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in this issue
Issue 26-08/// Apr 15 - 28, 2026
13 Fiesta San Antonio 2026
07 News
The Opener News in Brief
Bad Takes
San Antonio needs more police oversight, not more police on the streets
Border Barriers
Texas’ abortion ban is hitting immigrant communities hardest, especially those in South Texas
15 Calendar
Our picks of things to do powerful
21 Arts Cornyation Collaborators
Auditor’s Certification:
San Antonio creatives Chris Sauter and Rick Frederick take us behind the scenes of Fiesta’s most irreverent tradition
Money Time
The future is now for the Spurs as the team enters its first playoffs in six seasons
33Screens
Loathe Thy Neighbor
HBO docuseries explores bitter conflict between two San Antonio residents
37Food Pure Bliss
Exemplary restaurant Bliss remains a stalwart of San Antonio’s dining scene
Cooking Up Conversation
Diving into the details of NIOSA, one of Fiesta’s best-loved food events, with DeAnna Keesee
43Music
Familiar Turf
Musician Mike Frazier’s upcoming shows with the Bad Quitters and the Shut Ups represent a San Antonio homecoming
Critics’ Picks
On the Cover: Yes, Fiesta San Antonio is here again. We have plenty of content to read about the biggest party of the year as you stack up those cups. Cover Design: Ana Paula Gutierrez.
Jaime Monzon
HARDWARE ACCESSORIES VINYL RECORDS CDS DVDS BLU-RAYS 4K VIDEO GAMES HARDWARE ACCESSORIES VINYL RECORDS CDS DVDS BLU-RAYS 4K VIDEO GAMES HARDWARE ACCESSORIES VINYL RECORDS CDS DVDS BLU-RAYS 4K VIDEO GAMES HARDWARE ACCESSORIES VINYL RECORDS CDS DVDS BLU-RAYS 4K VIDEO GAMES HARDWARE ACCESSORIES VINYL RECORDS CDS DVDS BLU-RAYS 4K VIDEO GAMES HARDWARE ACCESSORIES VINYL RECORDS CDS DVDS BLU-RAYS 4K VIDEO GAMES HARDWARE ACCESSORIES VINYL RECORDS CDS DVDS BLU-RAYS 4K VIDEO GAMES HARDWARE ACCESSORIES VINYL RECORDS CDS DVDS BLU-RAYS 4K VIDEO GAMES HARDWARE ACCESSORIES VINYL RECORDS CDS DVDS BLU-RAYS 4K VIDEO GAMES HARDWARE ACCESSORIES VINYL RECORDS CDS DVDS BLU-RAYS 4K VIDEO GAMES HARDWARE ACCESSORIES VINYL RECORDS CDS DVDS BLU-RAYS 4K
Saturday, May 2, 2026 9am
ACCESSORIES VINYL RECORDS CDS DVDS BLU-RAYS 4K VIDEO GAMES HARDWARE ACCESSORIES VINYL RECORDS CDS DVDS BLU-RAYS 4K VIDEO GAMES HARDWARE ACCESSORIES VINYL RECORDS CDS DVDS BLU-RAYS 4K VIDEO GAMES HARDWARE ACCESSORIES VINYL RECORDS CDS DVDS BLU-RAYS 4K
H-E-B
Where Science Gets Seriously Fun!
Calling all curious minds! Viva Science SA is coming to San Antonio with interactive science booths, amazing science talks, a science-themed art show and delicious food trucks. Meet real scientists, learn about STEM and discover what makes science so exciting. It's free, family-friendly and fun for all ages.
Curious about science? Visit VivaScienceSA.com
That Rocks/That Sucks
Some 2,500 Texans could die as a result of Republican cuts to the Supplemental Nutritional Access Program (SNAP), according to a new study from liberal think tank Center for American Progress. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump last summer, cut SNAP funding by $187 billion and introduced new work requirements for eligibility in the program. Enrollment in SNAP has already declined by 2.6 million people nationwide.
