Metropolitan Health Department last week received 1,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine and will be administering them to people most in need. Vaccines will be administered to members of three priority groups, including people who have been exposed to the virus and people living with HIV or people on PrEP for the prevention of HIV. As of Aug. 5, there were 16 cases of monkeypox in the Ninecity.years after former University of the Incarnate Word police officer Christopher Carter shot and killed student Cameron Redus, the Fourth Court of Appeals ruled that a wrongful death suit filed by Redus’ family can proceed. Carter pulled Redus over in December 2013 on suspicion that he was driving drunk and shot Redus five times during the encounter. An attorney for Redus’ family said he expects the suit to go to trial in September.
10 CURRENT | August 10 –23, 2022 | sacurrent.com SANANTONIO.GOV/IMMUNIZATIONSORCALL210-207-8894 #GetVaccinated AwarenessImmunizationNationalMonthAugustis YOU have the POWER TO PROTECT yourself and your family against COVID-19. August is National Immunization Awareness Month. Now more than ever it is important to get the recommended vaccines throughout your life. Vaccines are SAFE and EFFECTIVE at preventing severe illness, serious diseases and complications from COVID-19. Getting vaccinated is YOUR best protection.
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The following year, on the floor of the U.S. House, Rep. William Dannemeyer of California took special exception to the ADA protections for those with communicable diseases. “With this bill, every HIV-carrier in the country immediately comes within the definition of a disabled person,” the Republican explained, “because they are a carrier of a fatal virus that causes death. Is that sound public policy? And since 70% of those people are male homosexuals, we are going to witness an a empt on the part of the homosexual community to identify this as their Bill of Rights. For instance, if a school district turns down an applicant because he’s a homosexual, that HIV-carrier is going to take that school to court and say, ‘You cannot discriminate against me because Congress says I’m a disabled person.’ Similarly, if a person applies to be a supervisor in a youth group...”
You get the idea. Identical homophobic bluster wafted through the higher chamber as well, instigated by infamous U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, a Republican who represented North Carolina for 30 years, though he added fears that the ADA would apply to “pedophiles,” “kleptomaniacs,” those with low IQ scores and “transvestites.” When the subject turned to the freedom of people with disabilities to adopt children, a flummoxed Sen. Tom Harkin asked Helms, “What is the relevancy to an adoption agency whether a person is tested HIV-positive to whether or not they can be good parents?” “Surely, you’re not serious? I think it’s absolutely relevant!” exclaimed an apparently dumbstruck Helms. “Bear in mind, it’s about 85% of HIV-positives are drug users and/or homosexuals.” Turns out that moral panics of yesteryear return with new right-wing laminations. The terminology may have shifted from “transvestites” and “AIDS” and “homosexuals” to “groomers” and “fentanyl” and “drag queen story hours.” But the tried-and-tested conservative strategy remains the same: to concoct insipid controversies that deflect from genuine challenges and thereby spare the rich and comfortable from ponying up the funds necessary to maintain something resembling a decentTexassociety. Gov.Greg Abbo , who was compassionately awarded a $5 million se lement for his tragic spinal cord injury, supported capping jury-awarded “noneconomic damages” at $250,000 with no adjustment for inflation in a bid to thwart “frivolous lawsuits.” Yet Abbo will get $15,000 a month, with cost-of-living increases factored in, for the rest of his natural life. Republican hypocrisy truly knows no bounds. Meanwhile, as the Houston Chronicle recently reported, “nearly 170,000” disabled Texans languish on Medicaid waitlists for the care they need. Some wait “nearly 20 years to receive help.” Lost in the latest episode of reckless disregard for SARS-CoV-2 are the millions of immunocompromised Americans for whom the pandemic is far from over, with more COVID long-haulers recruited by the subvariant. And with Roe v. Wade thrown to the pavement by Donald Trump’s remade Supreme Court, the disabled are legitimately terrified about their access to potentially life-saving abortion procedures. Describing what’s intolerable offers no excuse for apathy, however. Electoral democracy, for all its faults, affords plenty of second chances, and for starters, we can remind our fellow Texans that Abbo ’s job is on the ballot this November. (It’s a good time to check your voter registration too.) And after more exasperating GOP chicanery, last Tuesday the U.S. Senate finally approved legislation to provide veterans disabled from inhaling burn pit smoke in Iraq and Afghanistan — not to mention the military’s use of chemical weapons like Agent Orange — the healthcare they desperately deserve.Aswith the passage of the ADA three decades ago, we have unremi ing activist pressure to thank. Be er late than never.
MRight-wing social media shit a brick recently when Vice President Kamala Harris described the color of her suit.
The great Justin Dart, considered the “Godfather of the ADA,” cleverly replied in kind: “With all due respect to the caller, you just heard a very good reason why we need this law.”
By current count, some 61 million Americans, around 25% of us, have some type of disability. No doubt accessibility ramps and special bathroom stalls would have been rebuked as “woke” in their day.
BY KEVIN SANCHEZ Late last month a scandal like no other rocked the White House. On the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Vice President Kamala Harris sat down with disability advocates, some of whom are blind, and introduced herself by saying, “I am a woman si ing at the table wearing a blueThoughsuit.” most of us enjoy the privilege of not needing visual descriptions, the formality Harris adopted has become a common courtesy in professional se ings when addressing those with visual impairments. But that didn’t stop right-wing social media from shi ing a collective brick. Texas’ ever-likable U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted his mockery, as did the ever-erudite Colorado U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, and one Republican congressional candidate for Texas’ 3rd district lashed out indignantly, “We can fucking tell you’re a woman by looking at you! ... Is this a new ‘woke’ thing or what?” Admirably salvaging a teachable moment, the American Association of People with Disabilities expressed its “hope to see more government leaders give visual self-descriptions in the future!”Theanti-woke GOP’s much-adoabout inclusion response eerily echoes opponents of the original ADA and their learned resistance to accommodating the perspectives of others. “I represent a large group of citizens who object loudly and vigorously against the assault on our national purse by the handicapped,” a C-SPAN caller opined in 1989, for example. “For 6% of the population to enact an enormous tax, stripping away our hard-earned assets, on the basis that there’s been some horrible deprivation of their rights is just a fraud on the national taxpayer. The fact is that to be handicapped is an unfortunate situation all of us dread, but to then say that we’re going to take a handicapped person who is out of step with the basic pace of life and make him or her equal to their brethren is simply a costly effort of social engineering.”
news Bad Takes From ‘AIDS’ to ‘groomers,’ the American right shifts terminology to gin up fear of an equitable society
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Long overdue Although the customers at RCFCU are feeling the brunt of inflation’s effects, they also fall on Latino-owned smallMarkbusinesses.Garcia,aformer owner of San Antonio’s Bandit BBQ and co-owner of the soon-to-open Big Animal restaurant and bar, says the price increases, especially in the food and service industry, were long overdue. “Some of the more savvy restaurants in town have done that for a while and have incrementally increased their prices,” Garcia said. “But, for your average mom-and-pop taco place to tack on that 50 cents or dollar to that taco, it’s really hard for them.”
Nong2 / Shutterstock.com
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Inflation hitting San Antonio’s Latino consumers, businesses especially hard BY MICHAL KARLIS Everyone feels the bite from inflation. Whether buying groceries, filling up at the gas pump or paying utility bills, it’s hard to escape what some economists linken to a tax imposed without legislation.Evenso,not every Alamo City resident is feeling the same amount of pain from that bite. According to a June study published by Liberty Street Economics — a think tank that analyzes Federal Reserve data — some demographics, including Latinos, are suffering worse under the current bout with inflation than other Americans.LibertyStreet analyzed the effects of inflation by examining the spending pa erns of white, Asian, Black and Latino Americans. To determine which group was hurt the worst, its experts then analyzed the inflation rate on what each demographic was buying at the“Whentime. overall inflation began rising in March 2021, inflation disparities surged, with Black and Hispanic Americans experiencing higher inflation than the national average,” the report said.Although inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.1% this June, U.S. Latinos experienced price hikes closer to 9.7%, the study found. What’s more, the inflation rate burdening that demographic was 1.2% higher than for white Americans, whose rate was 8.5%.
River City Federal Credit Union President and CEO Jeff Ivey said that strain is apparent as he talks to his customers, 65% of whom are Latino. “For a lot of folks, it’s ge ing harder and harder to provide the basics,” Ivey said. “I’m talking about pu ing food on the table versus buying school supplies or ge ing the car fixed or paying utilities. It just becomes more of a challenge.”
Businesses in the food and service industry long needed to increase their prices to pay staff and buy ingredients, both challenges during the pandemic, according to Garcia. But now that the price of everything is rising, the long-needed inflation in the cost of services has made raising prices a necessity.“It’sjust par for the course, at this point, that prices are going up,” Garcia said. “Everybody that’s raising prices absolutely has to raise prices. I don’t think anybody’s doing it out of greed. But I think they were really slow to take that position.”
Pocketbook Disparities
Second jobs Inflation-driven price hikes also are leading some San Antonio residents, such as LaTischa Castro, to find other sources of income to make ends meet. Castro first opened her store on Poshmark, an online clothing marketplace, after her mother’s 2019 retirement as a U.S Air Force civil servant. Castro’s mother no longer needed the many business suits she purchased while working at the Pentagon and wanted a second source of income during retirement. So, Castro — with her mother and sister — launched the online store 3 SimpleAlthoughWives.started as a side hustle, the extra cash flow has become increasingly helpful for the family, especially since Castro’s sister, who has a teenage daughter, retired from her job on active duty for the military last week. And the cost of living in San Antonio continues to rise. “Having that second stream of income — even during furloughs and now with inflation going up — means that we still have money to do fun things and take care of a teenager,” Castro said. Recession-proof Even with inflation at a four-decade high, observers warn that things could get even worse for San Antonio’s Latino consumers and small businesses. Many experts are predicting a recession — or warn that we’ve already dipped into one.Sales for Castro’s 3 Simple Wives slipped this summer, although she noted that they picked up a bit as children prepare to return to school. “These are going to be some challenging times over the next 12 to 18 months because I do think we’re on the cusp of a full-blown recession, and that’s going to be hard to navigate for a lot of people,” RCFCU’s Ivey said. “Anytime a small business goes under or really struggles, that’s bad for the localAlthougheconomy.”Castro and Ivey are concerned about a slowdown, Garcia said he’s not sweating it as he looks to open Big“BarsAnimal.arepre y recession-proof,” he said. “Bars, drug dealing and prostitution.”
