Arts Alive San Antonio

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NEWS ROUNDUP, 3/7/2024

Big news from UTSA: The Southwest Guitar Symposium, San Antonio’s Classical Guitar Festival, returns to UTSA this month. It’s a three-day event that showcases the versatility of the classical guitar and allows musicians, guitar makers and music lovers to network. The event includes performances and masterclasses led by internationally respected guitar players as well as solo guitar contests between rising artists of all ages. The fest also welcomes luthiers and shops to display and sell their instruments during the symposium’s Southwest Luthier and Vendor Expo.

Sounds like paradise for classical guitar lovers! The event was initially established in 1991 by guitar professors, Gerald Klickstein (UTSA), Adam Holzman (UT Austin) and William Gangel (Texas State). It was then the only guitar festival in Texas. Today, the event is the largest acoustic guitar fest in the U.S. The current artistic director, Isaac Bustos, was himself a competitor in the festival’s 2007 edition.

The Mexican guitar virtuoso, Pablo Garibay, will make his UTSA debut at the symposium with a 40-minute program consisting of traditional repertoire and some contemporary pieces. (March 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the UTSA Recital Hall; for more info about that and the masterclass he will teach, go to
www.pablogaribaysite.wordpress.com.) GRAMMY-winning American guitarist, William Kanengiser will also participate. For more info visit www.colfa.utsa.edu/swgs. Competitions of young guitarists will take place throughout the weekend.

“Viva Emilio” is the one-night only concert by the YOSA Philharmonic that will celebrate the music of the late Tejano star, Emilio Navaira. The concert will also feature Emilio’s sons, Emilio and Diego Navaira. You’ll hear the familiar songs, such as “Como Le Hare,” “Lucero de Mi Alma, “Juntos” and others. (March 10, 2024 at 8 p.m. Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle; box-office 210-223-8624;  tickets@tobincenter.org)

“The Live Music Series at the County Line will return on March 7. This will be its 22^nd year. This popular live music series benefits the San Antonio Food Bank. It will start with Mario Flores and Gabe Garcia. The concerts take place on the patio of The County Line restaurant. According to the press release, the restaurant’s customers wanted the series to continue as it featured “some of the best” Texas and national country musicians, such as Cory Morrow, Randy Rogers, Jason Boland, Pat Green, Kevin Fowler, and others. The music is free, but all who attend are asked to make a food or monetary donation to the Food Bank. (County Line restaurant at 4334 Hyatt Pl DR., 78230; near the Colonnade)

Upcoming performers: Mario Flores & Gabe Garcia (March 7); Jerry De Leon & Selestial Alcoser (March 14); to see all upcoming performers, go to www.countyline.com/music-series-i-10/

The Heart of Texas Music Association will present the 35^th Heart of Texas Country Music Festival in Brady, with country music DJ Tracy Pitcox who will host 22 performances at four venues during the 10-day run. “Our group grew from a small core of listeners to a 1,000-member organization that promotes traditional country music, throughout the state,” she said. Featured entertainers include: The Bellamy Brothers; Moe Bandy, Rocky King, Jeannie C. Riley, Mary Lou Turner Jody Nix, and many others.
(Performances will take place at several venues. (tickets at www.heartoftexascountry.com or by phoning 325-597-1895; Admission ranges from FREE-$35; www.heartoftexascountry.com)

Let’s look at theater news! The big one is that the Wonder Theater is finally moving into the its new digs at the Wonderland of the Americas Mall. Its first show there is “Kinky Boots,” which is opening March 8. Go to see the show and support their valiant efforts. The musical is about a fellow named Charlie Price who reluctantly inherits his father’s shoe factory, which is on the verge of going bankrupt. He meets Lola, an entertainer in need of a pair of sturdy stilettos. As they work together, they find that they have a lot in common, and they realize that you can change your life when you change your mind. (March 8-30; Wonder Theater, 4522 Fredericksburg Rd., (in the mall) Balcones Heights, 78201; Friday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. tickets are $18-$32; 210-267-8388; info@woodlawntheatre.org)

