The Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Committee is challenging the City of San Antonio’s “neutral” stance on Senate Bill 15, a measure currently under consideration in the Texas Senate which would prohibit the local regulation of private employers. On its face, SB 15 would prohibit cities from requiring that private companies offer paid sick leave and other…
Sitting Down with Unerasable Graciela Sanchez
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. I’m sitting at Sweet Yams Café on the city’s East Side with Graciela Sanchez, director of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. The sunlight cascades down the right side of her face through the adjacent window, giving her a resplendent glow. Sanchez, who has devoted her life to…
Esperanza Center to Open Community Museum Focusing on SA’s Westside
The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center has announced it plans to create a museum which will focus on the history of San Antonio’s Westside. The new museum will be located in the former Ruben’s Ice House, at the corner of South Colorado and Guadalupe Streets, just west of downtown. The structure will undergo renovations. No…
Study of Resiliency in San Antonio’s LGBTQ Community Enters Next Phase
Last September, three professionals from San Antonio were chosen to conduct a research project with the theme, “Building a Stronger Community: Resilience Among LGBTQ People in South Texas.” This week, that team announced their study was moving into the next phase, one that involves interviewing community members. The trio from San Antonio is one of…
MujerArtes Sale Comes Just in Time for Mother’s Day
The MujerArtes clay cooperative’s annual Mother’s Day sale and exhibit opens on Saturday, May 5 at the group’s Adobe Studio located in the heart of San Antonio’s Westside. The exhibit and sale will feature handmade artworks fashioned by the women of the cooperative who work under the guidance of experienced ceramicists. “This is the perfect…
SAY Sí Exhibit to Include Installation Focusing on Violence Against Trans Women
An art exhibit by students at SAY Sí titled, Stories Seldom Told: Omitted Histories, which opens on May 4, will include an installation inspired by recent cases of violence against transgender women of color. The installation, titled “The Final Transition,” is set in the bedroom of a fictional 17-year-old transgender woman named Marsha Skye Castillo.…
Esperanza Center Rings in Holidays with Mercado de Paz
Shoppers looking for an alternative to crowded malls and shopping centers will find a unique selection of gifts at the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center’s 28th International Peace Market or Mercado de Paz, held annually during Thanksgiving weekend. This year, the market opens on Friday, November 24 and continues through Sunday, November 26. For the…
A New Adobe Studio for MujerArtes
The women of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center’s MujerArtes clay cooperative have reason to celebrate with the opening of their new studio — a building made entirely compressed earth blocks, otherwise known as adobe. The new building, which opens on September 9, is located at 816 S. Colorado and will take it’s place alongside…
Esperanza Center Celebrates 30 Years of Community Empowerment
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. Imelda Arismendez sits on a ladder, molding adobe with her bare hands. Her long, brown braid hangs behind her as she sculpts details onto the front of her new home, or so it’s beginning to feel like. This building will house MujerArtes’ new studio — the Esperanza Peace…
Celebrating Pride All Year Long
When the Pride San Antonio Festival opens its gates on July 2, it will mark the 13th anniversary of the observance, which its organizers have dubbed, “Pride Bigger Than Texas.” “The idea was to celebrate Pride while raising money for local charities and nonprofits and working to build the confidence and potential of the LGBT community,”…