A recent New England Journal of Medicine study found that Texas’ law endangered the lives of patients with high-risk pregnancies and created confusion for clinicians trying to provide for their care. Even though the law included provisions allowing for medical emergencies, researchers found that some patients needed to be in danger of death before medical providers were willing to terminate the pregnancies pu ing their lives at risk. “With an increasingly narrow exemption and medical professionals learning about them as they go, [SB 8]
increased a climate of fear in the state,” said Whitney Arey, the paper’s lead author and a researcher with the Texas Policy Evaluation Project, which studies reproductive health policies. “We saw that Texas, unfortunately, gave a preview of what a lot of states will likely see with increasingly narrow exemptions for when abortions are allowed.”UnderSB 8, Texas patients with complicated pregnancies or preexisting conditions are being forced to delay abortions until their medical conditions become life threatening or until the fetus’ cardiac activity can no longer be detected, Arey and her colleagues found in interviews with 25 clinicians and 20 patients carrying high-risk pregnancies.Thatraises concerns that SB 8 and Texas’ so-called trigger law, which bans almost all abortions and goes into effect on Aug. 25, could increase maternal death rates in the state, which already exceeds the national average, according to federal data. Even before the trigger law goes into effect, abortion is illegal in the state due to a 1925 law Texas A orney General Ken Paxton resurrected after the Supreme Court decision.“People have to be on death’s door to qualify for maternal exemptions to SB 8,” one maternal fetal medicine specialist told researchers for the NEJM study.
Vague exemption Last month, the Biden administration issued guidance advising doctors they’re protected under federal law if they terminate a pregnancy as part of an emergency treatment. The order even threatens to defund hospitals that refuse to perform those procedures. However, Texas AG Paxton almost immediately sued to challenge the guidance in federal court. Paxton argues in his legal brief that the White Reshetnikov_art / Shutterstock.com
BY SANFORD NOWLIN In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, a new study suggests dangerous medical outcomes under Texas’ six-week abortion ban could become the norm in the nearly half of states in the nation expected to ban the procedure.Beforethe high court’s monumental decision throwing out a nearly 50-yearold abortion-rights precedent, Texas last year implemented Senate Bill 8.
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Climate of Fear Texas study shows how abortion bans put high-risk patients in jeopardy
The state’s so-called “heartbeat law” effectively banned all abortions after fetal cardiac activity can be detected — around six weeks.
Mental and emotional toll
One woman who suffered a membrane rupture during her pregnancy told researchers that she was informed she couldn’t get an abortion in Texas but was also warned that leaving the state put her at further risk. “I knew how dangerous it was for me to get on a plane and go get an abortion, but I knew that it was still the safer option for me than si ing in Texas and waiting, and I could potentially get sicker,” she said. The woman also shared her obstetrician’s travel advice: “If you labor on the plane, leave the placenta inside of you. You’re going to have to deal with a 19week fetus outside of your body until youBeyondland.” the medical risks SB 8 created for pregnant women, Arey said the study also illustrates the mental and emotional health toll of the Texas law — a toll that’s liable to be repeated as other state legislators implement their own abortion bans.
Chilling effect Adding to the experts’ concern, Texas’ SB 8 — which offers no exception for rape, incest or severe fetal abnormality — allows virtually anyone to sue an abortion provider or someone else who helps a person obtain an abortion deemed illegal. The potential financial damages start at $10,000, and clinicians also stand to lose their licenses. That provision has a chilling effect that’s pressuring medical professionals not to perform the procedure or even discuss it with patients — even when dealing with a high-risk pregnancy, according to the study. After a 39-year-old woman in the NEJM study discovered that her fetus had spina bifida and another severe abnormality, her doctor refused to even discuss abortion options, according to the“Whenpaper.you already have received news like that and can barely function, the thought of having to do your own investigating to determine where to get this medical care, to arrange going out of state feels additionally overwhelming,” she told researchers.
sacurrent.com | August 10 –23, 2022 CURRENT 15 House’s guidance interferes with the state’s “sovereign interest in the power to create and enforce a legal code.” Abortion rights advocates also caution that the White House guidance needs strong enforcement if it’s to be meaningful, and it’s too early to know how aggressively the feds plan to pursue such Further,action.study author Arey said the vague language of SB 8 led medical institutions and clinicians to have widely varying interpretations of what is allowable under the law’s medical exemption.“Itaffected continuity of patient care because some clinicians were uncertain if they could counsel patients about abortion or if they could refer patients elsewhere or if they could transfer their medical records out of state,” she said. “Or if they were still doing this, some people acknowledged that this still might put them at risk for being viewed as aiding and abe ing under SB 8. These different interpretations of the laws are going to create uneven care as people interpret them differently in differentConcernsplaces.”about the nebulous language allowing for medical exemptions have also surrounded Indiana’s newly passed abortion law, again suggesting that the Texas research hints at problems that soon will come to patients in other states. Doctors have complained about the confusion they face as they try to care for patients facing conditions such as incomplete miscarriages, premature membrane ruptures and ectopic pregnancies, in which a fetus develops outside of the uterus. “It’s terrible,” Dr. Alan Peaceman, a professor of maternal-fetal medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, told the Texas Tribune earlier this month. “The care providers are treading on eggshells. They don’t want to get sucked into a legal morass. And so, they don’t even know what the rules are.”
The study also points out that outof-state travel can exacerbate problems for women carrying risky pregnancies.
“The patients talked about feeling hurt and confused, overwhelmed when they realized that they had to figure out on their own where to go and get care,” she said. “And, so, some people who don’t have the resources aren’t going to be able to leave Texas, so they’re going to have to continue pregnancies until they develop life-threatening complications in order to receive care for these conditions.”
The chilling effect of SB 8 and the state’s trigger ban are likely to have the most profound effect on people of color and those with limited incomes, Arey argues. With Texas doctors unwilling or unable to take the risk of performing medically necessary abortions, many patients will have no choice but to seek one in a state such as Colorado or New Mexico, which haven’t banned the procedure. Traveling that distance is an expensive proposition, especially for the uninsured and those struggling withRuralpoverty.residents are also likely to find it harder to obtain care if they develop risky pregnancies, according to Arey. Doctors who perform abortions are already considering relocating out of state, according to the study, and those moves are likely to diminish access in rural areas where options are already limited.
Sanford Nowlin
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UnSplash / Taylor Wilcox
BY MICHAEL KARLIS Blaming low pay, burnout and the politicization of their jobs, a record 70% of Texas teachers said in a new survey that they’re seriously considering leaving the Accordingprofession.toapoll conducted by the Texas State Teachers Association, the number of educators thinking of calling it quits is the highest in the survey’s history and a 17% increase since it was last conducted in 2018.
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Of those surveyed, 85% said they don’t feel state leaders and legislators had positive opinions of teachers. What’s more, 65% of those surveyed didn’t believe the public viewed teachers in a positive light. Those feelings likely stem from politically charged state legislation such as Senate Bill 3, which bars educators from discussing “widely debated and currently controversial issues of public policy or social affairs.” Further, Gov. Greg Abbo announced a criminal investigation last fall into “pornography” in school libraries. On the pay front, Texas teachers make $7,000 less on average than their counterparts in other states, according to the TSTA. Low pay has forced four of every 10 teachers in the state to take a second job to make ends meet. In the survey, 79% of teachers said moonlighting negatively impacts their teaching performance. Molinaalso cited Abbo ’s banning of mask mandates during the previous school year and his refusal to address gun reform following the massacre at Robb Elementary School as factors in teachers’ low morale. Several rural Texas districts already feel the effects of the great teacher resignation, opting for four-day school weeks due to a lack of available staff, the Texas Tribune recently reported.
CORRECTIONS In the print edition of the Current’s July 27 Best of San Antonio issue, we inadvertently left out the runners up in the Best CBD Shop category. Those are:
2. Cloud Craft Vape+Smoke 15139 Bulverde Road #101 (210) facebook.com/cloudcraftsa951-8273
3. CBD Relief 11627 Bandera Road (210) cbdrelief.care366-4380 Wealsoprinted the wrong address for Bandera Market, located at 11851 Bandera Road in Helotes. Additionally, we included the incorrect address for Bambinos, located at 4940 Broadway, Suite 120. The Current regrets the errors.
Seven in 10 Texas teachers say they’re thinking about quitting
The Alamo Colleges District offers clear, concise career pathways with your own personal success team from start to finish. We make learning accessible, with loaner laptops and no-cost textbooks. And we make transportation easy, with free bus passes. You won’t just get a degree or certificate, but an in-demand skill set. Not just an education, but a learning experience that leads to a real career, all with flexible course schedules and affordable tuition. Ambassadors will be available at community events throughout the summer to give career assessments, share information on available programs, and help you get started on the path to your future. That’s college made for you and your brightest future. Register now for fall classes. Visit alamo.edu/explore for a complete schedule of events.
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“Lingering stress from the pandemic is a factor, but it isn’t the only one,” TSTA President Ovidia Molina said in a press release. “Inadequate pay, political a acks on educators and the failure of state leaders to protect the health and safety of students and school employees also have combined to drive down the morale of teachers to the lowest level in recent memory and endanger our public school system.”