Musicians from around the world will travel to San Antonio to honor the late Flaco Jiménez at the Tejano Conjunto Festival in mid-May. Jiménez, who died last July at the age of 86, was a legendary conjunto artist and ambassador who collaborated with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel and Emmylou Harris. Musicians from Mexico, Spain, Japan, and the Netherlands are all scheduled to perform at the festival tribute.
A new lawsuit alleges that a 3-year-old migrant child was sexually abused while in federal custody at a foster care facility in the Rio Grande Valley. The girl and her mother illegally crossed the border near El Paso last September and were eventually separated, the Associated Press reports. The Office of Refugee Resettlement took custody of the girl and placed her in a foster care facility in Harlingen, where she was allegedly abused multiple times by an older child.
It’s about to get simpler to operate a food truck in Texas. A new statewide permitting system for mobile kitchens is set to go into effect July 1, which is expected to save some operators hundreds of dollars in fees that historically have been assessed in each city they operate in instead of once statewide. City governments will continue to determine when and where trucks can operate, but they will no longer collect permitting or inspection fees.
— Abe Asher
YOU SAID IT!
“It’s the same cruelty, but there’s more secrecy now.”
Pretending to root out Medicaid fraud with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton
Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark.
Ken Paxton is at it again.
And as with most of the Texas attorney general’s greatest hits, this latest reeks of a man desperately flailing for attention.
In case anyone missed it, Paxton — who’s facing a Republican primary runoff as he chases U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s seat — last week made the chest-thumping announcement that he’s “launched investigations into dozens of Medicaid providers across Texas.”
Making things even spicier for the MAGA base, he claimed that his dragnet stems from a data dump wrangled out of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services via the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency.”
Yes, DOGE.
You remember DOGE, right? The short-lived entity whose chief, Elon Musk, initially pledged would shave $2 trillion of waste from the federal budget. Of course, the billionaire and his clueless cadre of tech bros ended up doing nothing of the sort — despite all the chaos, job cuts and risks to Americans’ private data they managed to cook up.
Let’s cut through the smoke here: Paxton’s announcement isn’t about protecting taxpayers or rooting out Medicaid fraud. It’s about politics.
Specifically, it’s about Paxton’s need to juice up the MAGA base as he claws his way through a brutal runoff with Cornyn. When you’re an underfunded, scandal-scarred candidate with indictments, near-impeachments and alleged extramarital affairs as baggage, you don’t run on character or competence — you run on outrage.
The playbook couldn’t be more obvious. Take a half-baked, right-wing fever dream — in this case,
An excavation has uncovered several two-century-old structures at Fox Tech High School near the site of the future home of the San Antonio Missions minor-league baseball team. The campus is set to receive a makeover as part of a 2020 bond, but before construction could begin, SAISD had to conduct an archaeological review. That turned up structures including the ruins of the San Pedro acequia system and the remnants of a former mayor’s home.
The “ShamWow Guy,” Offer Vince Shlomi, garnered fewer than 3,000 votes in his long-shot bid to win the Republican U.S. House nomination for Texas’ 31st District — and those votes didn’t come cheap. Shlomi spent more than $320,000 of
the nonsense about “massive Medicaid fraud” in Minnesota that’s been floating around conservative echo chambers — and you slap a Texas label on it. Yee-fucking-haw!
“Ken Paxton is trying to emulate Trump and all the BS people have been spreading about Minnesota, from what I can tell,” UT-San Antonio political scientist Jon Taylor said, cutting to the chase. “It’s laughable, especially when you consider that he’s trying to tie all this to DOGE. If DOGE has been anything, it’s been a failure.”
But never mind whether Paxton’s claim holds up under scrutiny. Never mind whether the data actually supports his insinuations. The goal here isn’t truth. It’a about landing time with friendly media, firing up the base and screaming, “Look! I’m owning the libs!” Or whoever Paxton’s hoping to own this week.
It’s not just cynical. It’s lazy.
