News Roundup, July 6, 2023
Summers and arts Festivals go together, and San Antonio has its fair share of them. In fact, we mentioned a couple of music festivals last week. But we also have two film festivals and one of them is opening in a few days. The 44th Cinefestival San Antonio, which is dedicated to Latinx films, will be presenting 114 films, including 38 from San Antonio and 40 films from Texas, as well as features, short films and documentaries from the rest of the US, and from other countries. Altogether, there were 312 entries. To accommodate this high volume of submissions, the festival is adding an extra day of screenings.
The fest opens Tuesday July 11 with a special anniversary screening of “Blood In, Blood Out,” directed by Taylor Hackford, an event that will be hosted by Jesse Borrego, San Antonio’s own stage and film actor/director and the festival’s artistic advisor. The film is considered a seminal work of the Chicano film cannon, based as it is, on the life experiences of screenwriter Jimmy Santiago Baca, and starring Borrego, Damian Chapa, Benjamin Bratt, Enrique Castillo and Valente Rodriguez. The fest will close with the local premiere of the documentary “Going Varsity in Mariachi,” which focuses on Edinburg North High School’s Mariachi Oro, as they rebuild their forces and compete in the state championship. The film won the 2023 Editing Award at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
A large selection of local short films will be shown under the banner “Vistas de San Antonio,” as well as three locally-produced feature films: “Conjunto Blues,” directed by Joel Celestino Settles; “Heart of Glory,” directed by Jorge Lopez Martinez, and “Sacred Mask” by David F. Mendez.
(Screenings will take place at the Guadalupe Cultural Art Center, 1301 Guadalupe St., 78207; 210-271-3151; for more information go to www.guadalupeculturalarts.org/cine-festival/)
The other festival is Cactus Pear Music Festival, which focuses on chamber music. (Please see last week’s News Roundup). It kicks off July 6 – today – in Wimberley at the Chapel on the Hills at 7 p.m., and continues July 7 at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio. Over two weeks, CPMF will offer six programs – performed by 14 musicians – and cover a lot of musical territory. The first program titled “The More Things Change…” features a wide range of compositions by De Falla, Dvorak, Shawn Okpebholo, and Undine Smith Moore. Featured performers are baritone Timothy Jones, soprano Emily Birsan, violinist Carmit Zori, cellist Ken Olsen, flutist Stephanie Jutt, pianist Scott Cuellar, and pianist and artistic director, Jeffrey Sykes. (To see all programs, go to https://www.cpmf./cpmf-season-27)
There’s news from the thespian community! Two theater companies – The Public Theater and The Classic Theatre have just announced their “Strategic Partnership for the upcoming theater season.” Under this partnership, the Classic with present its 2023-24 season in the Cellar theater, the small downstairs performance space that is part of the San Pedro Playhouse, the home of the Public Theater.
As part of the partnership, J. Robert “Jimmy” Moore, who is currently the producing/artistic director of the Classic, will assume the additional role as the producing artistic director for the Public Theater, which recently parted company with its immediate past executive-artistic director. This means that Moore will be in charge of the Public’s productions in the playhouse’s larger 350-seat theater.
Moore is a San Antonio native who made his musical theater debut in a production of “Camelot” at the Playhouse in 2002. Board members of both organizations consider the new partnership as a win-win, says the press release. As the name implies, the Classic Theater was founded to produce classic works of the thespian repertoire, from Greek dramas to Shakespeare, Moliere, Chekov and the more recent playwrights who are considered pillars of dramatic literature. Since its founding in 2008 by a group of professional thespians, the Classic has won more than 70 Alamo Theater Arts Council’s ATAC Globe Awards in multiple categories.
The names of the companies performing at the San Pedro Playhouse have changed over time, but for San Antonians the San Pedro Playhouse remains “the theater they know and love.”