18 CURRENT | August 10 – 23, 2022 | sacurrent.com TICKETS ON SALE NOW MAJESTICEMPIRE.COM NOVEMBER 22-27 ALL SEVEN HARRY POTTER BOOKS IN SEVENTY HILARIOUS MINUTES! AUG 27-28 Patel Desi Banks AUG 18-21 Tony Hinchcliffe AUG 26-27 Carlos Ballarta AUG 24-25 Mark Normand AUG 11-13
THU | 08.11
COMEDY KEVIN HART: REALITY CHECK We’re not sure how comedian and actor Kevin Hart finds the time to go on a nationwide standup tour with the number of movies he’s making these days, but the 43-year-old funnyman will swing through the Alamo City for two shows, and he’s guaranteeing Texas-sized laughs. Hart’s Saturday night performance is already sold out, but as of press time, Wednesday’s show still has plenty of room for fans who want to hear his signature brand of humor. Hart last brought a tour through San Antonio in 2018 around the time he was promoting his film Night School. This Texas trip coincides with the release of the animated film DC League of Super-Pets, in which he voices Batman’s pet, a German Shepherd named Ace the Bat-Hound. He also stars alongside Woody Harrelson in the Netflix comedy The Man from Toronto. At the end of August, Hart will be seen in another Netflix comedy called Me Time with co-star Mark Wahlberg. In that movie, he plays Sonny, a stay-at-home dad who calls up his former best friend when he gets a little “me time” away from his wife and children. $29-$328.50, 7 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday, AT&T Center, One AT&T Center Parkway, (210) 444-5000, attcenter.com. — Kiko Martinez Courtesy Photo / AT&T Center
Courtesy Photo / Majestic Theatre
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DRAG BOSCO RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 was a wild ride with twists and turns aplenty, perhaps none more suspenseful than a Willy Wonka-inspired golden chocolate bar with the power to save one lucky queen from elimination. But the season also made franchise herstory through transgender visibility, with a total of five contestants identifying as trans by the time filming wrapped: Kerri Colby, Jasmine Kennedie, Kornbread “The Snack” Jeté, Willow Pill and Bosco. Raised in Montana and based in Sea le, Bosco snatched her name from her childhood dog. “He’s not using it anymore — he’s dead — so now it’s mine,” she explained. A burlesque-style bombshell with legs for days and sharply winged eyebrows inspired by anime villains, Bosco made runway statements with looks she summed up as “equal parts evil and naked.” That signature blend of glam and horror was exemplified in ensembles involving bedazzled horn boobs, rhinestone blood spla ers and a terrifying tutu resembling a circular saw. A fierce competitor who won three maxi challenges — including a quick-wi ed roast of judge Ross Ma hews — Bosco fought for the leading role in Moulin Ru: The Rusical but her portrayal of showgirl Saltine landed her in an elimination lip-synch against San Antonio-born Jorgeous. Although Bosco lost to the season’s “lip-synch assassin,” she was saved by the golden chocolate bar she was unwi ingly holding. Safe to slay another day, she remained in the competition all the way to the finale, where she performed her original song “Devil” and ultimately tied for third place alongside Angeria Paris VanMicheals and Daya Be y. The self-described “Demon Queen of Sea le” requests that you “get your ass out and horns up” for her pair of Bonham Exchange performances presented by the ever-reliable Rey Lopez Entertainment. $20$25, 10:30 p.m. and midnight, Bonham Exchange, 411 Bonham St., table reservations via text only at (210) 386-4537, facebook. com/reylopezentertainment. — Bryan Rindfuss
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stillCOVID-19AlthoughReminder:liveeventshavereturned,thepandemiciswithus.Checkwithvenuestomakesurescheduledeventsarestillhappening,andpleasefollowallhealthandsafetyguidelines. |
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THEATER MEAN GIRLS Based on the 2004 cult classic comedy film, the Tony-nominated Broadway musical Mean Girls will take the stage in August for an eight-show run. From the director of The Book of Mormon, this stage production has all the humor and verve of the film that has captured millions of hearts around the world, coupled with catchy tunes, stunning vocal performances and vibrant set design. New girl Cady Heron devises a scheme to end the oppressive reign of queen bee Regina George and her proteges — The Plastics — in this tale of a twisted high school hellscape that is equal parts sharp, scandalous and — of course — so fetch! $45-$167, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Majestic Theatre, 224 E. Houston St., (210) 226-3333, majesticempire.com. — Caroline WolFF
Courtesy Photo / Rey Lopez Entertainment Courtesy Photo / LOL Comedy Club
COMEDY MARK NORMAND Mark Normand has made the rounds from MTV to Inside Amy Schumer to Conan to Fallon to Colbert, fulfilling a prophecy from 2011, when Comedy Central named him a “Comic to WED | 08.10 + SAT | 08.13
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FILM RATATOUILLE Cinema on Will’s Plaza is back, this time showing 2007’s iconic Pixar animated film Ratatouille (directed by Jan Pinkava and Brad Bird) on a 32-foot outdoor LED video wall. The original story of Remy, a rat with dreams of being a gourmet chef who teams up with an inexperienced restaurant worker at a top restaurant in Paris, has been the subject of numerous parodies since its release, including in a TikTok crowdsourced musical in late 2020. Those irreverent takes haven’t lessened the humor of the Oscar-winning film, which remains a beloved fixture of the Pixar canon. Although we’re curious how many children who have seen it over the years have excitedly asked their parents to try the titular dish, only to discover that it’s an amalgam of tomato, squash and eggplant — none of which are kid favorites. Free, 8 p.m., Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org. — MC SUN | 08.14
ART ‘IT’S HARD BEING A WOMAN DURING THE APOCALYPSE’
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THEATER A CHORUS LINE
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Courtesy Photo / San Antonioi Museum of Art Courtesy Photo / LOL Comedy Club
20 CURRENT | August 10 – 23, 2022 | sacurrent.com
Courtesy Photo / Woodlawn Disney+Theatre
COMEDY DESI BANKS Desi Banks is an actor, comedian and social media personality, and given his success — he has 8 million followers across multiple platforms — you might think he’s a seasoned veteran in all three of those fields. Not so. Banks only gained prominence in 2018 on the You’re My Boyfriend Tour with actress and comic B. Simone. That turn led to Banks’ own string of headlining dates, and in 2021 he joined the In Real Life Comedy Tour with Mike Epps, Kountry Wayne and Lavell Crawford. Last year, he appeared in the film Haunted Trail, directed by Robin Givens. $70-$280, 8 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, 618 NW Loop 410, (210) 541-8805, improvtx.com/sanantonio. — MMLoot Achris
Watch.” Born and raised in New Orleans, the funnyman got his start in comedy at Lucy’s Retired Surfer Bar. He now resides in New York City, and his most recent special, Out To Lunch, dropped in 2020. For those keeping track of such things, Normand tried smelling salts for the first time on Joe Rogan’s podcast. As one does, we suppose. $70-$200, 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, 618 NW Loop 410, (210) 541-8805, improvtx.com/sanantonio.
FRI | 08.12
THEATER SHAN PUPPET THEATER Founded in 2002 by performing artist Huang Wu-shan (黃武山), the Shan Puppet Theater has a mission of bringing Hakka language, music and culture to audiences via puppet theater. For the uninitiated, Hakka Chinese is one of the official languages of Taiwan and represents a language and culture shared by subsects of Chinese and Taiwanese people alike. The Shan Puppet Theater’s performances are suitable for all ages, and songs are presented in Hakka Chinese with English subtitles. Over the years, the Taiwan-based troupe has used its vibrant, intricately carved and expertly controlled puppets to bring to life anything from Hakka folklore to Shakespeare plays. An interactive component following the performance invites the curious behind the curtain for a closer look at some of the theater’s magic. $10-$20, 1-3 p.m., San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 W. Jones Ave., (210) 978-8100, samuseum.org. — MC
Tony Award-winning musical A Chorus Line will sashay into the spotlight at the Woodlawn Theatre, moving to the infectious rhythms of its Marvin Hamlisch-composed score. In this contemplative and refreshingly authentic production about a Broadway casting call, bigshot director Zach (Kevin Cox) sets out to uncover the unexpectedly complex backstories of 17 starving artists vying for their big break. However, tensions rise when Zach is confronted by his ex-lover and former Broadway star Cassie (Kahlee Moore), who is now desperate for a part — and perhaps something more. The show’s three-week run includes a handful of Community Appreciation Nights, including Student Night on Saturday, Aug. 13, ASL Night on Friday, Aug. 26 and Pride Night on Friday, Sept. 2. $18-$32, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday through Sept. 4, Woodlawn Theatre, 1920 Fredericksburg Road, (210) 2678388, woodlawntheatre.org.
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THU | 08.18SUN | 08.21
— Mike McMahan
Given current events, Clamp Light Artist Studios & Gallery’s August exhibition “It’s Hard Being a Woman During the Apocalypse” feels especially topical. The show features new work from Sarah Fox, Loot Achris and Ashley Mireles, which reflects one of Clamp Light’s core missions: supporting South Texas artists. And it’s a commitment which seems crucial during the apocalypse. The exhibition will open with a public reception and remain on view through September 3. The vibrant multimedia works “touch on rage, trauma, discomfort and the power behind shared experiences bringing women together.” They also pose compelling questions about the nature of womanhood during uncertain times. How might a woman become monstrous? How might women come together to feel more whole? Despite the exhibition’s doom-and-gloom title, its function and the works on display are intended to offer hope and solidarity for visitors. Free, 6-9 p.m., on view August 12-September 3, Clamp Light Artist Studios & Gallery, 1704 Blanco Road, Suite 104, clamplightstudios.com. — Macks Cook
Lionsgate
sacurrent.com | August 10 – 23, 2022 | CURRENT 21 AT&T Center: 1 AT&T Center Parkway San Antonio, Tx 78219 For tickets ATTCenter.com/Eventsvisit SUN | 08.21
FILM WIND RIVER As part of its Summer Film Series, the Briscoe will screen the 2017 neo-Western murder mystery Wind River. Written and directed by Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone), the film stars Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) as Cory Lambert, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent who discovers the body of an 18-year-old girl on Wyoming’s Wind River Indian Reservation. Actress Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision) plays Jane Banner, a rookie FBI agent who recruits Cory as her tracker through the frozen terrain. Actor and San Antonio native Gil Birmingham plays the father of the murdered young girl, who was also one of Cory’s close friends. More than 5,700 indigenous women and girls went missing in the U.S. in 2016, according to statistics from the National Crime Information Center, so Wind River bears some topical poignancy. “It’s something that a ects the life of every member of the reservation, and it’s not discussed in our popular culture, in the public awareness,” Sheridan told Interview magazine at the time of the film’s release. “It’s unknown. It’s ignored by the media. It’s not that the leaders of these tribes aren’t screaming about it, it’s just that no one’s listening. It’s one of the great things about film: We can give a voice to those that are not being heard.” $6-$12, 1 p.m., Briscoe Western Art Museum, 210 W. Market St., (210) 299-4499, briscoemuseum.org. — KM Home Entertainment
22 CURRENT | August 10 –23, 2022 | sacurrent.com Adjacent to the Pearl | 200 W Jones Ave www.samuseum.org Come see Tony Parker’s private pop culture and superhero statues from Hollywood’s biggest films. Ok, and some villains too! EXHIBITION OPEN DAILY TUESDAY–SUNDAY FINAL DAYS! (210) 226 4031 | thealamedaschool.org JOIN US SCHOOL2022-2023FORTHEYEAR Register online or by telephone TODAY! 501 W César E Chávez Blvd, San Antonio, TX School78207startsWednesday, August 10th, but registration is ongoing. Now offering a 4-day school week! The Alameda School is San Antonio’s only tuition-free high school that focuses on art and design as essential components of a world-class education, by developing students’ skills, knowledge, and potential as critical thinkers and innovative problem solvers. Located on the UTSA Downtown Campus.