At the always-active Overtime Theater, you can still catch their #Cinderella, which brings the fairy tale into a new, contemporary context. (Closes March 9; Friday-Saturday at 8 p.m.; 5409 Bandera RD., Suite 205; Tickets $18; the theater also has a new play, “Good Diner” by Oded Gross. More about that next week. https://theovertimetheater.org/2024-season/)

And “Crimes of the Heart” continues at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. It’s a local production, not a travelling show.  (March 7-17, Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater; times vary; check website.; tickets by phone 210-223-8624 or online at www.tobincenter.org)

And here’s something for laughs: “Campus Comedy” is described as “a Teachers Gone Mad Comedy.” Each comedian is either a school employee or previously was. The show is PG-13/R-rated. Children will not be allowed in. Dinner is an optional choice. (March 10, 5-8 p.m.; Las Chiladas, 2387 Northwest Military Highway, 78231; send questions to MindTwistComedy@gmail.com)

And big news from the Public Theater, which has just announced that it will be returning to being the
San Pedro Playhouse, the historic name of the building in San Pedro Park which has housed various performing companies over the years.

For a special form of theatrical entertainment, you may want to see the master illusionist, Reza, and his
“whirlwind of magic.” It will keep you on the edge of your seat, promises the press release. (For more info contact Skyline Entertainment at 323-929-7392 or tour@rezalive.com. The show will take place at the San Antonio Shrine Auditorium, 901 N. Loop 1604 W, 78232, https://www.shrineauditorium.com)

A reminder: The Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center’s Dance Company and Mariachi musicians will present “Celebrando Tradiciones,” a show of Mexican folk dances. (March 8 at 8 p.m., McAllister Auditorium, 1300 San Pedro Ave..78212; $15-$30, to buy: https://www.facebook.com/guadalupeculturalartscenter/about)

And there are interesting exhibits around the city. After a longish time, we revisited the Contemporary
At Blue Star, the place that many San Antonians identify with new, contemporary art. You’ll find three different exhibits there. The smallest one, “Michael Gerra Foerster: “Without a Trace” will probably amuse kids. As you enter, you’ll find a bunch of very small sculptures on shelves around the round gallery. You are instructed to pick one, take it to the central table, and use a small, provided mallet to smash your little treasure. You then put the broken pieces into a large receptacle in the middle of the room, and you keep the little treasure you found inside. The artist gives the visitors a free gift, “removing the barrier of purchase.” The second exhibit on your left as you face the large gallery, is “Vernacular Systems”: The 2024 CAMPerennial Exhibition, which features well-known San Antonio artists, including Ricky Armendariz, Nela Garzon, Raul Rene Gonzalez, Jeniffer Bataglia and others. The variety of styles, media and subject matter, makes it probably the most engaging of the three shows. In these works, “the artists reflect on the human need to connect to others and the world around them.” A piece by Raul Rene Gonzalez depicts this connection in the most obvious way, in a painting that shows him interacting with his family.
This exhibit, as a whole is very engaging.

In the Central gallery, artist, Joe Harjo, is showing ”Indian Removal Act II: And She Was.” It’s a very heavy subject, referring to the Indian Removal Act of 1830 when Native Americans, including the artist’s great-grandmother, were forced to leave their tribal lands. Her tribe was relocated from the east coast to Oklahoma. The exhibit represents this history in a largely abstract way, with red step-marks on canvas, for instance. But, there’s a lot to ponder there.

At the Dock Space Gallery, you’ll find the works by Paula Owen, artist and former director of the Southwest School of Art. The exhibit is named “Triple Digit Studies” and features gouache-on-paper paintings completed during the hot summer of 2023. The series is labeled “studies” because the artist challenged herself to experiment with a new approach “that, in some ways, reflected the severe weather.” The Dock Space Annex features the work of three other artists: Joan Frederick, Sabra Booth, and Daniela Oliver de Portillo. (Opening reception is March 9, 6-9 p.m. at 107 Lone Star Blvd., 78204;
https://www.dockspacegallery.com/