San Antonio Current — August 23, 2023

ONCE

in this issue

Table Talk

Baking the cute way with Ooyoo Pan’s owners

43 Music

Dog Days

San Antonio’s Dirty Dog Dick Eaters make outraged music for outrageous times

Critics’ Picks

Long-Breeding Crisis

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

Staff Writers: Michael Karlis, Brandon Rodriguez

Contributors: Abe Asher, Noah Alcala Bach, Ashley Allen, Ron Bechtol, Danny Cervantes, Macks Cook, Brianna Espinoza, Jace Gertz, Dalia Gulca, Colin Houston, Kiko Martinez, Mike McMahan, M. Solis, Karly Williams, Caroline Wolff, Dean Zach

Editorial Interns: Jace Gertz, Colin Houston, Dean Zach

Marketing and Events

Marketing and Events Director: Cassandra Yardeni

Events Manager: Chelsea Bourque

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Senior Account Executive: Mike Valdelamar

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Local Culture Creative Agency Director: Mindi Overman

Client Strategy Manager: Cristina Zalaznik

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Creative Services Manager: Samantha Serna

Graphic Designers: Daniel Rodriguez, Jack Spatafora

Production Interns: Pedro Macias, Marlene Mejia

Circulation

Circulation Manager: Justin Giles

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Michael Karlis

On the Cover: After several high-profile dog attacks, SA’s Animal Care Services department is getting a budget increase. Some say that’s still not enough. Photo: Michael Karlis. Design: Samantha Serna.

That Rocks/That Sucks

HIn a sign that not even baseball’s sacred traditions are safe from the heatwave scorching South Texas, the San Antonio Missions cancelled the fireworks show after last Saturday’s game, citing a potential fire hazard. Instead, the game included a light show orchestrated by flying drones. Good save, Missions, but it’s not quite the same.

Victor Wembanyama’s arrival in San Antonio means national television has rediscovered the Spurs After being featured on national TV just four times last season, 19 Spurs games will be televised nationally for 2023-24. Highlights from the schedule released last week include a marquee home matchup against the Boston Celtics on New Year’s Day.

HPlanned Parenthood has stopped providing abortion care in Texas, but that hasn’t stopped Lone Star State conservatives from trying to shut it down. Last year, the state filed a lawsuit against the organization claiming it improperly billed Medicaid for $10 million. That suit will get a hearing with a sympathetic judge this week: U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, the same guy who ruled to limit provision of a widely used abortion pill earlier this year.

It may be small consolation, but it’s not nothing. San Antonio is extending its pool season through Sept. 24 to help residents beat the summer’s record-breaking heat. Nine community pools will now be open on the weekends for the next month-plus, with two — the Roosevelt and Woodlawn pools — also open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. — Abe Asher

Pandering to extremists with Kyle Rittenhouse and his new political buddies

Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark.

By now, it should be increasingly clear the right flank of Texas politics knows no bottom.

How else can one explain the willingness of political figures including Texas Gun Rights President Chris McNutt and Shelby Griesinger, the treasurer for the conservative Defend Texas Liberty PAC, to help lead a political nonprofit launched by Kyle Rittenhouse, the 20-year-old douchebag darling of the extreme right?

Kyle Rittenhouse, of course, is the Illinois native-turned-Texan acquitted for shooting and killing two Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020 with an assault-style rifle.

The Texas Tribune broke the news of Rittenhouse’s nonprofit, which the community-college student launched to protect Lone Star State residents’ gun rights. The support from McNutt and Griesinger “comes as Republicans continue efforts to reach out to younger Americans who are increasingly supportive of liberal policies,” the online news organization noted.

One has to wonder just how effective Rittenhouse will be in winning over those left-leaning Gen Z voters, whom polls show are widely distrustful of the GOP’s pandering to the extreme fringes. Despite his rabid fan base of gun nuts, MAGA voters and Proud Boys, Rittenhouse is no hero. Despite his acquittal, the facts remain: he

crossed state lines on a vigilante mission and shot three people, taking the lives of two. Instead of forging an alliance likely to win with young voters, McNutt, Griesinger and other political insiders now linked to Rittenhouse have outed themselves as pandering assclowns. They’re bottom feeders willing to continue their deep dive into the sewer of intolerance, violence and division.

—

Sanford Nowlin

YOU SAID IT!

The allegations against suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton continue to add up. Texas House investigators last week alleged Paxton used an array of sneaky tactics as he tried to hide the nature of his relationship with real estate investor Nate Paul. Those allegedly included using a burner phone, creating a secret email account and setting up a fake Uber account to arrange secret meetings and time with his mistress. Paxton’s impeachment trial in the Texas Senate is set for Sept. 5.

Website Pornhub and adult entertainment advocacy groups are suing to block a Texas law requiring that people who access pornography online submit a photograph to verify that they are over 18. The law, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed last year, is set to take effect Sept. 1 unless it’s blocked by a court. Pornhub’s traffic in Louisiana has plummeted 80% after a similar law took effect there earlier this year.

—  Abe Asher

— Texas State Rep. Liz Campos, author of the Ramon Najera Act, which was vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott

San Antonio has dismissed its poet laureate for his use of Chicano slang term widely considered a racial slur. Nephtalí De León had been in the post for just four months when he shared a poem on Facebook that included the derogatory term for Black people. In an online statement, De León, 78, said he hadn’t intended to be racist, adding that “established institutions frown on [Chicano language], misunderstand it, or don’t understand it all.”

“Dog owners must be held accountable because dogs are a product of their owners.”

Wikimedia Commons / Gage Skidmore

San Antonio’s ‘doom loop’ shows the city’s miscalculations about creating a booming downtown

BY HEYWOOD SANDERS

Editor’s Note: Bad Takes is a column of opinion and analysis.

First, let’s keep two numbers in mind: 27.5% and 39.8%.

The first is the overall vacancy rate for downtown office space in San Antonio in the second quarter of 2023 according to commercial real estate firm JLL. That’s pretty high — almost unprecedented. But this is a difficult time for downtowns across the country.

The downtown vacancy rate for Houston office space is 25.2%, JLL’s numbers show. It’s 20.7% in Chicago, 24.3% in Atlanta. The work-from-home revolution in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the office market everywhere. And its impact goes well beyond office space. Empty space means fewer office workers on downtown streets spending money at restaurants, bars and retail shops.

The situation is particularly dire in San Francisco, where the central business district now has a vacancy rate of 26.2%. A host of retailers have shuttered their stores and the owner of the city’s premier downtown mall, San Francisco Centre, has effectively turned the property over to the banks. The city’s hospitality situation is perhaps even more dire. The owner of two of the city’s largest hotels has stopped making loan payments, claiming it will be years before convention and leisure travel returns to pre-COVID levels.

All of this bad news about downtowns across the country has some urban researchers describing it as a “doom loop.” The full impact of working from home has yet to be seen in office vacancies, since much of that space is still under long term lease.

As vacancies rise and fewer employees fill downtown towers on a daily basis, building values drop, slashing local government revenues. Less business for downtown shops and restaurants also slices into sales tax revenues. And with less public revenue, we’re likely to see reduced public services — fewer police officers on the streets, less capacity to deal with homelessness and drug abuse.

Lots of debate has swirled around the “doom loop” idea. Many urban analysts say it’s far too early to predict the demise of downtowns, and cities and their central areas have shown remarkable resilience over decades.

But then there is that other number.

The 39.8% figure I mentioned at the beginning of this story is the current downtown San Antonio office vacancy rate for class A buildings — the newest, most desirable office space.

That vacancy rate is enormous, a truly unprecedented number — one that raises a host of troubling questions, both about the future of downtown and more importantly, about how we make public policy.

When JLL reported on San Antonio’s office outlook in the fall of 2019, things looked genuinely promising. The new Frost Bank Tower had just opened with most of its more than 400,000 square feet pre-leased.

“Class A [rental] rates in the Downtown submarket [are] jumping from $39.05 to $41.20,” JLL noted at the time.

Everything looked rosy. Even the center-left Brookings Institution think tank would take particular note of the Frost tower in a report declaring that in 2019, “the skylines of many American downtowns were sparkling with new construction.”

That, of course, was before COVID.

But our real downtown problems go well beyond the impact of the pandemic. The deal with Weston Urban that produced the “sparkling” Frost Tower had the city of San Antonio take over the old Frost Bank tower. And as the city gave up the space it had leased in other downtown office buildings to move employ-

ees to the building now christened “City Tower,” there wasn’t any demand for space to fill them.

