South Side native Mark Anthony Martinez recalls living in Portland, Oregon, where he was attending Pacific Northwest College of Art after graduating from Brackenridge High School in 2005. He probably never imagined he would experience racial discrimination in this day and age. “It was the first time I actually felt I was a minority, even…
Dancing to enrich the earth
“When people hear belly dance, they have one picture in mind, but we’re doing something different.” Queer-based dance troupe Zombie Bazaar was founded in 2008 by Giomara Bazaldua and Cristal Munoz, who met in a dance class and found they shared a desire to pursue a less-conventional path. “I had danced before, so I had…
Opera Piccola’s Mark Richter on the Chartreuse Couch
My greatest hope is that the gay community will embrace coming to the opera as a gay-friendly choice for their entertainment. Gene: So, Mark. Let’s talk opera. I know you have a lot to say on that topic and you have a performance soon at the Carver Community Center. A good location by the way.…
Boylesque legend Tigger! is stripping to change the world
“It makes sense that you want to hear from all genders. There are more than two.” Tigger!, the 50-year-old burlesque godfather who’s making his Texas debut as tonight’s headliner for the 4th Annual San Antonio Burlesque Festival, has always been wary of confining himself to gay audiences, so his crowds have often been a mixed bag.…
The Real Drag Husbands of SA
Meet the men who tease the wigs and get the lipstick off the couch From the time I saw my first drag show at the Saint Showbar back when it was still on Main Street, I knew there was something very special about the San Antonio drag scene. Whether they are working to achieve the…
Country days and drag nights on the South Side
They would eat tuna-fish sandwiches with watermelon by the river until it was time to go into the bar and get dressed for the evening. John McBurney and I sit down at the table to look at just a handful of the hundreds of Polaroid pictures he has stashed away from the Ponderosa. He’s…
Love, Music, and Nosferatu (the rock opera)
Bernard J. Taylor is the San Antonio based composer and writer behind Performing Arts San Antonio’s upcoming production of “Nosferatu” the Rock Opera. He has written and composed twelve musicals performed around the world, but his stage productions aren’t the only sources of drama in his life. Taylor’s love life is perhaps just as interesting as…
SA artists protest Cuba’s treatment of Tania Bruguera
Though their group was small, their message was clear; Tania Bruguera should be free to practice her art. Standing in a light drizzling rain, about 10 people met in front of the Alamo on a Friday evening in late May to show support for international Cuban-born artist Tania Bruguera. Anjali Gupta, sirector of San Antonio…
How Cornyation became the ruling roué of Fiesta
Cornyation was an important part of the democratization of Fiesta. Children fidgeted and adults downed the last of their longneck beers as they waited for the show to begin. The sweeping Arneson River Theatre was in the middle of the Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA) midway, pushed against the edge of the river. The…
Linda Pace Foundation exhibits works by Alejandro Diaz
Alejandro Diaz says his artwork is a “form of social activism.” The New York based artist tackles difficult subject matter through his use of humor and addresses the Mexican American experience in the United States. An exhibition of recent work, It Takes a Village, will be on view at SPACE: Linda Pace Foundation Gallery April…