Activist Artist Roberto Marquez’s San Antonio mural offers a memorial to the 53 migrants who died this summer in an abandoned tractor-trailer BY MARCO AQUINO Six weeks after 53 migrants died in the back of a sweltering tractor trailer abandoned in Southwest San Antonio, a memorial continues to grow at the site. That desolate stretch of Quintana Road has become sacred ground for people trying to make sense of the tragedy. The work of artist Roberto Marquez stands at the center of this place of mourning and contemplation. His Picasso-inspired mural of a red tractor trailer carrying dozens of migrants is splashed across four large panels — a depiction of what played out there on JuneArtists27. often speak about their work being “for the people,” even as it hangs on gallery walls curated by gatekeepers. However, Dallas-based Marquez doesn’t just paint his subjects. He also lives among them and immerses himself in their struggles. A migrant from Mexico now in his 60s, Marquez has been painting for decades. But it wasn’t until 2018 that his art turned into activism.Sincethat awakening, he’s created murals at the site of the Surfside condominium collapse in Florida, across the street from Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, under a destroyed bridge crossing Ukraine’s Irpin River and under the Del Río-Ciudad Acuña International Bridge, where nearly 15,000 Haitian migrants converged in 2021. “I wish I had started doing what I do 20 years back,” Marquez said. “I started real late.” Marquez’s immersion in activism happened when he traveled to Tijuana four years ago to volunteer when thousands of Central American asylum seekers took shelter at the Benito Juarez Sports Complex. He only planned to stay a few weeks but remained for“Atmonths.first,I wasn’t thinking about activism,” he said. “But eventually, you have to respond to the injustices. Now, it’s just a way of life.” From Ukraine to South Texas Marquez’s trip to Ukraine earlier this year involved more than creating art. His volunteer work included passing out food and picking up dead bodies in war-torn communities. “I don’t go with the idea of painting,” Marquez said. “First I go and ask what is it that I can do to help.” After his time in Ukraine, Marquez returned home to Texas to see his family and rest. Li le did he know, he’d soon be packing his bags again — this time for Uvalde, where the Robb Elementary shooting claimed the lives of 19 children and two teachers. Days later, the deaths of the migrants in an abandoned tractor-trailer drew Marquez to San Antonio. He spent nearly two weeks working in the heat, painting what he refers to as the “Trailer of Death.”
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On the day I met Marquez at the site, a group of elderly women recited prayers as mourners gathered to pay their respects, their voices traveling. One of the women handed me a rosary. The railroad company that owns the land where the memorial is located is willing to work with the community to turn it into a permanent memorial, Marquez said. The site makes it clear that even when governments fail, the true soul of a people — and their culture — continues to flourish. “Any situation where there is a loss of life, people want to know that someone is there for them,” Marquez said. “We want to let them know that we are here and hopefully it doesn’t happen again.” Aquino Courtesy Photo / Roberto Marquez
Other memorials
During his time working on his San Antonio project, Marquez took note of the others who created their own memorials. The crosses along the roadside are adorned with flowers, and each bears the name of one of the migrants who perished in the back of the trailer.“Two guys named Jose and David were the ones that built the crosses,” Marquez said. “It was a lot of cooperation from different people. They went to Home Depot and bought lumber. It took them about a day and a half to put them all up.”
“I’m portraying the way many migrants go through the water like the sea or the Rio Bravo,” Marquez said of the mural. “I didn’t just want to portray a tragedy, but I also wanted to bring hope. That’s why I have an angel in the back that’s going to rescue the ones that are alive.”
To distinguish himself from the esteemed Mexican painter of the same name, Marquez uses the moniker “Robenz.” But with one view of Marquez’s work, it is evident the two artists are on very different paths. In the mural, Marquez depicts the many obstacles migrants face on their journeys to the United States — hunger, confrontations with authorities and crossing the Rio Grande River. He makes the point that migrants come from all over the world, sometimes devoting years to the journey.
MarquezRoberto
24 CURRENT | August 10 –23, 2022 | sacurrent.com COMMUNITYOFYOURHEARTBETHENVCoers:CommunityHealthWorker•Level1Certicate•AssociateofAppliedScienceWITHLEARNCOMEUS CALL 210-207-4759 SCANTHE QRCODETO LEARNMORE Community Health Workers provide services to increase wellness and improve access to health services through outreach to speci c groups in need. The Community Health Worker program prepares students to work in public health, private health care delivery systems, community-based social service agencies, and health care insurance organizations. This program will train students to develop positive relationships with individuals who need assistance and support in developing healthy behaviors, utilizing health resources, and gaining educational support to prevent or alleviate the e ects of chronic disease.
‘Making a difference’ Hers may be a profession associate with cartoonish fun, but there’s a gravitas to Cervantes that shines through in her conduct. Her ring a ire for AEW’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view in May included a sacred heart with the word “Uvalde” in the center. The gear was later auctioned off for $5,000, with all proceeds going to the families and victims of the Uvalde school shooting. “I am so proud of living in Texas and what Texas has given me as a person, as a wrestler, and as a mother. My son goes to school in Texas,” she said of her decision to speak out after the tragic incident. “So, for me, it was important to give back to the community, because those mothers and fathers, they’re going to be affected not only now, but for life. It’s going to take years or decades for them to get back to normal. “Making a difference is the biggest thing for me, as a wrestler,” she added. “By utilizing this beautiful sport, I have been able to reach out in ways that I otherwise would have never been able to do.”
arts Fighter on a Mission San Antonio grappler Thunder Rosa and Mission Pro Wrestling are leveling the playing field BY M. BRIANNA STALLINGS Last month, a behemoth of a farm boy brought his bright-red tractor to work at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium, much to the delight of spectators. That farm boy, WWE superstar Brock Lesnar, used the tractor to lift a corner of the SummerSlam 2022 ring and send opponent Roman Reigns rolling out onto the concrete floor. The dramatic show was what many imagine professional wrestling to be: loud, bombastic and — above all — masculine entertainment Yet in 2021, the magazine Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked a comparably over-the-top women’s fight as its Match of the Year. That bout between All Elite Wrestling (AEW) stars Thunder Rosa and Dr. Bri Baker, D.M.D., was a knock-down drag-out full of blood, thumbtacks and broken tables on par with some of the most hardcore men’s matches. Thunder Rosa — also known as San Antonio resident Melissa Cervantes — triumphed in that match. And almost a year later, on March 16, she won her first AEW Women’s World Championship after defeating Baker in a steel cage match in the Alamo City. In doing so, she became the first female Mexican-born wrestling world champion. Now, as founder of the all-women Mission Pro Wrestling, Thunder Rosa hopes to keep leveling the playing field and paying it forward — in Texas and beyond.Tothat end, MPW is presenting A Hard Day’s Night, a night of wrestling to benefit the Salvation Army, on Saturday, August 20th at Salvation Army Mission Corps in San Antonio. Despite her own auspicious career, Cervantes didn’t become a pro wrestling fan herself until her 20s. Thunder Rosa made her wrestling debut in 2014. “It feels like it was a huge hobby that became a career for me,” she told the Current in a recent phone interview. “In terms of my favorite wrestlers, I like trailblazers who don’t care what people say, like Medusa or Sherri Martel. Those are the women I really look up to.”
Shining a spotlight Matches between men are in the minority on the bill for San Antonio’s A Hard Day’s Night bill — the exact opposite of how bigger promotions book their events.
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The Current spoke via Zoom with one of the men who’ll appear: Simon Miller, British pro wrestler and YouTube presenter for wildly successful WhatCulture. com. He had no qualms about being one of the male wrestlers on a bill dominated by women. “As a society, that’s how we view things: it’s ‘men’s’ wrestling, it’s ‘women’s’ wrestling,” he said. “But if we throw away the identity terms, it’s wrestling.” Indeed, Miller said he’d like to see the sport’s gender balance shift. “It has been a predominantly male sport. But athletes like Thunder Rosa, they’re just as good, if not be er, than the men,” he said. “It’s great that we have women’s main events, but we want to get to where that’s not a headline. Until you get there, you need to shine a spotlight on it, which is exactly what Mission Pro is doing. And that’s why I think it’s so badass. It’s going to give more people opportunities, and hopefully, 5 to 10 years down the line, it will address that imbalance and we can just enjoy wrestling.”