Our city government still hasn’t succeeded in filling up City Tower. Indeed, it’s trying to lease four full floors — about 74,000 square feet of Class B space — on the private market.

That comes as new office buildings on Broadway near the Pearl, developed by Silver Ventures and aided by city subsidies, have poached tenants from other buildings.

Simply put, city policy decisions created a game of musical chairs based on the expectation that downtown would boom and that all those new offices — and the old ones — would inevitably be full.

Oops.

But let’s not forget former Mayor Julián Castro’s “Decade of Downtown” and his argument that lots of new center-city housing was going to fix everything. Apparently, it didn’t.

So, now there’s a new answer being floated to cure San Antonio’s downtown ills: a downtown sports district, with a new arena for the Spurs and a new minor league ballpark. That will, of course, make downtown great again. Just sparkling, in fact.

Right.

Heywood Sanders is a professor of public administration at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

The Texas GOP’s book banning has nothing to do with protecting kids

BY KEVIN SANCHEZ

Editor’s Note: Bad Takes is a column of opinion and analysis.

Ayear ago, a religious extremist stabbed Salman Rushdie multiple times at the Chautauqua Institution in New York. The attack occurred just as the world-renowned novelist took the stage to talk about how the United States represents a safe haven for exiled writers around the world. The wounds he suffered nearly killed him.

In May, during his first public appearance after an arduous recovery, he accepted the PEN America Centenary Courage Award. During his remarks, he didn’t hold back about the attack on free expression underway in a certain Southern state.

“The attack on books, the attack on teaching, the attack on libraries in — how could I put this? — Florida, has never been more dangerous, never been more important to fight,” Rushie warned.

We can only wish that what happens in Florida would stay in Florida. Sadly, the president of the American Library Association, Deborah Caldwell-Stone, relayed bad news to PBS Newshour this spring.

“What the numbers are showing, the really unprecedented jump in the number of books being challenged, reflects organized political activity by advocacy groups like Moms for Liberty and No Left Turn In Education, and has resulted in the real depopulation of many library shelves, particularly in some states like Florida and Texas, where we’re getting reports of school boards removing hundreds of books at one time,” she said.

And just what kind of books are on the 451-degree pyre?

“We’re seeing challenges primarily to books that elevate the voices of those who have traditionally been marginalized in society, particularly books about gay, queer, transgender persons,” Caldwell-Stone added.

Unsatisfied with banning books from schools and prisons, the Texas Legislature and Gov. Greg Abbott in June passed House Bill 900, which will apply to any private bookstore that might sell to a school library.

“Not later than September 1st of each year, each library material vendor shall submit to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) an updated list of library material rated as sexually explicit or sexually relevant sold by the vendor to a school district or open-enrollment charter school,” the law reads.

Corporate America has not needed much assistance in killing off community bookstores, one by one, but the Texas GOP has lent a hand nonetheless. To comply with this new law, bookstore employees must go back and read every book that their store may have ever sold to a public school to — in the jargon of the text — “perform a necessarily highly fact-specific contextual analysis” as they hunt for potential smut.

More technically, the law applies to any “patently offensive” description or portrayal of “sexual conduct” - whether in a song, movie, painting or book. Just take a moment to ponder how broad such an injunction is. The Iliad and Odyssey, Shakespeare, D.H. Lawrence, Picasso, Rubens, the friggin’ Beatles: what works of literature, art or music cannot be said to include potentially offensive, possibly sexual content?

And rather than trusting teachers, parents and elected school board members to assess what’s age-appropriate for students, Texas has now outsourced the full-time job of censorship to your local bookshop, likely already struggling in a marketplace dominated by online retailers.

Austin’s BookPeople, the largest independent bookstore in Texas, BlueWillow Bookshop in Houston, the American Booksellers Association, the Association of American Publishers, and the Authors Guild have jointly sued to stop enforcement of the law.

“The Book Ban’s passage has already led to school districts halting the purchase of school library books,” their petition states. “If booksellers do not submit a list of their ratings, the State sanctions them by prohibiting them from selling any books to public schools.”

And what if the government disagrees with a store’s case-by-case literary interpretation?

“Booksellers that refuse to adopt the TEA’s ‘corrected rating’ are publicly shamed on the TEA’s website as booksellers that have disobeyed the government’s wishes,” the suit explains.

Remember your teacher rolling in the blessed TV cart and showing the movie Braveheart? When the Scottish armies lift their kilts and moon the English, would that constitute “a lewd exhibition of the genitals” as stipulated in Texas Penal Code, Section 43.21, and requiring a vendor label?

The law also covers “depictions of excretory activities,” despite poop jokes being a staple of storytelling meant for children since the invention of children.

Even in a high school library intended for young adults, if a work is “pervasively vulgar” or an “affront to current community standards of decency” or if “a reasonable person would find that the material intentionally panders to the reader,” whatever that means, then the offending content might be traced back to where it was purchased.

Half Price Books, which has five stores in San Antonio, has adopted an admirably defiant stance. President Kathy Doyle Thomas wrote that her company “will not stand for a law in Texas that would require our booksellers to participate in the censorship of books. Not only is the law unconstitutional, the ‘contemporary community standard’ rating criteria is vague and completely subjective to each person.”

Author Kurt Vonnegut was too kind in calling censorship advocates “smut hunters.” Instead, they are destroyers of worlds of meaning. And when one can’t defeat rival worldviews on their own terms, it often helps to change the subject.

The actual target of McCarthyism wasn’t communism, it was racial integration and the burgeoning Civil Rights movement. The actual target of anti-wokism is neither Critical Race Theory nor radical gender ideology, it’s public education itself, which is why Gov. Greg Abbott has been so busy pushing privatization schemes.

This book-ratings regime has little to do with protecting schoolchildren from sexual trauma and predation. Instead, it has everything to do with extending the reach of the state outside the schoolhouse gates to silence the voices of gay and trans authors, artists and allies, who disturb and disgust religious conservatives with a frightening future of acceptance and inclusion.

For the next generation, however, the moral panics that drive voter turnout in today’s Republican Party primaries are as passé as long-dead controversies over interracial marriage or gay adoption.

Without needing to be told or lectured, today’s youth will follow Rushdie’s example, as should we all.

Shutterstock / Trong Nguyen

Long-Breeding Crisis

Critics say Animal Care Services’ proposed budget increase falls short of fixing San Antonio’s stray problem

BY MICHAEL KARLIS

Last week, a Bexar County grand jury indicted Christian Alexander Moreno and his wife Abilene Schnieder on charges of dangerous dog attack, a second-degree felony, and injury to the elderly causing bodily injury.

The couple, now facing up to 22 years in prison, owned the pit bulls that mauled 81-year-old Air Force veteran Ramon Najera to death on San Antonio’s West Side in February.

The attack stunned the nation and launched an overdue community conversation about San Antonio’s stray animal problem. Concerned citizens, including resident Vanessa Acosta, have attended city council’s public comment sessions in recent weeks, demanding more money go to Animal Care Services

(ACS) in the city’s upcoming budget cycle.

“The laws that we do have about dangerous dogs need to be enforced,” Acosta angrily told council during an early August session. “Why aren’t they being enforced?”

In the wake of Najera’s death and a separate incident last week in which a man was left with severe injuries after being attacked by a pack of dogs on the far West Side, ACS Director Shannon Sims went in front of City Council Aug. 17 to justify the department’s request for a 26% funding increase.

However, Animal advocates argue that San Antonio needs to look at a more drastic increase in ACS’s budget, asserting that the city has allowed its stray-animal problem to fester for too long.

Frontline fighters

Among the most vocal council members at last week’s ACS budget meeting was District 2’s Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, who represents San Antonio’s economically disadvantaged East Side. During his remarks, he suggested that beyond increasing spending, the city should rethink where it allocates its resources.

“As the only representative for the East Side, I have to express plainly that we have nothing,” McKee-Rodriguez told Sims. “We do not have affordable vet clinics, we don’t have access to spay and neuter, we don’t have affordable access to other care for pets, and we really sparingly have any kind of ACS presence. So, there is a need, and I hope that my colleagues can empathize with that need and support us in efforts to gain a facility in the district.”

Worse, Sims told council that ACS only has the current capacity to respond to 44% of the calls it receives, with an average response time of an astonishing 30 hours.

“Digging into this data, if we had this number in 2015 or 2016, before it exploded into an incident that

Michael Karlis

everybody is talking about, maybe we could have made those course corrections,” a clearly annoyed Mayor Ron Nirenberg told Sims.

