Arts Alive San Antonio

April is National Poetry Month which means lots of poetry everywhere, from formal readings to poems posted on store windows at the Pearl. To get things started, today is “Slam the Town” day, when all poetry lovers are expected to send a poem via mail, text or email – or in any other way – to friends and colleagues. It doesn’t have to be your own poem. You can choose any poem you like.

Poetry readings and performances pack the April calendar but most are virtual events this year. We can only mention a few here.

The San Antonio World Heritage Office is sponsoring an event at Mission Marquee Plaza April 3 at 7 p.m., featuring a group of poets that includes the city’s current poet laureate, Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson and Anthony the Poet as emcee. The chamber music ensemble, Agarita Chamber Players will perform, and two visual artists, Sarah Brook Lyons and Terry Ybanez will present their work. To watch go to www.facebook.com/MissionMarqueePlaza/ or the Facebook page or YouTube channel of the World Heritage Office.

Just two days later, On April 5, URBAN-15 will start its Mega Corazon “spoken word” series” “celebrating a hybrid San Antonio poetic tradition that combines street, classical, and slam performance styles.” This year there will two different shows: Poetry for Young Adults (who are defined as middle and high school students) and an adult version dubbed “Mega Corazon for true lovers of poetry.”  Featured poets include slam poetry champions Amalia Ortiz, Anthony the Poet, and the very busy Andrea “Vocal Sanderson, plus poets Jim LaVilla-Havelin, Eduardo Garza, Octavio Quintanilla, Marisol Cortez and others. The sessions will be aired every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6-10 p.m. throughout the month. The youth programs will take place on the same week days 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. You can watch free of charge at https://urban15.org/live-stream.

In a new development, the organization has just created “The Gregg Barrios Precious Words Prize” thanks to a donation by playwright & poet Gregg Barrios. The new award will be given to “a performing Mega Corazon poet” who will be selected by the online audience.

One rare live and in-person event is the Haiku Poetry performance that will take place April 17 at the San Antonio Botanical Garden.

But, there’s a lot more. To see the NPM full calendar go https://www.getcreativesanantonio.com. (See our article from March 28, on this site.)

Literature will also take center stage during the San Antonio Book Festival, also delivered through virtual presentations. It takes place Friday, April 9. Nationally prominent authors and local literary stars will be featured in multiple “conversations” sessions and readings. One new thing this year is “Lit Crawl San Antonio, scheduled for 7:30 – 10 p.m. More suited to in-person experience, normally, Lit Crawl would “take literature to the streets.” It’s a block party “for books to come alive.” The 2021 version will be more tame, involving a cocktail-teaching segment and three book discussion sessions. Find out more about the entire fest at www.sabookfest.org.

To enjoy high-quality classical music this weekend you have two choices. The San Antonio Symphony will perform its Classics V concert twice, April 2 and 3 at 8 p.m., at the Tobin Center. The orchestra will be led by guest conductor Carlos Izcaray, a Venezualan who is now the music director of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. He is also a cellist, a composer and an advocate for social justice and freedom. In fact, his composition, “Geometric Unity” will be part of the program, followed by Mozart’s Concerto in C Major and Beethoven’s Quartet for Strings in F Minor. Oboist Paul Lueders is the featured soloist. (Tickets: $30-$85, tickets@tobincenter.org or call 210-223-8624)

The other classical music option is “To Music! offered by the Classical Music Institute, a not well-known San Antonio organization, which is, however, one of the resident companies at the Tobin Center. Its April 3 concert will showcase the music of Loise Farrenc, Franz Schubert, and Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major known as “Kreutzer.” Performers include Siwoo Kim (violin); Ronald Villabona (violin); Wayne Ching (piano) and bass-baritone Christopher Besch. (Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater at the Tobin Center, April 3 at 7:30 p.m.; for tickets refer to the item above.)

The Classic Theater of San Antonio is resuming its interrupted season April 8-25 by presenting Antigone, outdoors at the Botanical Garden. (More about that in an upcoming story. For tickets and more info go to www.classictheatre.org.)

Good music of another kind will be featured at Sam’s Burger Joint this Saturday when talented Bri Bagwell takes over the place with her band. Known for “modern country” music, she has released four albums and has had seven #1 Texas radio singles, in addition to being recognized multiple times with the Female Vocalist of the Year Award. Based in New Braunfels, Bagwell’s music has been described by a reviewer as “packed with both grit and grace,” (Sam’s Burger Joint, April 3, doors open at 7:30; music at 8:30 p.m.; $18 – $125; www.samsburgerjoint.com/calendar.)

Another rising country star, Nikki Lane, will take the stage at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels on Friday, April 2. In 2017 she won top honors for a female artist at the Ameripolitan Music Awards. If you are not familiar with this term, it is defined as original music with roots influences, including  honky-tonk, western swing, rockabilly and outlaw. How’s that!? (8 p.m. Friday, $105-$450; seating at tables for two, four and six. www.gruenehall.com.)

For a free Tex-Mex concert, you can wander over to St. Paul Square, 1160 E. Commerce, Friday night, to enjoy three hours of music by Los Callejeros De San Antonio. It’s an outdoor event, but seating and drinks are available from Lilly’s Greenville.

Art Gallery Pridencia will be opening a new exhibit, “The Rattlesnake Gang at Big Bend National Park,” next week, featuring new works by artists inspired by the legendary landscape and environment of Big Bend. Included are the following artists: Lon Brauer, Tom Brown, Margie Hildreth, Tim Oliver, Richard Sneary, R. Gregory Summers, Richie Vios and Jeff Williams. Opening reception and artist talk, 2-4 p.m. April 10. (2518 N. Main Ave., 210-422-8681; www.pridenciagallery.com)

The Majik Theatre is already thinking of summer when it will stage “The Adams Family” in July. Right now, they are inviting teens, ages 14-18 to audition for the summer production, Saturday, April 17. A free audition workshop is offered April 8, from 6:30 – 8 p.m. Interested young thespians must sign-up by Monday, April 5. (For more info and to register, go to www.magiktheatre.prg/theadamsfamily/)

And here’s a surprise! According to a recent report, they discovered a real treasure behind a false wall at the Mexican Cultural Institute – the mural “Telon de la paz” is the work of Manuel Felguerez, one of the earliest and most prominent proponents of abstract art in Mexico. His works can be found in the permanent collections of a number of famed institutions, including Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, the UN headquarters in New York and a museum that bears his name in his native Zacatecas. Isn’t that something!? Back in 2010, the mural was covered by the “wall” for an architecture exhibit, and apparently became a victim of “out of sight, out of mind” situation. Much more about that next week, following the official unveiling.