Originally published in the San Antonio Current. Editor’s Note: Jade Esteban Estrada is the author of Glitter Political, a series of articles detailing San Antonio’s elections. As a professional homosexual, I admit to feeling a little star struck when I see Gina Ortiz Jones, candidate for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, waving at me through the…
Too marvelous for words: Ken Slavin turns 25*
“I’ve lived a lot since I was 29 and I understand the songs better now than I ever did.” Jazz singer and public-relations pro Ken Slavin is San Antonio’s rara avis—a very animated anachronism from a time when gentlemen sported impeccably fitted jackets for daily wear, and equally well-tailored manners. Onstage and off, this 6-foot-two-inch…
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.…
A conversation with poet Richard Blanco
“We forget that to be an intelligent, thriving human being means to pull from all sources of information, knowledge, and understanding.” Richard Blanco received our democratic society’s version of literary knighthood in 2013 when President Barack Obama chose him as the nation’s fifth inaugural poet. He is the first Latino, the first openly gay man,…
A favorite daughter and a forsaken son reconnect on the road from El Paso
The moral of this story, apparently, is when you’re la consentida, you can bring transgender friends home. Despite the fact that we were both born through a family with a deep history of homophobia, it still comes as a surprise to me how much more my half-sister Olga and I have in common. I’m the…
Tyler Oakley, the internet’s sure shot
“By being myself, it might impact someone else in a positive way.” In the dawn of a new golden age for LGBTQ people, YouTube vlogger Tyler Oakley has the distinction of being in the right place at the perfect time. Excitement is brewing over the Teen Choice Award-winner’s upcoming live variety show, Tyler Oakley’s Slumber…
Unbreakable Molly Cox
The SA2020 CEO on kicking dominos and coming out It was only 11 years ago that Molly Cox took an exacting look at herself in the mirror and once again sensed a feeling that something was “off.” Holding her gaze, she picked up her toothbrush and began brushing her teeth. Cox, a counter, was finishing…
It’s Showtime! for the Live Oak Singers
Live Oak Singers present It’s Showtime! Songs from Stage and Screen Madison Square Presbyterian Church, 319 Camden Street 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16, 3 p.m. Sunday, May 17 $20 General admission, $15 Students, military & seniors Children 10 and under are free Last summer, I attended the Pride concert rehearsal of the then newly formed Live Oak Singers, San Antonio’s only…
Mike Villarreal wants a city of opportunity
San Antonio’s 2015 joint general, special, bond and charter elections are Saturday, May 9. Find location information and more, here. Today, a portion of the small pool of influential SA voters may feel torn about having to choose between former state Rep. Mike Villarreal and former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte in the runoff-bound race for San…
Tommy Adkisson operates on an ‘inspirational level of energy’
San Antonio’s 2015 joint general, special, bond and charter elections are Saturday, May 9. Find location information and more, here. In the contentious race for mayor of San Antonio, former Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson’s utopian vision of “a kinder, gentler, more equitable society,” has served as a spurring reminder of his initial decision to run for City…