“I guess what I’m saying to you, Shannon, and your team, is regardless of what the bureaucracy does — and the bureaucracy has its own inertia — we move forward day by day, if there is something going on that you need to stop a problem before it happens, and this goes for every department, you gotta bring it to us because as our delegation said earlier today, if the money’s not in there, then nothing happens.”

ACS’s evident dysfunction has led citizens like Acosta, a 25-year-old transplant from Upstate New York, to function as a pro-bono animal care officer when she’s not working her day job as a dental hygienist.

“District 2 is bad,” Acosta told the Current of the area in which she lives. “We have no help. Cops don’t help in District 2, ACS doesn’t help. No one takes District 2 seriously.”

The final straw for Acosta came when neither ACS nor SAPD would respond to multiple calls she made this year about a neighbor she said has a criminal record for animal abuse yet is keeping more than the city-allowed number of five dogs in his house.

Indeed, District 2 had a substantial number of repeat 311 calls about offenders between February and May of this year, according to a separate presentation given to city council by 311 Customer Service Director Paula Stallcup.

“ACS needs to have an animal cruelty and backyard cruelty team to really work together to crack down on these homes that have over the five-animal limit, because we do have a law saying that each home’s limit is five dogs,” she said.

After that incident, Acosta began knocking on District 2 doors to educate neighbors on spay and neuter options. She also began picking up puppies on her neighborhood’s street corners to get them fixed and vaccinated.

So far, Acosta said she’s spent $20,000 of her own money on work ACS is supposed to be doing. She isn’t the only San Antonio resident taking up the task of controlling San Antonio’s stray animal population, however.

Capacity woes

San Antonio animal lover Lea Laport also couldn’t help but notice the Alamo City’s stray problem. In January, shortly before the dog attack that killed Najera, she and others started No Kill SA, a grassroots organization dedicated to connecting people with resources for their pets.

No Kill SA aims to prevent animals in ACS shelters from being euthanized, something the city department does when the shelters are at capacity. ACS has put down 1,333 healthy dogs and cats in its shelters due to capacity limitations between January and July of this year, according to the department’s monthly intake reports.

According to Laport, one of the most effective ways to limit euthanasia of healthy dogs and cats is by expanding ACS’s low-cost and free spay and neuter programs.

“When we’re not keeping up with spay and neuter,

that means that the one dog that’s just left out there that’s not fixed [is] creating hundreds of stray dogs through the years,” she said.

The ACS budget proposal Sims presented to council does address many of the concerns pointed out by Acosta, Laport, McKee-Rodriguez, and Nirenberg.

If council approves the increase, now scheduled for a Sept. 14 vote, the department will spend $2.6 million of the total proposed $26.9 million budget on boosting access to spay and neuter programs. For example, the department wants to increase the number of pets fixed in San Antonio from 25,000 this fiscal year to 44,000 next year, according to its presentation before council.

ACS also expects to spend $1.2 million on building additional kennel space and another $1.2 million hiring personnel so it can cut wait times for those who call 311.

Critics, including McKee-Rodriguez, say that’s not enough.

More money needed

On Friday afternoon, residents of the North Side’s Mission Trace neighborhood called ACS about what they believed to be a rabid raccoon. Neighbors spotted the animal early that morning on a street where children reside. It walked circles with foam streaming from its mouth before eventually passing out on a resident’s driveway.

The first call to ACS went out at around 10 a.m., according to neighbors. Although ACS officials told

residents that the matter was marked as “urgent,” it still took more than 6 hours for an animal control officer to arrive.

Sims told council that under the department’s proposed budget increase, he’d like to see ACS be able to respond to 64% of calls by the end of next year and 100% by 2026.

“While I understand that that’s part of a three-year plan, 64% is still a failing grade,” McKee-Rodriguez, a former high school math teacher, told Sims. “And it assumes that the 50,000 critical calls [to ACS] will not grow over those three years — and that’s concerning to me from a planning perspective.”

After watching the meeting play out, Acosta was also concerned about ACS’s proposed targets when it comes to spay-neuter programs. Those too will fall short of the city’s needs, she argued.

“The spay and neutering that ACS wants to do for next year is 44,000,” she said. “But, in order to make a real change, they would have to do 100,000 a year to even see a difference.”

While Acosta said she welcomes the increased resources for ACS, the city should be digging deeper to correct what many agree is a pressing and long-ignored problem.

“This is the biggest [proposed] budget for ACS because we’re in a crisis and an elderly man just died, but it’s still not enough,” Acosta said. “[The city] should have been giving them more money the whole time, but it took the crisis for one city council member to speak up and say something, finally. But it’s still not going to be enough.”

Michael Karlis

de Las

September 9, 2023

Bike Ride Walk Run

7, 14, 22 mile Bike ride

5k or 10k walk or run

Register now at worldheritagefestival.org

Register by August 21 To Be Guaranteed Commemorative Swag

Join us for the 4th annual

Music and Movie

Under the Stars

A Tribute to San Antonio’s Military Legacy

Friday, September 8, 2023 at 6:30 PM

Mission Marquee Plaza

3100 Roosevelt Ave, San Antonio, TX 78214

Connect with local military and veteran support organizations and celebrate our city’s rich military history at this free family-friendly event!

Performances by the 3rd Marine Aircraft

Wing Band, Nimitz Middle School Choir, and the Texas Children's Choir

Interactive and Art Activities

Screening of the Film

Top Gun

Food Trucks and More!

WED | 08.23

DRAG JIMBO

Self-proclaimed drag clown Jimbo has been up to a lot since nabbing fourth-place in the inaugural season of Canada’s Drag Race. The irreverent, oddball Canadian queen has bewildered and amused audiences through multiple seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race spin-offs, including UK vs the World and Drag Race All Stars 8, which she won. With endless spunk and an irreplaceable sense of humor, Jimbo became the first clown — and the first Canadian — to win a Drag Race franchise. Her reign of weirdness doesn’t end there. Jimbo recently debuted the talk show It’s My Special Show! The episodes feature her interviewing guests, running the streets of Hollywood and, well, generally clowning around. $25-$30, 10:30 p.m and midnight, Bonham Exchange, 411 Bonham, table reservations by text only at (210) 386-4537, facebook.com/reylopezentertainment. —

Dalia Gulca

THU

ART

THU | 08.31SUN | 09.09

THEATER

THE 39 STEPS

09.30

FOTOSEPTIEMBRE

This year marks the 29th Fotoseptiembre, an annual festival

focused on photography-based exhibitions presented across the Alamo City and Texas Hill Country and an assortment of online galleries. Founded by photographer and composer Michael Mehl, the celebration provides a platform for photographers from across the community to participate. Among this year’s exhibitions is Digital Pro Lab’s “Unseen,” which gathers 12 photographers who depict the city’s often-forgotten people and spaces. The exhibit “not only honors the rich tapestry of the San Antonio community but also contributes to a more inclusive and authentic representation of the city’s identity.” Creative Eye Gallery is presenting “Southtown Obscura,” featuring the photographs of Zan Lee Duroy. The exhibition showcases images of the city produced during the “Golden Hour,” that special moment right before sunset when light is softer, potentially allowing photographers to produce their best work. Meanwhile, Centro de Artes is presenting “From SA to SA: An Exhibition of Pan-American Documentary Photography.” Curated by Guillermina Zabala, the exhibition features works from 20 Latinx artists “and encapsulates the astonishing power of documentary photography as a direct representation of our realities and as a force of social change.” Mockingbird Handprints Gallery will present “One-way, Byway, This Way — New York Streets,” an exhibition featuring the work of Austin-based photographer Ed Malcik. Visit the official Fotoseptiembre website for a full list of online galleries and participating venues. Various times and locations, fotoseptiembre.com.

— Marco Aquino

The 39 Steps couples all the heart-racing action sequences of a spy narrative with meticulously timed physical comedy. A parody of the 1915 novel by James Buchan and the 1935 film adaptation by Alfred Hitchcock, this energetic production follows Richard Hannay, a stodgy man attempting to rejoin the dating scene. After bringing home a mysterious woman, she turns up murdered in his apartment, and Richard finds himself in the crosshairs of a covert organization known as The 39 Steps. Naturally, its members are convinced he’s the culprit. Hailed for its innovative set and costume configurations, The 39 Steps employs a cast of only four actors to play nearly 150 characters, ranging from the protagonists to potted plants. Ratcheting up the nail-biting suspense, the actors’ frequent quick changes play out amid plane crashes, car chases and violent fight scenes that erupt within the confines of a small stage. Electrifying, provocative and steadfastly hilarious, The 39 Steps draws audiences into the center of a nationwide manhunt that doesn’t take itself too seriously. $26.25-$35, 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater, Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 2238624, tobincenter.org. — Caroline Wolff

Reminder:

Although live events have returned, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Check with venues to make sure scheduled events are still happening, and please follow all health and safety guidelines.

