The seventh annual Emerald Ball, a variety show to benefit Pride Center San Antonio, will take the stage at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center on Saturday, March 10. The show, which is organized by photographer Julián P. Ledezma, who is on the Pride Center board, will feature local drag queens, singers, aerialists, the Live Oak…
LGBT Organizations Seek Show of Unity at SA’s MLK March
Leaders of San Antonio’s LGBT community organizations are circulating an email among their members and allies encouraging them to participate as one large contingent in the city’s Martin Luther King Jr. March on Monday, January 15. “All LGBT organizations and their members, as well as any interested individuals are invited to march together for a…
Community Groups Plan DreamWeek Events
Now in its sixth year, DreamWeek, which this year takes place from January 5 to 20, is a series of events that focus on fostering “the free exchange of ideas on universal issues affecting the human race.” The ultimate goal of DreamWeek is to advance “the voices of tolerance, equality and diversity.” Over 150 events…
Pride Center Finds Permanent Home Near Main Avenue Strip
District 1 City Councilman Roberto C. Treviño and the board of Pride Center San Antonio announced on New Year’s Eve that the organization had found a permanent home just one block from the Main Avenue Strip. The new Pride Center will be located in a professional office building owned by the Metropolitan Methodist Hospital on…
LGBT Community Events Celebrate the Holiday Season in Style
There is no shortage of holiday cheer in San Antonio’s LGBT community as groups and clubs all over town schedule events to celebrate the season. From dance parties to holiday concerts to a breakfast with Santa Claus, there’s something for everyone on this seasonal calendar. Below is a select list of events and fundraisers for…
Transgender Day of Remembrance to be Observed in SA on Nov. 16
San Antonio’s LGBT community will come together to observe the Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 16 with events slated for downtown San Antonio. The evening begins at 6 p.m. when Pride Center San Antonio presents a Memorial Celebration of Lives Lost in Travis Park. At 7 p.m., the observance moves indoors for a service…
Speaking Out: Comedian Joan Riviera Emerges as a Trans Activist
“I am your mother! I am your sister! I am whatever you want!” On a recent evening at Main Plaza, around 70 members of San Antonio’s LGBT community had gathered to speak out against the Trump administration which, just a day earlier, had rescinded Obama-era guidelines meant to accommodate transgender students in public schools. Organized…
#beHuman: A Mother’s Campaign to Bring Together Parents of Transgender Kids
“Mom, let’s go for a drive.” Those were the words that forever changed Belinda Treviño Cantu’s life three years ago. On this car ride, her teenage daughter revealed that after years of mixed feelings and internet research, she was transgender. She wasn’t just a tomboy — she was supposed to be a boy. Cantu…
Celebrating the Vital Work of Community Leader Andrea Figueroa
A lot of people take time off between high school and college. Most don’t end up playing in a band in L.A, but that was the start of Andrea Figueroa’s path to becoming the executive director of the Martinez Street Women’s Center (MSWC). Not-for-profit work was not part of her original life plan, but now…
Guess Whose Political Forums Mayor Taylor Has Been Skipping
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. Mayor Ivy Taylor has earned a tense relationship with San Antonio’s LGBTQ community. The rift dates back to the 2013 battle over an equal rights ordinance here, when homophobic and transphobic backlash from religious-right groups failed to stop City Council from passing protections against discrimination based on sexual…