Once again, Paxton is playing the role of crusader while quietly sidestepping the fact that he’s transformed his office into a political weapon first and an agency of public service second. To point, an investigation last year by Austin TV station KXAN found that his office owed Texans $21 billion in child support.
And here’s the kicker: this assclown’s not even good at his own act. There’s no originality here, no clever angle, no fresh scandal at which to pearl clutch — just reheated talking points and a lot of bluster.
Hey, Ken, you’re going to peddle bullshit, at least have the decency to make it interesting.
— Sanford Nowlin
his own money on his ill-fated campaign, campaign finance reports show. The former TV pitchman finished in sixth place in the primary, which was won by incumbent U.S. Rep. John Carter.
Years before U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales began an affair with staffer Regina Santos-Aviles, who later committed suicide, he tried to pressure another staffer into a sexual relationship, the Express-News reports. Gonzales sent texts to the political director of his 2020 campaign asking her for nude pictures and making sexually explicit remarks, according to messages obtained by the daily. The staffer said she decided to make the messages public after learning of Santos-Aviles’ death. Gonzales ended his re-election campaign last month. — Abe Asher
WIkimedia Commons Gage Skidmore
San Antonio needs more police oversight, not more police on the streets
BY KEVIN SANCHEZ
BadTakesisacolumnofopinionand analysis.
I recently took a pleasant stroll through the traffic-free streets of downtown San Antonio last month with 10,000 like-minded critics of a neo-royalist regime.
While my girlfriend and I argued whether protests such as the “No Kings” march in which we participated serve as tranquilizing substitutes for more effective political action — her position — or whether they can help broaden and embolden the movement — mine — we watched a couple of drones hover high above our heads, presumably snapping photos of the protesters.
The friendly neighborhood cops who dutifully kept impatient cars from accelerating through the passing crowd were downright genteel compared to the ICE agents elsewhere whom we have recently witnessed executing citizens in the street. In fairness though, everyday police still hold their own in the killing department. Last year, only six days elapsed in which police officers killed zero civilians, and across the nation, officers shoot more than 1,000 of us dead annually. In contrast, police in England and Wales have fatally shot less than 100 people since the 1990s.
Yet the outgoing president of San Antonio’s police union, Danny Diaz, during a February appearance on KLRN interview program On The Record, expressed nostalgia for the good old days when cops exuded “a warrior mentality” instead of the effete de-escalatory approaches he feels predominate today. Last week, Diaz announced his
retirement at the end of May after three decades of service.
“Policing has changed in the last 30 years,” Diaz told host Randy Beamer. “Since [the murder of] George Floyd, you have ‘de-escalate’, ‘retreat.’ When I started, ‘retreat’ was a word you never heard. It was a warrior mentality.”
Surely, the warriors came out to play when three officers shot 16 rounds into 46-year-old Melissa Perez’s home back in 2023, ending her life. The San Antonio mother of four suffered from schizophrenia and was having a mental health crisis.
The cops called to the scene didn’t retreat when she began swinging a hammer.
Last November, all the shooters were acquitted of any wrongdoing. The San Antonio Police Officers’ Association not only welcomed the verdict, but Diaz recommended a vote of no confidence in Police Chief William McManus for even arresting the officers responsible.
Perez’s killing provides the sorrowful film score for the negiotiation of a new San Antonio police union contract that’s now underway.
While I would never begrudge someone a higher salary, whether they’re a barista or a beat cop, isn’t it odd that right-of-center politicians readily accuse teachers unions of making it impossible to fire bad educators yet fall over one another to court favor with police unions?
“Some jobs can’t have bad apples, okay?” comedian Chris Rock once quipped. “Like … pilots. American Air-
lines can’t be like, ‘You know most of our pilots like to land. We’ve just got a few bad apples that like to crash into mountains. Please bear with us.’”
To the extent there have been any concessions on removing officers with histories of misconduct from the San Antonio Police Department, we can thank ACT 4 SA, a grassroots organization dedicated to accountable, compassionate, and transparent public safety — hence the ACT part of its name.