Courtesy Photo / Rey Lopez Entertainment

Carmen Peña

Courtesy Photo / Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Heather Land

SEPTEMBER 3

Bryan Callen

AUGUST 24-26

Arnez J

SEPTEMBER 7-10

Taylor Williamson

AUG. 31SEPT. 2

Richard Villa

SEPTEMBER 6

FRI | 09.01SUN | 09.03

FRI | 09.01SUN | 09.24

SPECIAL EVENT SAN

JAPAN

The Alamo City’s biggest anime and gaming convention, San Japan, is taking place on Labor Day weekend this year. And, as per usual, the guest list is full of top talent, including voiceover artists Ricco Fajardo (Tomo-Chan is a Girl!, My Hero Academia) and Molly Searcy (One Piece, Akame Ga Kill!), overseas musicians Teddyloid and DEMONDICE along with VTubers and an array of industry professionals. Alongside meeting the convention’s featured guests, attendees of the fan-run event can peruse its artist’s alley, watch the always-elaborate cosplay show, relax in the maid cafe, enjoy an anime car show or compete in one of many gaming tournaments for cash prizes. $34.35-$266.50, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Sunday, Henry B. González Convention Center, 900 E. Market St., (210) 207-8500, san-japan.org. — Macks Cook

THEATER INTO THE WOODS

One of Stephen Sondheim’s most revered musical theater masterpieces, Into The Woods merges beloved bedtime stories with bloodshed. The show uproots fairytale protagonists Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood and Jack — he of the beanstalk fame — from their peaceful homelands and thrusts them into a dark forest haunted by a vengeful witch’s curse. Despite its familiar cast, this triple Tony Award-winning story is all its own, showcasing a spellbinding score, atmospheric stage design and reimagined characters with misguided motives. Despite the presence of its fairy tale protagonists, the story at the core of Into The Woods is that of a baker and his wife who want nothing more than to have a child. When the couple discovers the witch’s curse as the cause of their infertility, they embark on a dangerous quest to break the spell. The fairy tale crew join the pair as they undertake the journey, and each brings along their own wish that can only be fulfilled by defeating the witch. After going to unthinkable lengths to break the witch’s curse, each of the characters gets what they set out for, but not without morbid and seemingly insurmountable consequences. $18-$32, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, Wonder Theatre at Woodlawn Theatre, 1920 Fredericksburg Road, (210) 267-8388, wondertheatre.org. — CW

Jaime Monzon

Courtesy Photo / Wonder Theatre

SAT | 09.02

SPECIAL EVENT

AN EVENING WITH KEVIN VON ERICH: STORIES FROM THE TOP ROPE

For Texans, the Von Erich name is just as inextricable from professional wrestling as Hogan, Cena or Austin. Now, the last surviving member of the second generation of the Von Erich family, 65 year-old World Class Championship Wrestling legend Kevin Von Erich, is going on his first public speaking tour. His appearance precedes the December release of the feature film Iron Claw, which centers around the Dallas-based dynasty that dominated pro wrestling during the early ’80s. Zac Efron plays the role of Kevin in the movie, which also stars Jeremy Allen White and Harrison as his brothers Kerry and David, respectively. The real Kevin Von Erich’s Stories from the Top Rope tour, hosted by Texas sportscaster Dale Hansen, will explore the triumph and tragedy surrounding the Von Erich name while providing behindthe-scenes insight into the legacy Kevin, his father Fritz and his brothers left behind. $24 and up, 7:30 p.m., Charline McCombs Empire Theatre, 226 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 226-3333, majesticempire.com. — Colin Houston

SAT | 09.02SUN | 09.17

THEATER

SOMEWHERE OVER THE BORDER

Teatro Audaz’s latest production marks the Texas premiere of Brian Quijada’s Somewhere Over the Border. Directed by Laura T. Garza alongside Associate Director Abe Ramirez, the musical weaves the tale of Reina, a young girl from El Salvador, and her journey toward the American Dream. Based both on the true journey of the author’s mother and on L. Frank Baum’s Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the performance follows Reina’s trek step by step. Much as in Baum’s work she finds many new friends and tribulations as she makes her way to the border. For this production, the San Antonio-based theater company will perform at the McAllister Theater on San Antonio College’s campus. $15-$35, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, McAllister Theater, 1300 San Pedro Ave., (361) 444-3931, teatroaudaz.com.—

Jace Gertz

Mason Ortiz

Courtesy Photo / Kevin Von Erich

SPURS 2023-24

FULL SEASON SCHEDULE

FROM SOUTH AMERICA TO SAN ANTONIO AN EXHIBITION OF PAN-AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY

On view through December 30, 2023

Curated by Guillermina Zabala

Participating Artists

Rodrigo Abd, Sara Aliaga, Eliana Aponte, Guillermo Arias, María Paula Avila, Verónica Gabriela Cardenas, María Eugenia Cerutti Francisco Cortes, Ana Carolina Fernandes, Mariana Greif, Sáshenka Gutiérrez Valerio, Adeline Lulo, Tamara Merino. Sandro Pereyra Natacha Pisarenko, Joseph Rodriguez, Jorge Saenz, Claudio Santana, Yvonne Venegas, Martín Zabala

Wed-Fri 10:30 AM - 5 PM

Sat-Sun 12 - 5 PM

101 S. Santa Rosa Free and Open to the Public #CentroDeArtesSA

Shooting San Anto

The Witte’s Al Rendon retrospective shows the beautiful arc of a 50-year photographic career

BY MARCO AQUINO

Given San Antonio photographer

Al Rendon’s high profile and decades-long career of capturing breathtaking images, it seems odd that he’s only now having his first retrospective show.

Nonetheless, the Witte Museum is billing its show that opens Saturday, Sept. 2 as the first-ever retrospective for Rendon’s work. Titled “Mi Cultura — Bringing Shadows into the Light,” the exhibition is part of the citywide Fotoseptiembre series and is curated by Bruce Shackelford and Katherine Nelson Hall.

Spread through three rooms in the museum’s South Texas Heritage Center, the exhibition covers a 50-year-period starting when Rendon was 16 years old and also includes some of his most recent work.

“Mi Cultura” encompasses Rendon’s early photographs of ’70s and ’80s rock stars performing at local venues, his famous photographs of slain Tejano superstar Selena Quintanilla and series of works depicting the city’s charreada and conjunto festivals. Never-before exhibited photos of the families of the Uvalde school shooting victims will also be on view.

Beyond Rendon’s photography, the retrospective includes an educational component allowing visitors to walk through a mock darkroom, where equipment will be on display. For Rendon, it was important to highlight the evolution of photography, which moved from film to digital over the course of of his career.

“A lot of kids today are accustomed to taking pictures with their phones, and they aren’t aware of the history and how much technology has changed since I started 50 years ago,” Rendon said. “When I started, primarily everything was printed on black and white. You developed your own film and made your own prints in the dark room. That’s not the way it happens now.”

Rendon first learned about photography working for his high school yearbook, then he further refined his skills working at a professional photo lab. A largely self-taught photographer, he was first introduced to the art form through magazines and the iconic images of Edward Weston, Manuel Alvarez Bravo and Tina Modotti.

Rock ’n’ roll mania

Rendon made his name as a young photographer in the 1970s shooting rock concerts at the city’s Hemisfair Arena and Municipal Theater.

“My dad would listen to conjunto music all day long in his shop, and I didn’t have any interest in it at the time,” Rendon said. “I was listening to rock ’n’ roll music and going to rock concerts until I was in my 20s.”

Rendon’s first rock concert to shoot was Led Zeppelin at Hemisfair Arena in 1973.

“I just happened to work at a photo lab a

few blocks away,” he said. “During the day, while they were rehearsing, I would go and ask to speak to management and wiggle my way in to take pictures. I was doing rock concerts from 1973 all the way up to 1986.”

Stevie Ray Vaughn, Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton and Elton John were among the many musical acts Rendon photographed and published in local newspapers.

Although Rendon eventually made a living working as a commercial photographer for ad agencies, as a young Latino, it was initially difficult to get his foot in the door.

“In the late ’70s and early ’80s, all 29

Courtesy Photo / Al Rendon

27 the ad agencies and PR agencies were run by Anglo businessmen,” he explained. “And they preferred to work with other Anglo professional photographers that already had a head start on me.”

It wasn’t until the mid ’80s when corporate America woke up to Latino audiences after census results spelled out the nation’s rising Latino population and analysts spelled out the population’s buying power.