Another very active San Antonio Theater is the Wonder Theater, formerly known as the Woodlawn Theater, which is ready to open a new musical production of “Grease” this weekend. Musicals are their specialty. This one is set in 1959 in a high school. “This rollicking musical is both an homage to the idealism of the Fifties, and a satire of high-schoolers’ age-old desire to be provocative and rebellious.” The production is directed by artistic director Chris Rodriguez, with choreography by Alonzo Corona and music direction by Jane Haas. (July 7 – July 30; in addition to regular performances, there are special nights, such as Student Night, ASL Night, and others, plus various discounts.; 1920 Fredericksburg Rd., 210-267-8388; www.wondertheatre.org)
The visual arts scene is lively, as usual. An exhibit at the San Antonio Museum of Art, titled “Still Brewing Art” makes a connection between art and industry, past and present. Many San Antonians already know that SAMA occupies the buildings of the old Lone Star Brewery even though it looks every bit like a dignified art temple. In fact, SAMA is the first and only accredited art museum in the U.S. housed in a former brewery. The museum became a pioneer in the adaptive reuse movement by transforming the premises as masterfully as it did. In 1981, SAMA opened the renovated complex with the slogan “We’re Brewing Art.” Well, they have a new announcement: “Still Brewing Art.” Unfortunately, we haven’t seen the show yet but will do so ASAP. The exhibit features more than 50 objects, including large Belle Epoque beer advertising posters, rare pre-Prohibition Lone Star Brewery artifacts and memorabilia, and photos that document the history of SAMA and the beer culture in San Antonio.
As part of the exhibit, museum staff will gather community stories about the museum. Submit a story at samastories@samuseum.org during the exhibition. (On view through Sept. 3, 2023, SAMA, 200 W. Jones Ave.; 210-978-8140, https://www.samuseum.org; Plan your route carefully; there are all kinds of detours in the area.
A new exhibition is also installed at Artpace featuring the work of the summer 2023 International Artists-in-Residence. They are: Xin Liu from London, Michi Meko from Atlanta and Ryan Takaba from San Antonio. Liu explores the interaction of oil, life and death. She views oil as an assertive, almost sentient resource instead of a passive substance, The centerpiece of the exhibit is a pyramid-shaped structure suspended over an oil fountain, with a glass globe containing oil at its core. She is a native of a city in China connected to oil exploitation.
Speaking of Artpace, the art center will be accepting applications for the 2025 International Artist-in-Residence program, from July 1 to Sept. 29, 2023. The Texas Open Call is Artpace’s primary resource for identifying artists interested in and eligible for participation in the International Artist-in-Residence program. To apply go to https://www.anyartist.org/call.cfm?
At the Contemporary at Blue Star the First Friday exhibition showcases three artists: Brittany Ham, Adam Schreiber and Michael Veliquette. (Contemporary at Blue Star, 116 Blue Star, 78204; 210-227-6960; https://contemporarysa.org)
The Ecumenical Center, which has always been a source for hope and healing by providing an array of mental health services for adults and children, has added art to its premises to help people of all faiths find a healing, caring environment. At present, there’s the exhibit Arts Heal Hearts, featuring more than 30 artists. All art work is for sale, with proceeds going to support the work of the center. (To see the exhibit, stop by the Ecumenical Center at 8310 Ewing Halsell Dr.., 78229, The center is a nonprofit.; 210-326-8992; www.ecrh.org)
The Dock Space Gallery and Annex will showcase the work of photographer J.J. Barrington captured with a cell phone. The show is named “Me and My Muse: The Cell Phone Series” which features sizzling scenes from Italy and closer to home in Texas. (Opens July 8, 6-9 p.m. during the Second Saturday Artwalk in the Lone Star Art District. On view through August; by appointment, call 210-723-3048.
A solo exhibition by Cassidy Fritts explores the subject of memory and its impact on our existence. Through fusion of the human figure, text and a variety of media, Fritts invites the viewer to seek to understand how memories are formed and preserved within ourselves. (Opens July 8, 6-10 p.m., Mercury Project, 538 Roosevelt Ave., 78210; www.Mercuryproject.net)
The Carver Community Cultural Center has a two-week Dance Camp for serious dance students, ages 10-18. Ballet, Modern, Jazz and West African dance will be taught. Previous dance instruction and knowledge of dance fundamentals are essential. Camp will end with a performance. (For more info call 210-207-7211; www.thecarver.org)