TCBTX Photography Mission Pro Wrestling — A Hard Day’s Night $5-$40 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20 Salvation Army Mission Corps 3802 SW Military eventbrite.com.Drive
26 CURRENT | August 10 –23, 2022 | sacurrent.com MARKETINGFULL-SERVICEAGENCY. LOCAL ROOTS. NATIONAL REACH. MARKETING AGENCY.
What kind of impact do you think the inclusion of actor Tenoch Huerta will mean for Latino fans of Marvel movies? I think it’s great, especially because he’s from Mexico. He has an indigenous ancestry. There isn’t a lot of representation of that in American cinema. It’s a lot easier to dream that you can be something if you can see it. To be able to see that representation is important. When we don’t see ourselves represented in movies, TV shows and comic books, the message that we receive is that we don’t exist. I think [casting Huerta] can only do great things for Latinos in the industry. What can it do for the future of Latino characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Can you see Reptil getting his own film or TV series? Honestly, you never know. I’m sure that when Spider-Punk or Spider-Gwen was created, no one thought they would blow up, but look at how popular the Spider-Verse is now. I don’t know what the chances are, but I never would have thought that a character like Reptil’s cousin, who is a bruja (witch), would appear on the cover of a Marvel comic book, [Marvel’s Voices: Comunidades].
full trailer for Wakanda Forever debuted late last month, revealing Namor and other Latino characters, Latino Twi er went nuts. “This means more to La Raza than anyone will ever understand,” one user tweeted. “Namor being played by Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta … is about to be the hardest shit Marvel has ever done,” opined another. Blas also wanted to express his gratitude to Marvel for creating a potentially iconic role around a character he recognized culturally. So, he sketched a portrait of Huerta from the stage at the San Diego Comic-Con last month, where the actor was introduced to a endees as LaterNamor.that week, Blas jumped on a Zoom call with the Current to talk about Latino representation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
How important is it for Latino audiences to support these characters? Latinos make up a huge portion of Marvel’s audience. On one hand, companies can say, “Well, we already have your money, why would we add more representation if you’re already seeing our stuff?” I think the only way to combat that is to support the stories that represent our communities. That will show [Latinos] that they have even more buying power. Then, [studios] could potentially make more movies with diverse representation. What’s your message to Marvel purists who don’t want to see a Mesoamerican Namor and want the movies to follow the original comics? If you don’t want to see anything change, you’re going to have a hard time in this life. Things change all the time. I think that if you’re a purist, then go read the comics. I mean, didn’t we just have a multiverse movie? I’m all for a million different versions of different characters. Why wouldn’t you want to include other communities and other people? Who wants to play with a kid who doesn’t want to share his toys? On that note, Warner Bros. recently shelved an almost-finished Batgirl movie with a Latina playing the title superhero. What are your thoughts on that shocking decision? [Actress] Leslie Grace and the character of Batgirl deserve be er. Other movies have been made and finished and gone directly to streaming services instead of the theater, so this tells me that there’s something else going on. I don’t know what we can do to combat things like that happening other than to support other Latinx writers and showrunners when they get put in positions of power. Watch their shows and tweet about them so they’re successful and we can have more.
Courtesy Image / Terry Blas
ParaSuperhéroesSiempre
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Marvel writer and artist Terry Blas excited about Latino inclusion in Wakanda Forever BY KIKO MARTINEZ When Marvel approached Portland-based writer and illustrator Terry Blas to pitch an idea for a comic series based on Humberto Lopez, or Reptil, one of its lesser-known characters, Blas knew he could draw inspiration from his Mexican culture to create a story about a dinosaur-powered superhero.Blaswas already exploring his Latino identity through his work on several independent comics.Blasalso knew his contribution to Marvel would be one of the few examples of Latino representation for a major comic book company. He sensed there was an appetite for it. After all, it’s one of the reasons Marvel started hiring Latinx acting talent including Xochitl Gomez (Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness), Salma Hayek (Eternals) and Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight) to join the club in recent years and invited reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny (El Muerto) into its universe. But before Bad Bunny makes his Marvel debut, the media empire will introduce fans to another Latino actor and character. This fall, Mexican star Tenoch Huerta (The Forever Purge) will play a prominent role in the much-anticipated sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as Namor, the leader of an ancient underwater civilization with ties to Mesoamerica.Whenthefirst
What were your initial thoughts when you saw the Mesoamerican scenes in the trailer for Wakanda Forever? It looked like an interesting story, especially with the inclusion of another group. I hope we get to see both groups realize that they’re sort of in the same position and should understand each other. I’m really glad that they are both historically excluded groups that are ge ing this kind of representation.
28 CURRENT | August 10 – 23, 2022 | sacurrent.com
The trio of East Side businesses owners who maintain they’re being targeted by Strickland and Castillo met the morning of Tuesday, July 26 at Tank’s Pizza to discuss their legal options.Theywere joined by staff from the City of San Antonio’s ADA office, representatives from District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez’s office and members of the nonprofit San Antonio for Growth on the Eastside (SAGE). “Everybody was in our favor and on our side. They kind of told us that it’s unfortunate what’s happening but that we absolutely cannot just ignore this,” Sunshine Bakery owner Kayla Ma a said. “We’re going to have to go the legal route and find someone to represent us.”Ma a also noted that the predominantly Spanish-speaking owners of Teresita’s Mexican Restaurant were confused by the legal papers, which were in English. The owners were afraid that asking for translation help could land them in more legal trouble, she added. Ma a, who’s already begun work to get her bakery into ADA compliance with the addition of a wheelchair ramp, said she feels more optimistic than she did when she was first served. She’s also thankful that the city is now“Theseinvolved.areall essentially the same lawsuit,” Courtney said of the suits against the East Side businesses. “It’s my belief that businesses should work together when facing the same problem.”
Prior to Harrington’s tenure at the Texas Civil Rights Project, he was the director of the ADA National Backup Center, a joint enterprise of the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems. Courtney served as the managing a orney of the organization. Courtney said he and Harrington don’t plan to directly encourage Strickland’s disbarment or get involved in the process should someone pursue that course of action. The pair didn’t a empt to get Rosales disbarred either, they added. Even so, the pair said they want to raise awareness about the ADA and to avoid seeing it used as a weapon against small businesses, especially those owned by people on the margins.“Wewant businesses to look at the Americans with Disabilities Act as an opportunity to serve more individuals in our community and not as a tool that unscrupulous individuals are going to use to extort money,” Courtney said.
Both Harrington and San Antonio-based attorney Geoffrey Courtney said they’re focused on bringing a ention to Strickland’s string of lawsuits, which they describe as predatory andStrickland“bullshit.”was unavailable for comment by press time. However, in an email sent to the Current earlier this summer, he said he’s “honored to represent individuals in wheelchairs to require the businesses to get into compliance with the law.” Despite his recent rash of ADA suits, Strickland’s law firm specializes in property management, specifically evictions, according to its Stricklandwebsite.isn’t the first lawyer Harrington and Courtney have targeted for what they allege is abuse of the spirit of ADA complianceThelaws.pair also brought claims against former Austin lawyer Omar Rosales over what they said were 400-plus lawsuits he filed against businesses, citing ADA violations. Since those complaints, Rosales has been disqualified from practicing law in Texas, according to public records.
Sanford Nowlin MSunshine Bakery’s Kayla Matta says she’s looking for an attorney to help her business fight an ADA suit.
Working together
food Find more food & sacurrent.comnewsdrinkat ‘Tool Oppression’of Civil rights lawyers call out attorney for ADA suits against small businesses on San Antonio’s East Side BY NOAH ALCALA-BACH Apair of Texas civil rights lawyers is accusing the a orney who sued a trio of small businesses on San Antonio’s East Side over alleged Americans with Disabilities Act violations of using the court system as a “tool of oppression.”Houston-based a orney Duncan Strickland, representing a client identified as Joseph Castillo, has filed ADA suits against Teresita’s Mexican Restaurant, Tank’s Pizza and Sunshine Bakery — along with a dozen or so other San Antonio small businesses — as first reported by the Current The owners of Sunshine Bakery and Tank’s said the suits are frivolous, unwarranted and could force them out of business. Strickland also has filed lawsuits against Waco small businesses over alleged ADA violations, the two a orneys allege. In those cases, he’s representing a client named Ryan Lambert.“It’sclear to me from what [Strickland’s] doing with these folks that he has no heart or sense of compassion. And the people he has zeroed in on are some of the poorest people you could find,” said Jim Harrington, the retired founder of the Texas Civil Rights Project. “The legal system has always oppressed poor people. And here you come with yet another tool of oppression.”
Proving malpractice Harrington and Courtney said many of the ADA cases filed against small businesses amount to “drive-by lawsuits” in which the plaintiff never even patronized the businesses they claim was unable to accommodate their disability.“Wehave done a lot of ADA cases, I would guess I’ve been involved in over 350, and you never go after a small business.” Harrington said. “If you’re really interested in change, you’re going to go after chains, large businesses, people that can afford it and have absolutely no excuse for not being in compliance. I would look forward to the deposition of [San Antonio plaintiff] Castillo, because I really smell a rat here.”
Prices: Tasting menu, available by ticketed reservation only, runs $160 plus fees, taxes and tip. Wine pairing is an additional $60.
The tart-tongued scholar and cookbook author almost singlehandedly elevated the country’s cooking into the realm of the world’s greats through her meticulous recording of recipes gleaned during sometimes arduous travels. Her approach was almost archaeological: once on paper, recipes became sacred writ, admi ing of li le change. Rico Torres and Diego Galicia, owners of San Antonio’s Mixtli, are equally fascinated by Mexico’s regional cuisines, but their approach could hardly be moreMixtlidifferent.means “cloud” in the native Nahuatl language, which seems appropriate. Like a cloud, the restaurant appears to float above its country of inspiration, pausing to reflect on the foods and folkways below. A traditional recipe might become a springboard to something entirely new. Respect resides not in strict adherence to custom but in the honesty of Torres and Galicia’s approach to place and product. The restaurant’s tasting menu, which changes its regional inspiration every quarter, is currently paused over Ciudad de México, one of the globe’s great metropolises. Mixtli has dubbed this iteration “500 Years of Mexico City,” and it’s a lot for anyone to ingest in 10 Fortunately,courses.theexperience
exican cuisine lost a lioness in late July when Diana Kennedy died at her remote ranchito in the state of Michoacán.