The resulting mid-’80s boom in Hispanic ad agencies supplied Rendon’s career with a major push.

Virgin de Guadalupe

In 1986, Kathy Vargas, then the visual arts program director at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, invited Rendon to be part of an exhibition centered on the Virgin of Guadalupe. His inclusion in the show marked a significant shift for Rendon. He credits the Guadalupe for helping him pivot from working solely as a commercial photographer to one also capable of creating fine-art photography.

“Up to that point I hadn’t really exhibited any of my work as artwork,’” Rendon said. “It was more about trying to make a living as a commercial photographer with ad agencies, whoever needed photos done.”

Although Rendon had never produced an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, he knew exactly were to find one. He recalls going to his Aunt’s house and asking her to stand next to her wool blanket with an image of the Virgin so that he could take a photo.

“That was the first time I started thinking of doing photography as an art form,” he said of the shot. “From that point on, I started developing different artistic series and being part of shows — and even opened my open gallery.”

For many Mexicans and Mexican Americans, the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe is a ubiquitous symbol of identity and holds special meaning of faith. Decades later, still has that blanket in his possession.

Awakened identity

Rendon also credits working with the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center with opening his eyes to his own culture as a Mexican American.

“When I was coming of age in the ’60s, my family very strongly pushed me to learn English and not speak Spanish and to assimilate,” Rendon said. “My parents were first-generation immigrants. There was always a question of whether you were Mexican or American. I would play down being Mexican until I graduated high school. Not until I started working with the Guadalupe did I start to really get into Mexican culture.”

Around that time, Rendon attended his first charreada, or Mexican-stlye rodeo, as part of an assignment for a local publication. He fell in love with the spectacle and splendor of the event and returned year after year. His black and white photos depicting the flamboyant costumes and competitors’ daring feats

on horseback became a popular series.

Along with the charreada, Rendon eventually took an interest in the Tejano and conjunto music he shunned as a younger man. He went on to capture the genres’ stars at festivals and concerts. His portraits of Selena graced the covers of People and Newsweek and now appear in the Smithsonian’s collection.

After shooting images ranging from portraits of prominent community members to slice-of-life images of everyday working people, Rendon says it was difficult culling through thousands of images to narrow the retrospective. Ultimately, he and the Witte’s curators settled on 40 shots to represent his career. While the technology used to capture them has changed, the beauty of the timeless traditions and cultural representations in them remains the same.

Rendon’s photos have documented not only the beauty and uniqueness of Mexican American culture but also of San Antonio, a city where that culture has been allowed to thrive. As a longtime Southtown resident, Rendon said he’s benefitted from an up-close view of the city.

Indeed, more than 20 years ago, Rendon bought a 1892 building just south of downtown that served a studio, gallery and residence. He and his wife listed it for sale in January with a $2.6 million price tag in an effort to downsize.

“I like [San Antonio’s] diversity and openness,” Rendon said. “It’s a big city with a small-town feel to it. We have this vibrant conjunto scene. We have this vibrant charreada scene. These are things you’re not gonna see in other cities.”

Courtesy Photo / Al Rendon

“Mi Cultura — Bringing Shadows into the Light,” $10, Sept. 2-Jan. 7, 2024, Witte Museum, 3801 Broadway, (210) 357-1900, wittemuseum.org.

Courtesy Photo / Al Rendon

For friends, family, and co-workers to MEET, PARTY, and PLAY!

Embracing Impermanence

San Antonio artist Lindsey Hurd transforms found objects into ephemeral masterpieces

BY BRYAN RINDFUSS

Impermanence is an inescapable aspect of existence and, sadly, one of life’s only guarantees.

“Nothing in the world is permanent, and we’re foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we’re still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it,” English author William Somerset Maugham once wrote.

Buddhist doctrine posits that the acceptance of impermanence — often equated to “the philosophical problem of change” — is one of the primary steps to spiritual enlightenment.

Impermanence is also a conceptual touchstone for emerging San Antonio artist Lindsey Hurd, who takes captivating photographs of arrangements she creates from found objects — many of which have a short shelf life.

Project and organized by CAM Executive Director Roberta “Nina” Hassele as part of Fotoseptiembre, the show assembles more than 20 of Hurd’s distinctive photographs along with a selection of paintings by her partner, fellow San Antonio artist Benjamin McVey.

A Fort Worth native who grew up in an ultra-conservative household, Hurd went from good girl to black sheep when she decided to start living life on her own terms rather than those of her parents.

‘Still Life’

Although Hurd’s large-scale photograph Growth Patterns was recently showcased in one of the Mokara Hotel & Spa’s windows as part of a collaboration between Contemporary Art Month (CAM) and Centro San Antonio’s public program Art Everywhere, she’s arguably better recognized as one of the stylish staffers of Little Death Wine Bar than for her creative endeavors.

That may shift with the Sept. 2 opening of “Still Life,” Hurd’s debut exhibition. Hosted by Mercury

“That was a hugely shaping experience for me in my teenage years,” Hurd told the Current during a recent interview. “Disagreeing with them was like breaking out of a cult … [and] it was just me wanting to make normal life decisions.”

Those life decisions eventually involved relocating to San Antonio in 2007 with her now ex-husband, with whom she shares four sons. By 2020, the pandemic had taken hold and Hurd’s marriage was unraveling. Around this time she began working with photography, a medium she’d experimented with in her youth. After her children grew weary of posing for her, she turned to capturing flowers in increasing stages of decay and finally happened upon the format she’s working with today — photographing flat-lay still

MLeft to right: Asshole: A child of mine (as of yet unconfessed) inscribed this for a brother several years ago. I was afraid I had lost it, but it turned up behind a bookshelf.

Manalive: A mash-up of the leaves of a succulent that flew into my front yard years ago, of an oyster shell that @slokita shucked @littledeath, of a bone @bhmvey found on a motorcycle ride in the hill country; of zinnias I plant every spring to remind myself I’m human, of snail shells from my neighborhood, of snail shells from the border, and what falls from a tree.

Stages III: I’m in the middle of a personal project using millinery folding techniques and grosgrain ribbon to make the traditional cockade/rosette shape that became award ribbons in the last century. I like how this shape enshrines something — in this case, something very ephemeral.

lifes built around objects she finds during strolls along the River Walk.

Hurd lays out rusty nails, waxy leaves, tiny eggs discarded from nests, decaying insects, wildflowers and hollow crab legs left behind by herons on watercolor paper in patterns that feel riddled with symbolism. To add further intrigue, she mixes in previously collected treasures and rosettes she handcrafts in the vein of prize ribbons.

A winning example of these tableaux involves vivid butterfly wings, wilting flower petals, a plastic dinosaur and a cicada carcass surrounding a red 33

Courtesy Photos / Lindsey Hurd

Opening reception 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2, on view by appointment through Sept. 30, Mercury Project, 538 Roosevelt Ave., mercuryproject.net.

31 rosette Hurd embroidered with “Bad Bitch Award.”

“Ribbons historically [represent] first place. It’s a very hierarchical system that they fit in — you’ve done the best job so you get first prize,” Hurd said. “But the prizes don’t really matter at our death — everything falls away. But the experiences that we go through in our life that make us the people that we are, those are never the events that anyone gives you a ribbon for. [It could be] some terrible thing that happened to you … but it changes you in a way that’s important. So I’ve been thinking of the ribbons as a way to set aside space for those moments in life.”

Another standout from “Still Life” employs giant sticker burs, feathers, flowers, weathered screws and bottle caps to accentuate an unlikely centerpiece: a playing card one of her children scrawled the word “asshole” on. “I like to include things that they’ve been a part of when I can,” Hurd said with a laugh.

In keeping with the ephemeral nature of her time-sensitive arrangements, Hurd frequently shares her photographs on Instagram with what’s become her signature hashtag: #objectsofimpermanence.

“I was thinking a lot about my own

the giant red oak in my backyard has been dropping tiny acorns like crazy. The tree is stressed by the weather, or produced too many acorns and is lightening the load, or it was so rainy in late spring and they didn’t pollinate properly — all possible reasons for the untimely harvest, a quick google search tells me. I found a little collection on my counter, perhaps left by my niece, so I collected more and made a maze in which to trap and collect things.

impermanence and was at a place in life where everything felt so unsettled that I could only live moment to moment,” Hurd said of the tag’s origin. “I think on some level I knew that’s how a flower lives, or a branch that falls from a tree, or a nail that is discarded and rusting away: it can only be. But when you take these objects and arrange them into patterns, they’re transformed, even in death or abandonment, into something that shines.”

