A new documentary about Arthur “Hap” Veltman and the San Antonio Country nightclub will have its premier on June 23 at the Bonham Exchange. The film by Noi Mahoney is titled Hap Veltman’s San Antonio Country. One promotional announcement on Facebook described the feature as “the story of the extraordinary life of Hap Veltman and…
Even After Recent Death of Owner, Bonham Exchange Holds Lasting Appeal
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. Jesse Cazares has been frequenting the Bonham Exchange since he was 18. It’s been his club of choice for great music, dancing and throwing back a few cocktails in the main video bar or out on the patio. He was drawn by storied gay nightclub’s openness and acceptance,…
Kenneth Garrett, Owner of the Bonham Exchange, Has Died
Out In SA is saddened to learn of the passing of Kenneth Garrett, the owner of the Bonham Exchange. Gene Elder, archivist for the Happy Foundation who is a close friend, told Out In SA the 69-year-old Garrett died in his sleep during the early morning hours of February 8 at his home in the…
On the Chartreuse Couch: Gene Elder Interviews Filmmakers Mark and Angela Walley, Directors of ‘Tia Chuck’
Editor’s note: “Tía Chuck: A Portrait of Chuck Ramirez” is the feature length directorial debut by San Antonio filmmakers Angela and Mark Walley that chronicles the life and work of the late artist Chuck Ramirez. Gene Elder: Thanks for your great film about Chuck. And have a seat on the green sofa. I know that…
Commentary: Wedding Cake Debate Will Create a Backlash
This commentary was originally published in the San Antonio Express-News. It is reprinted here with the permission of the author. “To cake! or not to cake!” that is the question. The judges’ decision is final. And the winner is? Who knew that cake decorating could be so confrontational? And, as I like to say from…
From SA’s Happy Foundation Archives: Gay History in a Three-Ring Binder
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. As Happy Foundation Archives Director Gene Elder once pointed out, “an archive can be as simple as a shoebox in the closet.” And while his cavernous headquarters at the Bonham Exchange are in fact brimming with what appears to be thousands of these DIY shoebox-archives — not to…
On the Chartreuse Couch: Gene Elder Interviews Frates Seeligson, Director of Confluence Park
San Antonio’s Confluence Park opened on March 3. In this edition of the Chartreuse Couch series, Gene Elder interviews environmentalist Frates Seeligson, the director of Confluence Park. Gene: Frates, welcome, sit on the Chartreuse and feel the love. You are heading up a terrific San Antonio River improvement called Confluence Park and we want to…
2017 in Review: A Year in the Life of LGBT SA
A select month-by-month recap of stories about our community reported here and elsewhere in 2017. JANUARY Jeffrey James is Fiesta Cornyation’s King Anchovy LII The board of directors of Fiesta Cornyation, billed as “the raunchiest, cheapest event of Fiesta,” announced in January that this year’s King Anchovy LII was Jeffrey James, the proprietor of James…
On the Chartreuse Couch: Gene Elder Interviews Andrew McPhaul
Gene: So Andy, so nice to have you visit the Chartreuse Couch. You have been in San Antonio since the early ’70s. What brought you here? Andy: My first visit happened in 1970. I came to visit a friend who lived at 323 East Park Avenue, in a duplex in the back of the property.…
For Gene Elder, Getting Arrested Is Making Art
Artist, activist and Out In SA columnist Gene Elder says his arrest last summer in Alamo Heights, where he where he was charged with interfering with an arrest and resisting arrest, was his way of making art. “I just got out of my car on Bastille Day July 14th, 2016 and put on my art…