— sometimes even illegal — to source, cooks commonly substitute parchment paper or banana leaves. Mixtli’s filling, while presented on paper, appeared to have been cooked entirely apart from its envelope. The combination of redfish, rajas de poblano and braised greens, all doused in a masa-thickened chileatole, was appealing on its own, yet it felt like a missed opportunity.
My first disappointment came with the course called Mixiote. The wrapped packet is historically bound up in a translucent membrane extracted from maguey leaves and can be made with any main ingredient from rabbit to fish. Since it’s difficult
begins modestly with bread and bu er. That service will be your first introduction to the kind of kitchen Mixtli runs — predominately female and entirely passionate, a fact that becomes apparent as plates are presented and described by the people who cook them. There may be nothing exceptional about the house-made bread, but it’s the occasion of a discourse on the introduction of wheat into Mexico by the Spanish. The bu er wouldn’t have existed at the time of the conquest, but it’s rendered unique here in its melding with smoky chile seeds, and the wickwarmed duck fat provided to pour over it all is the perfectly logical extension of the watery realm that was Tenochtitlan prior to Cortez. To continue, the dish La Gran Tenochtitlan (or “Jewel on the Lake”) also evokes the body of water on which the Aztec capital was situated. It features spirulina, an aquamarine liquid stand-in for an algae-like “froth,” which once was harvested from its shores. We also first encounter all-important corn here with a round of sweet potato and a chiffonade of romaine.
BY RON MBECHTOL
30 CURRENT | August 10 – 23, 2022 | sacurrent.com food 500 Years of Culinary Magic San Antonio’s Mixtli showcases the cuisine of Mexico City in an elegant and inspired 10-course tasting menu
If you choose to add the evening’s wine pairing option ($60), you’ll find bo les from as far away as Slovenia, but none from Mexico — a shame given the country’s recent advances. Nevertheless, the options are generally good and sometimes almost outshone theThatfood.was the case with the pork al pastor, its Lebanese roots noted, but its execution no more elevated than any of many such tacos around town. A previous offering involving a tart-sweet xoconostle, or cactus fruit, offered a glimpse into Mexico’s Spanish Baroque heritage with its stuffing of dried fruits and nuts and a mole of the same fruit with güero chiles. It couldn’t be duplicated elsewhere. Perhaps in a nod to the current-day Mexico City, a beef dish featuring cacao and coffee-crusted tenderloin was the last savory course. The beef was beautifully done, but the dish’s most exceptional aspect was a flanking purée of fermented garlic and black bean and a halo of huazontle — sometimes called Aztec broccoli — surrounding a purée of chicatanas, or flying ants. Prized by the Aztecs, the ants are still harvested today, and they perfectly embody Mexico City’s more-than-500-year history. Mixtli brilliantly evoked the millennial gods of corn and cacao in the dessert presentation, in which a pastel de elote, mango, chocolate and pomegranate all played a part. Should you choose to undertake this dining journey, a shot of mezcal from the adjacent bar seems appropriate as a toast to your completion of such a comprehensive course in culinary history. Ron Bechtol
Traditional recipes serve as springboards for contemporary interpretations, sometimes utilizing ancient ingredients such as flying ants. The current “500 Years of Mexico City” theme lasts until September 24.
MIXTLI PROGRESSIVE MEXICAN CULINARIA 812 S. Alamo St. | (210) 338-0746 | restaurantmixtli.com | Tuesday-Saturday, 5 p.m.-midnight
The creation is tartly refreshing and an artful blend of ancient and new. Crab and crunchy trout roe continue the water-dwelling theme in the Xochimilco course, expressing both the waters and the chinampas, or floating gardens, that have been called the “last living link of the Aztec civilization.” Thin, chile-flecked coins of squash encircle the crab and roe, calling to mind earth-bound milpas, or multi-crop cornfields, that endure to this day. The Tomatl course, we’re told, refers back to the tiny tomatoes that were the precursor to today’s county-fair behemoths. They’re moistened with fermented tomato water, capped with a contemporary bu ermilk sorbet and paired with a crisp blue corn taquito stuffed with smoky mashed avocado and edged with a ruff of fleshy purslane leaves. Together, the ingredients add up to a profound experience.
The skinny: Mixtli is devoted to the varied cuisines of Mexico, presented in a regionally or thematically focused tasting menu that changes quarterly.
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New downtown bar Sojourn Spirits & Provisions has begun serving food and craft cocktails inside the space which formerly housed highend cocktail spot Juniper Tar. 244 W. Houston St., instagram.com/sojournsatx.
New restaurant Krazy Katsu is now selling loaded Japanese fried chicken sandwiches in The Yard Shopping Center. The new eatery grew out of a delivery-only ghost kitchen. 5257 McCullough Ave., krazykatsusa.square.site.
CELEBRATIONANNIVERSARYEVENTTWINLIQUORS drink responsibly. Instagram / @krazykatsusa
NEWS San Antonio-based Bill Miller Bar-B-Q has instated a new policy to pay all restaurant and plant employees at the end of their shifts. California comfort food chain Black Bear Diner plans to operate locations at 1112 Ackerman Road on the East Side and at 8614 Texas Highway 151 on the far West Side. Both will open early next year, the company told state regulators. Plant-forward restaurant Pharm Table has launched its monthly Noches Bohemias DJ series featuring low-fi and eclectic sounds over cocktails and bites as the sun goes down. 611 S. Presa St., Suite 106, pharmtable.com.
Weathered Souls Brewing Co.’s celebrated Black Is Beautiful Imperial Stout is one of 250 distinctive brews featured in a new book called World’s Greatest Beers.606 Embassy Oaks, Suite 500, weatheredsouls.beer.
Please
Central Market’s annual Hatch Chile Festival will celebrate the world-famous green chile pepper only grown in Hatch, New Mexico. Now in its 27th year, the celebration will run through Aug. 23. 4821 Broadway, centralmarket.com. New Beacon Hill nightspot Cream Kitchen & Bar now offers a menu featuring stacked pimento-cheese burgers, pork belly pupusas and chicken wings along with its cocktails. 527 W. Hildebrand Ave., instagram.com/cream_satx.
Portland-based Black Rock Coffee Bar has opened its first San Antonio store in Castle Hills. Two more are also in the works, according to regulatory filings. 11701 Blanco Road, br.coffee. Eleanor 1909 is now serving Philly cheesesteak sandos and more inside Weathered Souls Brewing’s taproom. 606 Embassy Oaks, Suite 500, facebook.com/eleanor1909. Smoke BBQ + Skybar has expanded again, opening House of Smoke in the former Acapulco Sam’s location on the River Walk. The San Antonio-based barbecue empire has also opened a beachfront Corpus Christi location. 212 College St., facebook.com/houseofsmokesa.
The owners of cocktail mainstay The Modernist plan to open a second concept called La Ruina, which will highlight spirits from South and Central America. Stay tuned for details about th new spot’s location and formal opening date.
OPENINGS Detroit-style pizza chain Via 313 is now serving up deep-dish pies piled with cheese and toppings in San Antonio’s Medical Center. 8435 Wurzbach Road, via313.com. Cincinnati-based alcoholic ice cream and milkshake chain Buzzed Bull Creamery this month will begin serving its boozy, liquid nitrogen-frozen treats in the city’s far northern burbs. 2903 N. Loop 1604 E., buzzedbullcreamery.com.
32 CURRENT August 10 –23, 2022 | sacurrent.com • BEST DATE NIGHT • BEST PATIO • BEST BAR FOOD 1st THANKPLACEYOU SAN ANTONIO WE WON WE WON • Best Sunday Funday • Best Cra Beer • Best Bar 2nd PLACE • Best Place to People Watch • Best Bar Games 3rd PLACE
Anton Corbijn
The result amounted to 15 songs that dip into the early-’70s sweet spot of music history Def Leppard has unabashedly tapped into since the band formed in Sheffield, England in 1977. And while Collen only came aboard after being asked to replace founding member Pete Willis in 1982, he shared the same love of glam rock that continues to this day and can be experienced on this latest outing, which borrows its title from a line in the 1971 T. Rex hit “Bang a Gong (Get It On).”
Ahead of San Antonio show, Def Leppard dishes on the glam rock-inspired Diamond Star Halos, its first album in seven years BY DAVE GIL DE RUBIO
Def Leppard — which also includes drummer Rick Allen, guitarist Vivian Campbell and bassist Rick Savage — is embarking on a twice-postponed stadium tour with Mötley Crüe, Poison and Joan Je and planning to play a hit-filled set that includes tracks from the new album. The tour stops at San Antonio’s Alamodome on Sunday, Aug. 21. Powerful guitar-driven harmonies dripping with hooks erupt on Diamond Star Halos’ anthemic opener “Take What You Want,” which is quickly followed by “Kick,” an earworm adorned with hand claps and an infectious chorus that reverberates with the kind of hooky pop nuances of The Sweet. The gli er connection is further enhanced by the contributions of pianist Mike Garson, who cut his teeth working with David Bowie and plays on the string-kissed ballad “Goodbye for Good This Time” and the soaring “Angels (Can’t Help You Now).” Garson got involved after Ellio brought the pair of songs to the band, knowing piano-based songs had never been Def Leppard’s stock and trade. “Joe had wri en these two wonderful songs on piano, and he played them for me a while ago,” Collen recalled. “I said they were great, and I asked why we couldn’t do them. He said they were piano songs and I said ‘Angels’ sounds like an Elton John [tune] that turns into Pink Floyd in the end. He said what if he asked Garson because he was speaking with him all the time. Mike was straight away in for it. He’s my favorite piano player, so that was an obvious thing. He really added a dimension that we wouldn’t have had.”