After a May 2021 ballot initiative advanced by the organization to strip the police union of collective bargaining rights came within a hair’s breadth of passing, the union had to know they were playing with five fouls. The subsequent contract was finalized in a matter of months with minimal contentiousness.
On the February broadcast, Diaz also said “a handful” of officers have left the department following ICE’s offer of a $50K signing bonus to new recruits.
Exactly how many constitutes “a handful” might be a pressing question for reporters to ask his successor.
Meanwhile, instead of focusing on retention of the cops we’ve got, District 10 Councilor Marc Whyte asked his colleagues earlier this month to commit to hiring 65 more police officers to the tune of $8 million over the next two years.
Although Whyte likes to cosplay as a fiscal conservative interested in ensuring taxpayers get the most bang for our buck, he proposed his resolution before
the Public Safety Committee, on which he also sits, even had a chance to run the numbers.
In a recent Current investigation of potential SAPD overtime abuse, Digital Editor Stephanie Koithan questioned why San Antonio keeps adding officers and piling on overtime when statistics show crime is down.
ACT 4 SA has called for a cap on overtime pay and an independent audit of police overtime spending before the new labor contract is sealed. Where are the opponents of “waste, fraud, and abuse” when we need them?
“Countries that are highly unequal devote a significant fraction of their labor force to ‘guard labor’ — that is, the labor which is dedicated to essentially maintaining order,” economist Samuel Bowles explained in a talk 10 years ago. “The United States devotes much more of our labor to that than do the more equal European societies.” And, he added, “It’s a waste.”
If budgets are moral documents, the moral of the GOP’s is to double-down on militarization and detention camps, while leaving students, doctors, farmers and workers to fend for themselves.
Those who truly desire safer neighborhoods should bet on after-school programs, not punitive quick-fixes, and help build a more robust social safety net for us all. Because those with a social justice warrior mentality are likely to stay on the march.
Michael Karlis
news
Border Barriers
Texas’ abortion ban is hitting immigrant communities hardest, especially those in South Texas
BY MICHAEL KARLIS
Getting access to abortion care in the Lone Star State has become nearly impossible thanks to the actions of the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature. However, nowhere have the consequences been more dire or challenging than in the Rio Grande Valley, according to reproductive rights advocates. Even as preventable deaths due to Texas’s strict abortion ban continue to pile up, traveling out of state for abortion care is nearly impossible for many South Texas women, said Zaena Zamora, executive director of the reproductive-justice group the Frontera Fund.
“People in my community are having to travel more than 12 hours to drive out of state,” Zamora said during a panel discussion at last month’s SXSW festival. “If they’re taking a bus, that’s a 24-hour bus ride. If they’re taking a flight, it’s a two- or three-hour flight to get their care. Living in border communities can be very difficult because of geographically where we’re located.”
That geographic isolation is only part of the challenge. Zamora, whose organization is based in McAllen, said heightened immigration enforcement has created an additional layer of fear and risk for those seeking care.
For residents of the Rio Grande Valley, traveling north requires passing through interior immigration checkpoints located roughly 100 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. The checkpoints, established in 1953 as part of a federal enforcement zone, allow agents to question travelers about their citizenship status and conduct warrantless searches.
No room to move
While checkpoints were historically intended to intercept drug trafficking and human smuggling, advocates said their role has expanded since Trump’s immigration crackdown, which creates a climate of fear among Valley residents.
“If a person is undocumented or they’re traveling with somebody who has mixed status, they have to travel through that checkpoint,” Zamora said.
“Now, at our local airport, there’s also a Border Patrol presence who will ask us about our citizenship status, even when entering the TSA line. It’s a lot of barriers like this that really target immigrant communities.”
As a result, South Texas women are looking south to Mexico, where abortion medication such as misoprostol is available over the counter.
“Mexico has always been a way for us to access healthcare, and abortion care is no different,” Zamora said. “Even before [the Texas ban], a lot of people would access healthcare in Mexico and go there to get
abortion medication like misoprostol.”