Photo Courtesy / Lindsey Hurd

MTinyAcorns:

Fall Movie Preview: Texas Edition

From Eva Longoria to Henry Thomas, here’s where we’ll see Lone Star State talent this award season

BY KIKO MARTINEZ

Now that we’ve had our fill this summer of Barbie and Oppenheimer — and, of course, Barbenheimer’s pink cloud of nuclear fallout — it’s time to look forward to the fall’s cinematic offerings.

Although it’s unclear when the Hollywood strike will come to an end, the industry still has a slate of films headed to theaters, festivals and streaming services as negotiations continue. Someone has to keep an AI version of Tom Cruise from starring in Mission: Impossible 17 in the year 2065, ammirite?

Until then, here’s a look at feature films that will premiere sometime before the end of the year. For this fall preview, we’ll focus on work that involves talented Texas natives.

Eva Longoria

In Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Corpus Christi native Eva Longoria (Flamin’ Hot) stars as Soledad Quintana, the mother of a Mexican-American teenager named Dante (Reese Gonzales). Dante makes a connection with Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza (Max Pelayo) in El Paso during this film, which is set in 1987. The movie is adapted from the 2012 novel of the same name by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. San Antonio native Kevin Alejandro also stars as Dante’s father. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe premieres at theaters Sept. 8.

Tommy Lee Jones

In Finestkind, San Saba native and Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones (The Fugitive)

stars as the father of two estranged brothers (Ben Foster and Toby Wallace) caught in the center of a Boston crime syndicate. Upping the star power, the film is written and directed by Oscar-winning screenwriter Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential). Finestkind premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Sept. 8.

Jaime Foxx

Movie fans will get second dose of Jones at TIFF with The Burial. This time, the San Antonio resident stars alongside Terrell native and fellow Oscar winner Jaime Foxx (Ray). The legal drama is loosely based on the true story of a personal injury lawyer (Foxx) whose client, a funeral home operator (Jones), successfully won a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against another funeral company for breach of contract. The Burial premieres at TIFF on Sept. 11.

McKenna Grace

Grapevine resident McKenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Afterlife) steps in to lend her voice to the big-screen debut of the PAW Patrol animated series. She plays cockapoo character Skye, who serves as the aviator of a team of search and rescue dogs. In the new movie, a magical meteor gives the puppy crew superpowers. PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie premieres at theaters on Sept. 29.

Henry Thomas

Pet Sematary: Bloodlines — prequel to Pet Sematary, the 2019 remake of the original

1980s horror flick adapted from Stephen King’s novel, features San Antonio native Henry Thomas (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial) in an undisclosed role. We’re guessing creepy-ass cats fit into the plot somewhere. Pet Sematary: Bloodlines will premiere at Fantastic Fest in September before streaming Oct. 6 on Paramount+.

Jesse Plemons

Of all the films on this list, Martin Scorsese’s Kiillers of the Flower Moon comes with the biggest awards buzz. The Western crime drama starring Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant) examines a series of murders of Native Americans in the 1920s. Dallas native Jesse Plemons plays Tom White, a bureau agent investigating the deaths. Killers of the Flower Moon will be released at theaters on Oct. 20.

Alan Tudyk

El Paso native Alan Tudyk, who’s lent his voice to multiple award-winning animated films in his career, including Wreck-It Ralph, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia, might be able to call himself the G.O.A.T. after his role in Wish. In the Disney film, Tudyk plays Valentino, a goat who acquires the power to talk from a falling star. Wish premieres at theaters Nov. 22.

Ethan Hawke

Based on the 2020 novel of the same name by Rumaan Alam, Leave the World Behind features Oscar-nominee and Austin native Ethan Hawke (Boyhood) in a story about two strangers who come to a family on vacation with news of an impending blackout. The film also stars Oscar winners Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich) and Mahershala Ali (Moonlight). Leave the World Behind premieres on Netflix on Dec. 8.

Amazon Studios

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Looking for a Book

The ceviche is fresh at Go Fish, but the concept may need time to stew

BY RON BECHTOL

In a game of Go Fish, the player to the left of the dealer asks any player if they have a certain card — say a Jack or a Queen. If so, the other player must surrender all examples of that card they possess, getting the player who made inquiry closer to making a four-of-a-kind “book.”

A look at the menu at Go Fish Wine Bar, one of the latest entries in the expanding San Antonio restaurant empire of Emily and Houston Carpenter, suggests that making a book will be very hard indeed. For now, at least, red snapper is the only fresh fish appearing more than once, and the treatments of other offerings are so different as to render the varieties of seafood moot.

That wouldn’t be an issue in itself, except that the menu appears to have been downgraded from the initial promise of diverse fresh fish both on the plate and for retail purchase over ice. The latter’s place has been taken over by ice-bedded bottles of bubbly and chill-worthy whites. In addition to the oysters that made Little Em’s, the Carpenters’ first foray in King William, the menu at Go Fish now features a Bites section that ranges from pizza to lox on sourdough to skewered sardines and anchovies.

Good luck putting together a winning hand.

But a savvy restaurateur reads the room and adjusts accordingly, so maybe Go Fish’s evolution was inevitable. Maybe the play here, considering that the business also calls itself a wine bar, is to make another kind of game of it all — one where there’s a vino to match with squid and fermented fresnos, another that pairs perfectly with spicy fried prawns, and yet another for that lone cheese pizza. That could be a fun, if different, way of making a book.

Alas, the luck of the draw may not be with you here, either. Out of a list of fewer than 40 bottles — modest by wine bar standards — there are only eight available by the glass. It was a rough go to pick two to pair with my orders of crispy tacos of fish chorizo and red snapper ceviche. Especially since I was dissuaded from ordering a promising-sounding pet nat rosé from the menu’s Esoteric and Experimental category. It’s on the sweet side, warned the server. Thanks but no thanks?

Though not displayed in fillet form alongside the bottles on ice, the snapper in the

ceviche was impeccably fresh. It was also dominated by a soupy blend of chopped strawberry and tart, pickled rhubarb. Mint put in an appearance as did a side container of what I’d imagine to be fried shallot and chili crisp. There was a mound of torn butter lettuce whose only function seemed to be as a plate-filler. Whole leaves might have invited taco-making, on the other hand.

Against all odds, a lemony grüner veltliner almost worked with the ceviche. Beer, and that is an option at Go Fish, would frankly have been better.

The notion of fish chorizo was admittedly intriguing. It called to mind shredded, smoky marlin I once had on the Mexican Pacific Coast near Mazatlan. And if the idea was to emulate the traditional, meaty version, I have to say that they nailed it — orange-hued oil and all. The shatteringly crisp taco shells were also faultlessly executed — a solid reminder that they remain a viable component of the Tex-Mex canon. To fancy it all up, shaved,

GO FISH WINE BAR

125 W. Grayson St. | (210) 542-6631 | gofishmtk.com

Hours: 2-10 p.m. daily, 8 p.m.-10 p.m. happy hours

“cured” egg and a few precious pearls of trout roe made for a texturally complex mouthful if nothing else.

The only other rosé by-the-glass option was a workhorse blend from Provence, its strawberry notes not quite up to the task of tussling with the pescatarian chorizo, but pleasant enough nonetheless. Again, beer would have been better. Or, if feeling frisky, maybe the by-the-glass pinot noir/syrah blend from France’s Pays d’Oc.

The entrance to Go Fish is up a narrow stair that’s not especially inviting, but inside the Carpenters have done their usual good job of fitting out the once-pedestrian space. Pale pastels of blue and green contrast nicely with rough, clay-tile walls, and the lighting is simple but effective.

Still, I can’t help thinking that the place hasn’t yet found its soul. There’s a Fish or Cut Bait board game that might be called into play here if someone needs help.

Ron Bechtol

The rundown: Go Fish appears to have abandoned its original fish market premise, along with most entrée sized menu offerings. There’s a charcuterie board that should play with well with the new wine bar emphasis, but the menu’s Bites portion makes pairing a little harder. So, consider it a challenge to match vino with anchovy skewers, sardines and sourdough or the latest ceviche. Polar opposite pizza and oysters are also available.

Bottoms Up

Whiskey Business taking over Witte Museum on Friday, Aug. 25

BY NINA RANGEL

Now in its eighth year, San Antonio’s premier whiskey festival will wet whistles on Friday, Aug. 25 at the Witte Museum.

The Current’s Whiskey business event will bring tastings by a variety of spirits brands to the museum, along with local cuisine, art, live music and interactive seminars. Only a handful of General Admission tickets remain available for the gathering, however. The $80 tickets include admission, food and drink samples along with access to Sipping Sessions during which spirit makers offer insights into their products, how they’re made and best enjoyed.