The pandemic may have pressed an existential pause bu on on normal life, but for Def Leppard, it helped spark a creative rejuvenation that yielded Diamond Star Halos, the band’s 12th studio album and first since 2015’s self-titled predecessor.“Formeand [singer] Joe [Ellio ], selfishly, we had the best time ever,” Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen said in an early June phone interview. “We had no kids at home and actually experienced the most creative period artistically that we’ve ever had. Because of the pandemic and because we weren’t really [intentionally] making an album, there was no business agenda. We didn’t even have a label when we started. We were writing for the pure love of writing songs. Me and Joe started ge ing giddy [because] we were on a roll. We had to stop writing because we had to release this album. We had a few more [songs] in the can as well, so that was great.”
Glittering Return
$69-$750, 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21, Alamodome, 100 Montana St., (210) 207-3663, alamodome.com.
stillCOVID-19AlthoughReminder:liveeventshavereturned,thepandemiciswithus.Checkwithvenuestomakesurescheduledeventsarestillhappening,andpleasefollowallhealthandsafetyguidelines. music
While Def Lep’s self-described “Queenmeets-AC/DC” sound can be heard on other notable tracks such as the arena rocker “Fire It Up” and the driving riff machine that is “SOS Emergency,” the band took advantage of not having label oversight to take radical chances like tapping Alison Krauss to contribute to a pair of cuts — “Lifeless” and “This Guitar,” the la er a gem Collen had been si ing on for 17 years. The Krauss connection, the guitarist said, came out of a soccer rivalry Ellio shared with Robert Plant, who recorded a pair of albums with the bluegrass superstar.“Joewas talking to Robert Plant about whose soccer team sucked the most,” Collen said. “Robert asked Joe what he was doing, and he said we were doing an album. Robert had worked with Alison Krauss and said she’d love to do [something with us] because Def Leppard is her favorite band. We thought she’d perhaps like to sing a line or two. We sent two songs that we thought would be suitable, and she loved them both. She had done all of these vocals — lead and backing vocals on the whole — it was like a Queen version of Alison Krauss with counter melodies and a beautiful duet with Joe. We kept it all on there. It was another dimension that we loved.”With the band back on the road, Collen is thrilled with the way his crew sounds. “We were actually in Pennsylvania for production rehearsals, and I realized this was the best live band I’ve ever heard in my life,” he said. “This is us. We recorded it and played with the lights, lasers and God knows what other production stuff. We’ve never sounded this good. Joe has never sung this good. Rick Allen has never played the drums [so] well, and we’ve never played this well as a band. It’s easier to play guitar. The singing part is always hard — you have to do warm-ups and it’s such an important thing. The band — everything about it — we’ve just raised the bar. That’s really exciting more than anything else. And these new songs just blend straight in with the set, so it’s totally exciting.”
34 CURRENT August 10 –23, 2022 | sacurrent.com
music LA Story Los Lobos to play Gruene Hall in support of new covers album inspired by the band’s hometown BY ALAN SCULLEY Perhaps no rock band is be er suited to make an album covering songs by other artists than Los Lobos. For 40-plus years, the great band from East Los Angeles has made cover tunes a regular part of its live shows, playing versions of songs from artists as wide-ranging as Bob Marley, the Grateful Dead, Marvin Gaye, John Lee Hooker, the Blasters and Cream. Indeed, Los Lobos’ biggest commercial success came in 1987 with a chart-topping cover of the Ritchie Valens classic “La Bamba” for the movie of the same name. Not only that, but over the course of a dozen studio albums, Los Lobos has shown a deep knowledge of blues, rock ‘n’ roll, folk and Mexican music while creating a rich catalog of songs that’s stylistically diverse, frequently innovative and somehow also cohesive. Butittook a bit of necessity to make Native Sons, the covers album that won a Grammy in April for Best Americana Album, a reality. The band is likely to dig into material from that record when it performs Thursday, Aug. 11 at storied Texas Hill Country venue Gruene Hall. After signing a deal with New West Records to make a new album, Los Lobos saxophonist-keyboardist Steve Berlin and his bandmates realized they wouldn’t have time to write and record an LP of original material in 2020 because there weren’t any real breaks in their tour schedule. But if the band took writing a bunch of songs out of the equation, an album would be doable. A covers album fit that bill. Of course, 2020 ended up being a whole lot less busy than expected for Los Lobos thanks to the pandemic cancellations. But Los Lobos stuck with the covers project, and it ended up being beneficial to the band, which includes Berlin, David Hidalgo (guitar, accordion, vocals and more), Cesar Rosas (guitar and vocals) Louis Pérez (guitar and vocals) and Conrad Lozano (bass). “The interesting thing is we started this record before [the pandemic] all went down, and in a weird way, it sort of kept us sane, I think,” Berlin said in a recent phone interview. “Once it was safe-ish to travel, we started doing like three or four days a month, maybe like two or three songs and just tried to do whatever we could just to keep the ball rolling, keep ourselves engaged, keep ourselves thinking about music. … In a weird way, that’s how we got through it, kind of coming and going and focusing for a li le while and then stepping back.” Deciding on the type of covers album to make, though, was not an easy question to resolve. Berlin thought back to Llegó Navidad, the 2019 Los Lobos album based around Mexican holiday songs. Building on the sharp focus that made that project work, Berlin, who produced Native Sons, proposed limiting the covers album to songs from Los Angeles artists that had“Thereinfluenced Los Lobos.wasnotunanimity among the band members as far as whether or not it was a good idea,” Berlin said. “I think there was significant pushback and some of the guys were like ‘How’s that going to work?’ and ‘Why are we limiting ourselves? I have songs I want to do that are not about LA’ And I just said, my point to them was, let’s just see if it works. If it doesn’t work, we’ll pull the plug, whatever. It doesn’t ma er. But let’s give it at least a try and see where it takes us. Let’s just see. So, with that a itude weUltimately,started.” the band found there were plenty of Los Angeles song choices, and they make Native Sons a lively, highly entertaining 13-song album that showcases some of the LA artists that helped shape Los Lobos’ own music. Classic rock is represented by a medley of Buffalo Springfield’s “Bluebird” and “For What it’s Worth.”
Piero F. Giunti
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There’s jump blues with Percy Mayfield’s “Never No More,” and garage rock is represented with “Farmer John” (made popular by the Premiers). Some vintage roots rock comes courtesy of “Flat Top Joint,” a song by good friends and Los Angeles compatriots the Blasters — the band Berlin played with before he joined Los Lobos. Soul music enters the mix with War’s “The World Is A Ghe o.” There’s also the sunny pop of the Beach Boys’ “Sail On, Sailor” and the rich storytelling and country-tinged pop of Jackson Browne’s “Jamaica Say You Will.” Los Lobos’ Mexican musical roots are represented in the songs “Dichoso” and “Los Chucos Suaves.” With its deep catalog of songs, Los Lobos has typically changed up set lists from show to show on tour. And now that new drummer Alfredo Ortiz is on board and up to speed on the material, the band should have plenty of options for set lists. “[Ortiz] used to play with the Beastie Boys for many years,” Berlin said. “But we’ll obviously be featuring the new record, which is great because [the songs] are super fun to play, and the fans always seem to enjoy the covers anyway.” $45, 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, Gruene Hall, 1281 Gruene Road, (877) 856-0806, gruenehall.com.