But that option’s not open to everyone either. Undocumented individuals can’t safely cross the border, and even many legal residents fear increased scrutiny or detention as during the Trump White House’s draconian crackdown.
Indeed, a ProPublica report published last October identified more than 170 U.S. citizens who had been detained by ICE — some for days — before being released from custody.
‘Climate of fear’
The consequences of Texas’ abortion ban and the federal immigration crackdown have been dire for women in the Valley, Zamora said.
In 2021, 28-year-old Honduran immigrant Josseli Barnica died after experiencing complications during a miscarriage. Doctors delayed her care because the fetus still had cardiac activity even though the pregnancy had become nonviable, according to news reports.
She later died of an infection.
In another case, Lizelle Gonzalez of Starr County was arrested in 2022 after seeking care for a miscarriage after taking misoprostol. A nurse reported her to the authorities, alleging a self-induced abortion.
Although Texas law doesn’t allow for criminal charges against a pregnant person for ending their own pregnancy, authorities in Starr County arrested Gonzalez and charged her with murder. The charges were dropped days later, and Gonzales subsequently filed a federal lawsuit against those responsible for her arrest. Even so, a federal judge last week dismissed Starr County officials from Gonzalez’s legal claim.
Zamora said these cases contribute to a broader climate of fear that discourages people from seeking care.
“This is just kind of a picture that we see with people trying to travel out of state and trying to access abortion care, whether at home, out of state and within our border communities,” she said.
Michael Karlis
The Alamo Colleges District Is Making History
a 2026 Leader College of Distinction by Achieving the Dream
When our students succeed, San Antonio rises. The Alamo Colleges District is removing barriers, opening doors, and creating opportunity across our region. From healthcare to cybersecurity, we’re preparing students for the jobs San Antonio needs now.
THU | 04.16 - SUN | 04.26
SPECIAL EVENT
FIESTA SAN ANTONIO 2026
If you haven’t had beer or a margarita spilled on your shoes at NIOSA, have you truly celebrated Fiesta? San Antonio’s annual citywide party is almost upon us, this year running April 16 to April 26. For Fiesta first-timers, knowing how to navigate the festivities can be a bit daunting. However, even old hands at the celebration could use a refresher on hitting highlights that haven’t yet made it into their personal rotations. That’s why we compiled a straightforward guide on some of Fiesta’s best-loved events, allowing you to enjoy the indulgence one chicken-on-a-stick at a time. Keep in mind, the celebration features multiple parades, singular events and carnivals, so it may be a good idea to visit fiestasanantonio.org/schedule to take in the myriad options. — Katherine Stinson
OYSTER BAKE
Don’t let the name fool you. There’s more than oysters available at the eponymous gathering. The twoday party takes place at St. Mary’s University Friday and Saturday, April 17-18. While oysters are the star culinary attraction — the event typically results in over 100,000 oysters served, depending on demand, sometimes more — there are plenty of other foods available to purchase. Guests can partake in oysters served in a variety of creative ways along with chicken-on-a-stick, corn dogs and a variety of fried foods as far as the eye can see. Check the schedule for an array of musical performances. 1 Camino Santa Maria, oysterbake.com.
NIOSA
Night In Old San Antonio, or NIOSA, is a foodie’s paradise that runs April 21-24. The event is divided into different global stations, each representing a contribution to SA’s cultural heritage — so you can grab sausage from Sauerkraut bend, enjoy gumbo in the French Quarter, nosh on egg rolls in China Town and wash it all down with a wine margarita or two. They’re called Niosaritas for a reason. Other drinks include wine, beer, and specialty cocktails like Smirnoff preparadas and an assortment of nonalcoholic drinks. Don’t forget to feast on NIOSA’s famous bongo-k-babs in the Froggy Bottom area before you head out — they’re a must-try. 227 S. Presa St., (210) 226-5188, niosa.org.