The event sprawls across the Witte’s expansive back gardens, as well as some indoor sections. Each area offers

a variety of entertainment, including fire dancers, DJs, live music and a curated vendor market.

This year’s participating brands include previous partners such as Blanco-based Andalusia Whiskey Co. and premium Tennessee brand Uncle Nearest. Newcomers include Writers’ Tears Irish Whiskey and Redneck Riviera blends.

Several of San Antonio’s most popular eateries will also be on hand, with bites to complement the boozy offerings. Ticket holders can expect cuisine from nationally renowned Caribbean spot The Jerk Shack, Panfila Cantina, Sari-Sari Filipino Restaurant and Whiskey Cake, among many more.

The 21-and-up event will take place at 3801 Broadway and benefits the Witte Museum.

NEWS

Longtime comfort-food spot Earl Abel’s has closed its Broadway location, citing the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the owners hinted that a new location and additional investors could resurrect the beloved restaurant.

Craft-beer haven Big Hops will close its flagship taproom on Huebner Road. Company founder Rob Martindale said he’s selling the location but didn’t disclosed what will replace the beer bar or when it will pull its last pint. 11224 Huebner Road, #204, (210) 877-9663, bighops.com.

Dashi Sichuan Kitchen has launched an after-hours Night Snack menu, which includes grilled-meat skewers, dumplings, spring rolls, garlic pork-belly rolls and more. The eats are available Friday and Monday nights from 9 p.m. until midnight. 2895 Thousand Oaks Dr., (210) 562-3343, sichuandashi.com.

Alamo Beer has hired 20-year craft-beer veteran Jan Matysiak as VP of operations. Matysiak holds a brewing science degree from one of the top programs in the world, and he’s worked for Brooklyn’s Sixpoint Brewery and West Texas’ Big Bend Brewing 202 Lamar St., (210) 872-5589, alamobeerhall.com.

A total of 10 San Antonio dining spots— includ-

ing Curry Boys BBQ, Gino’s Deli Stop N Buy and The Pita Shop — have landed on Yelp’s latest annual Top 100 Places to Eat in Texas list.

OPENINGS

Brunch favorite Comfort Cafe has opened a new location near Ingram Park Mall. It’s the minichain’s third area location. 6812 Bandera Road, Suite 101, (210) 501-9719, serenitystar.org.

Wild Barley has opened Basecamp, a patio bar that sells its craft brews. The outside serving area will allow the restaurant to serve guests more efficiently during peak hours. 8403 Broadway St., (210) 455-9982, facebook.com/wildbarleykitchenco.

Commonwealth Coffee has opened in the former Rosella spot near the San Antonio Museum of Art. The new new coffee spot also serves lunch and dinner along with pastries, bread, beer and wine. 203 E. Jones Ave., commonwealthcoffeehouse. com.

Netflix-famous Carnitas Don Raúl has launched second food truck, this one near the intersection of 1604 and Blanco Road. The mobile kitchen now slinging icarnitas, tortas, quesadillas, fresh salsas and agua frescas outside Dead Solid Perfect Golf. 16900 Blanco Road, facebook.com/ carnitas.don.raul.usa.

Jaime Monzon

Carnitas Don Raul

Baking the cute way with Ooyoo Pan’s owners

BY BRANDON RODRIGUEZ

Name:  Nari and Aldo Cortes

Title:  Bakers, co-owners at Ooyoo Pan

Birthplace: Texas and Mexico

Where to get their products:: R+R Collective Co., 1010 S. Flores St. #123

Ooyoo Pan, founded by Nari and Aldo Cortes, started as a hobby as the couple shared their love for Mexican and Korean childhood snacks on an Instagram page. But what started as a simple online document of their baking efforts grew into a flourishing business. Through hours of practice and research, the couple honed their skills and began accepting custom orders from family and friends. However, it wasn’t until local Instagram influencer SA Foodie showcased their products that business exploded, forcing the pair to purchase another fridge and move into a commercial kitchen.

Now, Ooyoo Pan offers its specialties at indie-product retailer R+R Collective Co. and through wholesaling and pop-ups. The name, a combination of Korean and Spanish words for milk and bread, perfectly captures the fusion of flavors found in the baked goods. We caught up with the Corteses to discuss their passion for baking.

Over the past four years, can you describe how important social media has been for the success of Ooyoo Pan?

SA Foodie (Amanda Spencer) really kickstarted our business, and we were not expecting to grow as much as we did from that one post she shared of our baked goods. Since we don’t have a brick and mortar that people can just google, I think it’s especially important to be using social media as best as we can as a pop-up business so people can know where to find us next. We’ve been using our Instagram to announce our pop-up locations [and make updates]. People have been so supportive and would share these posts as well as upload stories/pictures of what we had available at our pop up that day.

Ooyoo Pan is known for cute and trendy desserts from Korea. Can you tell me a bit about flavors that are unique to your offerings?

It’s more of the flavors and the aesthetic of the treats that remind me of my childhood. Almost every cafe I would go to had desserts that had cute faces drawn on them or even ears to make it look like a bear or dog. Some of these flavors include, but aren’t limited

to injeolmi (roasted soy bean powder), yuja (similar to lemon) and gochugaru (Korean chili pepper flakes). We’re hoping to [introduce] more “traditional” desserts like bingsu, twisted donuts and yakgwa in the future now that we have a steady location at R+R Collective Co.

Your offerings are intricate. What is your process like, from initial idea to the creation of a pastry? Do you usually develop a concept for a treat before you find the “canvas” or vice versa?

I’ll pick a theme — Ghibli, Sanrio, etc. — and simplify the characters to fit our style and the desserts. I’ll sketch, make a color palette, then make or print a macaron template all on my iPad before getting started in the kitchen. It can be challenging to fit all the details on a macaron, which is why I’ll spend hours researching and sketching out variations of which designs will work the best. I’m always planning months in advance and experimenting with new treats.

What’s been the most rewarding part of operating Ooyoo Pan?

We will say that the most rewarding part of operating Ooyoo Pan is the interactions and joy we see from the customers. It always amazes us that people would

make time out of their day to come see us and try out treats.

What’s been the least?

We are a micro bakery that makes everything from scratch and uses quality ingredients. Our goal has always been to keep our prices fair to customers and to us as well. Wanting to try new recipes can be challenging, as some ingredients that we’d like to use are costly and not the most accessible to us. Raising the prices on some of our baked goods has been the most difficult thing to do.

Do you dream of having a brick-and-mortar space dedicated to Ooyoo Pan?

We used to dream of having a brick-and-mortar space, but we feel we are in a good place having a steady location at R+R Collective Co., wholesaling to a couple cafes and popping up once or twice a month.

How do you spend your time when you’re away from the oven?

Aldo and I usually go to local coffee shops and spend time with our dog Donut when we have some free time.

Dog Days

San Antonio’s Dirty Dog Dick Eaters make outraged music for outrageous times

BY SANFORD NOWLIN

There’s no shortage of punk bands whose music falls short of the promise of their gleefully offensive monikers.

Memorable as their names might be, can anybody hum a few bars of a song by John Cougar Concentration Camp, Ancient Chinese Penis or Dick Delicious and the Tasty Testicles? Thought so.

San Antonio’s W. Witosky & the Dirty Dog Dick Eaters set themselves far apart from that pack thanks to earnest blue-collar songwriting and a willingness to color outside of genre lines. As much as the name suggests the band could wear out its welcome after a couple of soundalike songs of generic thrash, its debut album Earn Your Wings holds up through the end of its twelfth and final track.

Sure, Earn Your Wings, which dropped earlier this year, packs in brief blasts of fury like “Punchable Face” and “Stay Gone,” but it also shows a band capable of stretching out. Several longer tunes include storytelling lyrics and arrangements that lean toward a ramshackle kind of Americana. Guest musicians pop up on keys, saxophone and violin throughout.

With Witosky’s gravel-and-broken glass voice at the forefront and drummer Jeff Turner’s rock-solid playing gelling things into some semblance of order, the band goes after the material with an abandon not unlike mid-period Replacements. Only with a more political bent.

“We all get into punk because it’s therapeutic,” said Witosky, 41, who started playing in hardcore bands during his early teens. “You can write 1,000 generic angry political songs, but at some point, you start paying attention to music outside of that. For me, it was people like Aretha, Dylan, Springsteen — people who can tell a story with a song.”

