Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor

A few months ago, Gemini Ink decided to honor San Antonio poet and playwright Gregg Barrios at its annual Inkstravaganza event, a major fundraiser for the writing arts organization, which always honors local literary personalities.

“We have a very vibrant literary community in San Antonio, so Inkstravaganza celebrates that, but it also celebrates one leading literary figure each year with the Literary Award of Excellence,” explained Gemini Ink’s executive director Alexandra Van De Kamp. “The event becomes infused with that person’s literary world and style.”

This year, she and her team felt “it was high time to honor Gregg,” she added. “When I let him know about it, he was thrilled. He seemed really touched. I think that he felt that he was more recognized nationally than he was here.”

She later met with Barrios for lunch to discuss the event and everything seemed to go well, until, shockingly, two weeks later, they received the bad news that Barrios had died of a heart attack at age 80. The festivities, however, will proceed as planned, honoring Barrios’ legacy. In fact, the usual -one-evening Inkstravanganza format has been changed to include two separate tribute events – a Garden of the Arts outdoor, in-person gathering at the McNay Museum’s Moroccan Courtyard on Friday, followed by a “star-packed virtual show” on Saturday during which speakers will “showcase the many sides of Gregg Barrios, from activist to experimental digital graphic artist.”

Barrios was born and raised in Victoria where his writing career started with book reviews for the local newspaper when he was only 16. A few years later he was drafted into the Air Force as a combat medic during the Vietnam War. When he returned, he attended college at UT Austin and soon embarked on a career that, over the years, included journalism, poetry, playwrighting, teaching, experimental films and social activism. He’s the author of four books of poetry, many articles in prestigious publications, book reviews, and several plays, some of which were produced by San Antonio theaters.

“Dark Horse, Pale Rider” a play about the life of Katherine Anne Porter, was staged in the Cellar Theater of the San Pedro Playhouse in 2002, and his play, “Rancho Pancho” was later produced by the Classic Theater of San Antonio. In fact, it was the first play the newly created company produced, said Diane Malone who directed it.  “Rancho Pancho” dealt with the relationship that famed dramatist Tennessee Williams had for a short time with Pancho Rodriguez, who is credited with inspiring the character of Stanley Kowalksi in Williams’ famous play “A Street Car Named Desire.”

Malone’s association with the play started with a reading at the then-Church Theater in 2007 and continued with a full production in 2008, which was “a huge success” she noted. The company also took “Rancho” to two Tennessee Williams festivals, first in New Orleans and later in Provincetown. And she directed a more recent production of the play in 2011 in Alburqueque.

“He was a fantastic researcher,” she said of Barrios. “He found out about that period in Williams’ life through his meticulous research.” She also explained that he received a grant through the Ford Foundation Gateway Program at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center to research and develop “Rancho Pancho.” In addition to those full-length plays, Barrios also wrote a number of one-act pieces that were produced at the annual SA Theater ASAP events in 2004 and 2005.

Many other San Antonians have found memories of their interactions with Barrios. Gemini Ink founder, writer Nan Cuba, vividly recalls a unique experience Barrios brought to the Gemini Ink’s premises when the organization was located on S. Presa St. It was a movie night like no other. Barrios requested that attendees bring pillows and blankets and sit on the floor. What they watched were two different films by Andy Warhol simultaneously screened on two opposite walls. “There was no narrative; it was more like an experience, a psychedelic experience. It was really fun,” she said. She stayed friends with Barrios over the years, meeting for lunch periodically and enjoying his conversational brilliance.

And Cuba is not the only one who experienced those enjoyable lunches. Poet and professor, Natalia Trevino reports visiting with Barrios over long lunches as well. “Now I feel like I lost a beloved uncle,” she said.

Throughout much of his poetry, Barrios strived to tell the human story, especially the story of the Chicanos and social justice, she explained. “He centered his poems on stories of individuals from oppressed groups, people who were not fully recognized. I brought him to my college (Northwest Vista) several years ago and he read from his latest collection, “La Causa.” The title refers to “The Cause” which was the Chicano movement. I am going to refresh my memory of that book in time for the garden party.” (Where she will be one of the speakers

Political as his subject sounds, Trevino said the poetry itself was musical, elegant and moving because it was focused on a particular character, not on generalities. In other words, the issues were presented through the lens of a specific individual.

“One thing I would like to say about Gregg is that he was not into literary trends and he didn’t mind that his poems were not widely known. He was more interested in being true to his art, to his own creative spirit,” noted Trevino… I am so happy that we are honoring him but I am so sad that he didn’t live to see it.”

In addition to literary and journalistic pursuits, Barrios also supported the arts community in San Antonio with generous donations. Years ago, he made a large donation to the Overtime Theater that produced three of his plays. Grateful, the company named its larger performance space The Gregg Barrios Theater, the name that was transferred to the company’s new location. More recently, Barrios endowed the Gregg Barrios Precious Words Prize for poetry performance at URBAN-15’s Mega Corazon poetry celebration that takes place during Poetry Month.

Active on more fronts than most people could even consider, he was also a real-life social justice activist, especially during his years in Crystal City where he moved to teach high-school English and ended up doing a lot more, according to a bio written by his friend and former colleague, Rod Davis. The Gemini Ink award might have been the one he longed for, as more than one person suggested, but there was no shortage of recognition beyond San Antonio.  He was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters in 2015, and he received a Golden Gavel for his literary work from the Texas House of Representatives. He also served on the board of the National Book Critic Circle. And an anthology of his poetry titled “My Life: The Poem I Never Wrote: New & Selected Poetry 1968-2021” will soon be published by Hansen Poetry.
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Garden of the Arts  will be emceed by writer and actress Marisela Barrera; live music by Alyson Alonzo, “light bites” and a special reading from “Rancho Pancho” by actors Chibbi Orduna and John O’Neill; authors Natalia Trevino and Rigoberto Ganzalez will speak about the honoree. Tickets $100 through Gemini Ink (see below). ( 6:30-8:30 p.m. McNay Art Museum, 6000 N. New Braunfels, 78209, www.mcnayart.org)
The Saturday Virtual Show will also be emceed by Barrera. A number of people will speak about Barrios, including retired UTSA professor Ellen Riojas Clark, critic & poet Ben V. Olguin, UCLA archivist Xaviera Flores, the 2015 U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, Texas State Legislator Emeritus Robert R. Alonzo, and others. Tickets $75. Call Gemini Ink at 210-734-9673 or visit www.geminiink.org.