Wednesday, August 10
Sanguisugabogg, Undeath, No/Mas, Realms of Death Sign No. 1 that Sanguisugabogg is an extreme metal band: no one can pronounce its name correctly. After starting just three years ago, the group’s ferocity has already made a mark on the death metal scene. Highlights to look out for when seeing Sanguisugabogg include its trashcan-sounding snare, old-school death metal vocals and an abundance of dick references made throughout the set. $16-$18, 7 p.m., Vibes Underground, 1223 E. Houston St., (210) 255-3833, facebook.com/vibesunderground. — BE Tuesday, August 16 Wombo, Grocery Bag Hailing from Louisville, Kentucky, Wombo is a trio that blends skittery rhythms with artsy dissonance for a listening experience that may be o -putting to music fans expecting a standard listening experience. However, those who dive a little deeper will find an anchor thanks to the accessible melodies from bassist-vocalist Sydney Chadwick. The band’s most recent release, Fairy Rust (awesome title there), dropped in late July, taking inspirations from fairy tales and fantasy as well as the Rust Belt surroundings of the band’s hometown. $15, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — MM Thursday, August 18
36 CURRENT | August 10 –23, 2022 | sacurrent.com music listings
Tim Kinsella & Jenny Pulse, Randy Randall Yes, Kinsella and Pulse are married, and yes, they were in a band called Good Fuck. Now that the cheap shock to get your attention is out of the way, we can also mention that Tim Kinsella has been in several bands, notably Cap’n Jazz, which wasn’t jazz but an emo forebearer. He was also a member of Joan of Arc, a reaction to emo that relied on samples and electronics. Jenny Pulse is an electronic musician in her own right, and the pair’s collaboration is dense and kaleidoscopic. $8-$12, 8 p.m., 502 Bar, 502 Embassy Oaks, (210) 257-8125, 502bar.com. — Mike McMahan New Found Glory, Four Year Strong, Action/Adventure
Boyz
Courtesy Photo Boyz II Men II Men
Thursday August 11 Volk Country-fried rock ’n’ roll duo Volk channels a diversity of influences into its unique sound. Guitarist Chris Lowe and drummer Eleot Reich cite influences including the Carter Family, Dwight Yoakam and AC/DC on their mix of cowpunk and glam rock. The band performs in San Antonio in support of 2021’s full-length release Cashville $12.50-$60, 8:30 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com. — Danny Cervantes Friday, August 12 Boyz II Men Screams and women’s undergarments are likely to greet smooth ’90s-era vocal group Boyz II Men as it brings its ballads to San Antonio stage. Sensuality and new jack swing still comprise the core of the Boyz’s signature sound — although its now a trio instead of a quartet. $55.50-$121, 8 p.m., Tech Port Center and Arena, 3331 General Hudnell Dr., (210) 600-3699, techportcenter.com. — BE Friday and Saturday August 12 & 13 Midland, Kevin Fowler and Jonathan Terrell Grammy-nominated trio Midland has become a linchpin of the neo-traditional country sound. The Dripping Springs-based trio’s signature song — 2017’s triple platinum single “Drinkin’ Problem” — hit big thanks to a sound reminiscent of a George Strait standard wafting through a smoky Texas dance hall. In May, the band released its latest studio e ort, The Last Resort: Greetings From. $35-$89, 8 p.m., Whitewater Amphitheater, 11860 FM 306, New Braunfels, (830) 964-3800, whitewaterrocks.com. — DC Saturday August 13 Jake Shimabukuro Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro has ridden a wave of internet stardom into big-time collaborations with Willie Nelson, Jimmy Bu ett and Bette Midler, all of whom appear on his latest album, Jake & Friends. Signed with Sony Japan, Shimabukuro’s achieved international fame in 2006 when his performance of the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” garnered more than 15 million views on YouTube. He’s also applied his island-infused sound to Jimi Hendrix’s “If 6 Was 9” and New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle.” $46.50-$85, 8 p.m., Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org. — DC Aethereus, Ominous Ruin, Illucinus Washington state has long been a hub for extreme metal, and Tacoma-based technical death metal outfit Aethereus has played a key role since 2014. The band is out on a two-week run with a pair of California-based support acts. In San Antonio, their Shredding the Virus Tour also will feature a slew of local support including Snake Father, Crossways, Voltreus, Mourning Sun and Makaria. With that kind of deep lineup, those in the pit can probably expect a post-show bangover. $5-$10, 5:30 p.m., Vibes Underground, 1223 E. Houston St., (210) 255-3833, facebook. com/vibeseventcenter. — Enrique Bonilla Deicide, Kataklysm Tampa, Florida’s Deicide needs little introduction for those familiar with death metal. The band has logged 25 albums over three decades. After rising in the early ’90s to something as close to mainstream success as anyone in the genre gets, Deicide is recognized as the second best-selling death metal act after Cannibal Corpse. The group’s extreme opposition to Christianity has led to bans, lawsuits and waves of criticism from religious groups. Canadian tourmates Kataklysm won a 2015 Juno Award in 2015 for their album Of Ghost & Gods. Consider this one a must for extreme metalheads. $26-$30, 8 p.m., The Rock Box, 1223 E. Houston St., (210) 677-9453, therockboxsa.com. — EB Sunday, August 14 Adventurer, Lilac Kings This Detroit post-hardcore quartet o ers a taste of early-2000s nostalgia thanks to its melodically driven brand of aggressive music likely to appeal to folks who remember the singy-screamy days of San Antonio’s White Rabbit. Adventurer has racked up more than 1.5 million streams on Spotify and has hit the road tirelessly. The band’s current tour is its first in more than a year, and they’re joined by Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Lilac Kings, who bring an indie-rock inspiration to the post-hardcore genre. $16-$18, 6 p.m., The Rock Box, 1223 E. Houston St, (210) 677-9453, therockboxsa.com. — EB
The kings of the pop-punk hill before Blink-182 stole the crown, New Found Glory specializes in a sound that embodied teen angst. These days, the Florida band’s pop-punk melodies, hardcore breakdowns and nasally vocals seem ripe for the nostalgia circuit. The whole lineup brings to mind a soundtrack to a yet-unmade skateboarding video. $30, 6:30 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — Brianna Espinoza
The Meteors, Los Tejanos Muertos, Hard Luck Rebels Bust out the pomade and creepers, because English psychobilly legends The Meteors are traveling across the pond to hit San Antonio for the second time this year. Credited as pioneers of the whole damned genre, it’s safe to say the band knows a thing or two about what they’re doing when it comes to combining rockabilly, punk and horror themes. Local psychobilly acts Los Tejanos Muertos and Hard Luck Rebels fill out the bill. $18-$20, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. Slightly Stoopid, Pepper, Common Kings, Fortunate Youth Stoopidheads unite! These San Diego stalwarts are bringing their eclectic fusion of rock, reggae, funk and hip-hop to New Braunfels in what may be an ideal setting to feel their positive vibes. Originally signed by Sublime frontman Brad Nowell while its members were still in high school, Slightly Stoopid has released 13 albums since 1996, including four featuring its electric live performances. Their most recent, 2018’s Everyday Life, Everyday People, features frequent collaborators G. Love & Special Sauce and Jurassic 5 emcee Chali 2na. $42-$72, 6 p.m., Whitewater Amphitheater, 11860 FM 306, New Braunfels, (830) 964-3800, whitewaterrocks.com. — DC Sunday, August 21 My Chemical Romance, Turnstile, Dilly Dally Buoyed by one of the most passionate fanbases out there, My Chemical Romance is finally bringing its celebrated reunion tour to SA. The band blew up big in the aughts thanks to a sound fusing pop-punk with the more grandiose elements of emo. Frontman Gerard Way has also found success via his comic book series The Umbrella Academy, which was adapted into the hugely popular Netflix show. Don’t sleep on openers Turnstile, who have found that the sky’s the limit for their accessible East Coast hardcore sound. $79.50-$229.50, 7:30 p.m., AT&T Center, 1 AT&T Center Parkway, (210) 444-5140, attcenter.com. — MM
DJ Pauly D While Pauly D isn’t the best-known cast member from Jersey Shore — that would either be Snooki or the Situation — he was enough of a commodity to land his own spino , The Pauly D Project, and he seems like the least douchey cast member by far, if that’s even relative. In the end, you gotta give props to the DJ Pauly D for turning his exposure on the show into a legit career on the wheels of steel. He signed with 50 Cent’s label in 2011 and has opened for Britney Spears, signaling that his career is well outlasting his 15 minutes of reality-show fame. Call for reservations, 9 p.m., 1902, 1174 E. Commerce St., (210) 8901265, 1902satx.com.
— DC Friday, August 19 Cory Morrow Cory Morrow has been singing and songwriting his way through Texas for a quarter century, and the 50-year-old Houston native can look back in pride at having created a career doing it his way. Morrow has his hit the Top 10 on the Billboard Independent Artists chart and has drawn critical accolades for songwriting that touches on topics spanning opposite ends of the spectrum, from big-city strippers to the good Lord. $20, 8 p.m., Gruene Hall, 1281 Gruene Road, New Braunfels, (877) 856-0806, gruenehall.com. — EB Friday, August 19 George Garza Jr. First known for his contributions to San Antonio indie outfit Pop Pistol, Garza is now striking out on his own. He plans to release his first solo LP, Enjoy The Ride, in January but is o ering an early taste of the material with this two-set performance. Garza has embraced a wide sound, and the songs from the forthcoming album will feature full orchestrations along with contributions from his Pop Pistol bandmates Jorge Gonzalez and Alex Scheel. It’s being engineered by Nina Diaz, the solo artist who once fronted Girl in a Coma. Free, 7 p.m., Poetic Republic Co ee, 2330 S. Presa St., (210) 900-2772, poeticrepublicco ee.com. — MM Saturday, August 20
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— MM Summer Salt Self-described “trop pop” duo Summer Salt claims to provide the soundtrack for “chillaxin’ by the pool,” and it’s hard to argue. The work of Texans Matthew Terry on guitar and vocals and Eugene Chung on drums would best be enjoyed while drifting on a flamingo float with a paper umbrella-topped rum drink. The pair’s delightfully minimalist groove rock sounds even more so on its latest release, The Juniper Songbook, which features stripped down versions of songs from their catalog. $20-$25, 7 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com.
38 CURRENT | August 10 –23, 2022 | sacurrent.com WE ARE ADDING A NEW LOCATION! SAME GREAT SELECTION AND SERVICE! NEW LOCATION! 28126 HWY 281 N. SAN ANTONIO, TX 78260 9822 POTRANCO RD #115 • 210.957.0636 | 19422 U.S. HIGHWAY 281 N. #105 • 210.251.4058 | 7325 N LOOP 1604 W STE 101 • 210.988.3720 “NICE STOCK AND EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT VIBES WITH THE -N.T.,FEELING...”HOMEGOOGLEREVIEW WEBUY,TRADE,&SELLQUALITYUSED GEAR! Browseourinventory@ musicgoroundsanantoniocentral.com HydrologyEnvironmentalsectionsenvironmentalplanning,ENGINEER,EMPLOYMENTPOZNECKI-CAMARILLO,INC.,SanAntonio,TX.CIVILDevelopdetaileddesigns&costestimatesfortransportation,sewer/water,drainage,environmental&otherinfrastructureprojects;providesupport;facilitategroupdiscussions;applyengineering&principles,methods,&techniques;performresearch,calculationsfordesigns,&formulatepossibleresults;developrenderingsoftechnicaldrawings&crossforpublicinvolvementsessions.Min.req:Mstr’sinEngineering.Mustbefamiliarw/appropriateregulatoryrequirements&specsforroadway&otherinfrastructureprojects;abilitytoworkw/Hydraulics&todevelopsewer/water,drainage,&wastewatertreatmentplantsprojects;abilitytoworkw/MicroStation,Autocad,Hec-Ras,Hy-8,EPAnet,MSProject,&Photoshop.Mailresumeto:5835CallaghanRd.,Ste.#200,SanAntonio,TX78228orinfo@pozcam.comH-E-BseeksSoftwareEngineerIIinSanAntonio,TXfordatabasemanagementandapplication/codeintegrationsinaTIBCOenvironment.Mailresumesto:MarisaAlcorta,646SouthFloresStreet,SanAntonio,TX78204
Community Health Workers assist individuals and families to adopt healthy behaviors. They also help improve access to health services to people in their community. They are skilled at connecting people to what they need and have a heart to help others. Classes are now available at Northwest Vista College for enrollment. Be the heart of your community and enroll today. LEADING THE WAY TO A HEALTHIER COMMUNITY CALLFOR MORE INFO. 210-207-4759 I AM a HEALTHIHEALTHCOMMUNITYWORKERAMaCOMMUNITYWORKER210-207-4759