That’s especially clear on the album’s nearly six-minute closer, “No More Winters.” Witosky edges toward the bleak singer-songwriter territory of Dylan’s “The Ballad of Hollis Brown” and Springsteen circa Nebraska. Punctuated by a melancholy fiddle, the track spins the tale of a broken man coming to terms with growing up in a broken home.

That story appears to mirror aspects of Witosky’s own life. After his parents split up, he spent time living with a mother who’d joined a religious cult. The time he was able to be around his music-loving dad introduced him to rock ’n’ roll and its promise of freedom — genre lines be damned.

“I didn’t have this separation of what was punk and what wasn’t, because it was all rock ’n’ roll,” said Witosky, whose tapestry of tattoos includes ink of late Springsteen sax player Clarence Clemons. “To me there wasn’t anything saying you couldn’t listen to the Ramones and to Springsteen.”

For all of Earn Your Wings’ political rage, Witosky comes across as less of a Jello Biafra-style dispenser of political dictates than a working guy trying to make sense of bleak times. Could be because he’s a union electrician with two kids at home.

Whatever the case, his lyrics repeatedly target politicians who pander for votes but can’t seem to give poor folks a break.

“Hide your shame with debt and stress you collect, pay it off to someone else who might forget,” Witosky sings on album opener “Burden of Man.”

Although Earn Your Wings’ array of guest musicians gives it dense feel at times, the D3Es — as the band tends to abbreviate its name — deliver a more stripped-down approach live. Witosky strums a pickup-equipped acoustic guitar through a Marshall stack while Turner and new bassist

Eloy Pina-Kolach keep the rhythm section chugging ahead.

With the band regularly performing the Texas circuit, Witosky has his sights on adding a second guitarist. But if that doesn’t happen, he’s not sweating it.

“If you write a good song, you should be able to play it acoustically or fast as fuck with electric guitars,” he said. “It doesn’t matter.”

Given Witosky’s eagerness to deliver a message with the D3E’s music, does he worry an offensive name and lyrics that sometimes descend into politically incorrect adolescent humor will turn off potential listeners?

Maybe. But that’s also not something he spends time worrying about.

After all, the Dirty Dog Dick Eaters are a punk band at the core.

“Going to junior high and high school in Oklahoma, did it to me,” Witosky said. “All that small-town shit left me with a lot of ‘fuck you’ in my system.”

Reminder:

Although live events have returned, the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Check with venues to make sure scheduled events are still happening, and please follow all health and safety guidelines.

Courtesy Photo / W. Witosky & The Dirty Dog Dick Eaters

MD3E’s current line up consists of Eloy Pina-Kolach, W. Witosky and Jeff Turner, from top to bottom.

critics’ picks

Thursday, Aug. 24

Matute

When you bill your road jaunt the Party Monster Tour, you’re setting a certain expectation. And Mexican rock act Matute has the skills to pay the bills. For one thing, this tour is rooted in a rock en Español’s ’80s and ’90s sounds — a call back to days when it seemed like there was stuff to celebrate, unlike our current tumultuous era. Expect Matute to not only bring the rock but show a deft hand with ballads and even cumbia. The band relies on big production elements and a flowing style to keep audiences on their feet and dancing. $44.50-$174.50, 8 p.m., Majestic Theatre, 224 E. Houston St., (210) 226-3333, majesticempire.com. — Mike

McMahan

Ston the Band, Elnuh, Jejune Stars

SA-based Ston the Band, musical brainchild of a person of the same name, recently dropped a debut album that offers an alternative take on singer-songwriter folk. While there’s storytelling a plenty, an indie twang drenches the album and math rock-inspired guitar licks take things further off the beaten path. The show features support from likeminded San Antonian artists. Elnuh specializes in stripped-down, shoegazey tracks with velvety vocals, while Jejune Stars explore wistful indie rock that incorporates folk and other elements. $10, 8 p.m., The Lonesome Rose, 2114 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 455-0233, thelonesomerose.com. — Dalia

Gulca

Friday, Aug. 25

Mad Caddies, Piñata Protest

Formed in 1995, Mad Caddies emerged from Solvang, California — for all you wine drinkers, that’s the heart of Pinot Noir country — to bring a bouncy brand of third-wave ska-punk. Led by Chuck Robertson, the sole remaining founding member, the band last released an album in 2018. A reggae-inspired cover of Green Day’s “She” from that album, Punkrocksteady, demonstrates the Caddies’ range. San Antonio-based Piñata Protest opens with its accordion fueled Tex-Mex punk. $25, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — Danny Cervantes

Sunday, Aug. 27

Tropa Magica

The “psychedelic cambia punk” of brothers David and Rene Pacheco and their Tropa Magica project originates from their East LA upbringing. The duo produced their latest release, III, over email after David relocated to New Mexico. After sending the demos to Rene, the group decided to keep the work “lo-fi” and pure with minimal tweaking. Worthy of note: Tropa Magica’s back catalog also includes a 2019 Nirvana-themed LP featuring cumbia-style covers of the grunge legends’ work. $15, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — DC

Tuesday, Aug. 29

Weathers, Magic Whatever, Markloveskittens!

Expect Los Angeles alt-rock trio Weathers to deliver a diverse set of indie-pop and -rock that pulls from a diverse source of sounds. The key focus however, is on beat-driven music with atmospheric synths and inescapable ear worms. Check out the track “Happy Pills,” which manages to be overtly critical and simultaneously infectious — not an easy thing. Another standout, “I’m Not OK,” pulls off a wacky B-52s-style vibe. $20-$22, 7 p.m., The Rock Box, 1223 E. Houston St. (210) 772-1443, therockboxsa.

Yngwie Malmsteen

com. — MM

Friday, Sept. 1

Poppy, PVRIS, Tommy Genesis

Emerging during the YouTube Era, Moriah Rose Pereria used the video platform to transform herself into Poppy. Eerily channeling an android via an art-pop performance, that musical persona has evolved from a dance artist during her first appearances some 10 years ago into a bubblegum-pop singer. Poppy continued to subvert boundaries in a variety mixed media project, and in 2020, the artist released I Disagree, which marked a shift into metal and industrial rock. Poppy’s current tour supports the forthcoming release Zig — and who knows where that will take her. $49.50-$96, 7 p.m., Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. — DC

Saturday, Sept. 2

Yngwie Malmsteen, Glenn Hughes, Bullet to the Heart

Despite changing musical trends, Swedish six-string monster Yngwie Malmsteen has remained a fixture in guitar magazines for decades thanks to his lightning-fast sweep picking and neo-classical compositions. While many of his ’80s shredder brethren have faded into obscurity, Malmsteen’s technical prowess and dedication to his core sound appear to have carried him through. Indeed, the maestro’s influence has even filtered into the metal underground, where Necrophagist, a band at the heart of the technical death metal genre, clearly build on his influence. $45-$95, 8 p.m., Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle, (210) 223-8624, tobincenter.org. — MM

Chillkiller, Wristslits, TOWU, Sleep Schedule

Corpus Christi bands Wristslits and Chillkiller make frenetic poppunk that can be somber — as their names suggest — but more often leans toward danceable tunes with nostalgic-sounding

vocals evoke 2000s emo. Alabama-based TOWU, on the other hand, produce eclectic art-punk with a range of influences and converging sounds. San Antonio’s Sleep Schedule rounds out the bill with its take on Midwest emo, complete with the whiny vocal delivery that make the genre what it is. $10, 8 p.m., Pink Zeppelin Books & Records, 8373 Culebra Road, #107, pinkzeppelinrecords.com. — DG

Sunday, Sept. 3

Marcy Grace

For this gig, emerging San Antonio singer-songwriter Marcy Grace will show off her big voice to a hometown crowd. Over the past few years, Grace has lit up the Texas Regional Radio charts with three top 40 hits while racking up recognitions including a 2021 nomination for Best New Female Artist from the Texas Radio Music Awards. Her song “Margarita Man” was featured in the 2019 film of the same name featuring Danny Trejo and local mariachi Sebastian De La Cruz. $10-$50, 8 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com. — DC

Monday, Sept. 4

Robert Earl Keen

Texas troubadour Robert Earl Keen may have retired from touring, but the music continues to thrive in the hearts of fans, and that means he’s still bound to pop up for shows in his home state. To that end, Keen is hosting his 2nd Annual Fan Appreciation Party. Keen will close the night with a performance by his longtime band. He told attendees to expect “a laid-back party with great food, cold beer and a bunch of fellow artists.” Sounds like a perfect respite from the heat — if one already has a ticket. Sold out, 6 p.m., John T. Floore’s Country Store, 14492 Old Bandera Road, (210) 695-8827, liveatfloores.com. — MM

Courtesy Photo / Yngwie Malmsteen