A TASTE OF NEW ORLEANS
Like the name says, A Taste of New Orleans, April 17-19, is a ticket to Creole and Cajun cuisine. Held at the Sunken Garden Theater in Brackenridge Park, this weekend-long party features multiple vendors selling NOLA-inspired bites and beverages. Expect gumbo, crawfish boils, étouffée, jambalaya, boudin, beignets, and even alligator. Given that this event pays homage to the Big Easy, naturally there are Hurricane cocktails available for purchase, in addition to other classics like margaritas, beers, wine and nonalcoholic options like soda. The event thrown by the San Antonio Zulu Association is also full of great music, from zydeco and Big Easy-style brass bands to soul and R&B, so check the schedule and plan accordingly. 3875 N. St. Mary’s St., saza.org.
TASTE OF THE REPUBLIC
If you’re looking for an experience similar to NIOSA but on a different scale, try Taste of the Republic. The Fiesta kickoff bash on April 16 features an array of local food vendors, wine pairings and much more. So why the “republic” part of the name? Each vendor will represent a certain region of cuisine in the Texas republic — from Central Texas to the Gulf. So while NIOSA centers around global cuisine, a Taste of the Republic keeps things set straight in Texas. Each $150 ticket is all-inclusive for food and drinks. 210 W. Market St., tasteoftherepublic.com.
KING WILLIAM FAIR
One of the last events of Fiesta, Saturday, April 25’s King William Fair has it all — a parade, live entertainment, and, yes, plenty of food. Another nice detail about the food and drink scene at the King William Fair? There’s a Texas Wine Garden, wherein all the vendors serve solely Texas-sourced wines. No California pours here. The garden itself also features a rotating lineup of live music and scenic decor. It’s the perfect adults-only escape. There’s plenty of chicken-on-a-stick to be had here, with other popular Fiesta foods and other bites onsite from participating food vendors. And since King William is adjacent to Southtown, you can bet that an amazing amount of locally produced arts and crafts will be on display — and for sale. 122 Madison St., kwfair.org
Ismael Rodriguez
Jaime Monzon
Jaime Monzon
calendar
ONGOING - SUN | 04.26
THEATER
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
Experience the Broadway musical and ’80s cult film sensation in person as it’s brought to life by UT-San Antonio’s new Dramatic Arts Program. Launched in 2025, the program combines performance, stagecraft and emerging technology with the history of the genre. New courses are available in acting for stage, screen and emerging media; stage management, directing and playwriting; set design, lighting, choreography and more. Deeply invested in working with established local and national theatre groups, students have the opportunity to set the stage aflame, so to speak. This production will let the community see how all of it comes together. $5-25, 2-5 p.m. daily, Buena Vista Theater, 501 César E Chávez Blvd., (850) 228-8205, utsa.edu. — Anjali Gupta
ERIC O’CONNELL: ‘PINHOLE PHOTOGRAPHY’
Bodies blurred by the tempo of a fleeting moment, light inextricably shifting without plausible provocation, captured moments inextricably draped over one another — Eric O’Connell’s pinhole photography is atmospheric, but not altogether intangible. This exhibition of O’Connell’s work invites the viewer into a poetic convergence of feathery illumination and protruded memory. His current series, portraits of contemporary artists, was created using a platinum-palladium pinhole technique. Each image is a one-of-a-kind print, hand-coated with a light sensitive solution on paper made even more distinct by visible brushstrokes. Free, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. daily, Parman Library at Stone Oak, 20735 Wilderness Oak, (210) 207-2703, mysapl.org. — AG
Courtesy Photo _ Agarita
SUN | 04.19
CLASSICAL MUSIC
SETH NELSON-KEVIN MCCORMICK
The Chapel of the Incarnate Word’s Caritas Concerts series primarily focus on presenting organ music, and this fifth installment of its current season will pair the chapel’s majestic pipe organ with an uncommon collaborator: a guitarist. Seth Nelson, organist for First Baptist Church of San Antonio, will perform music of the season — encompassing both Fiesta and Easter themes — and conclude the concert in a duet with well-traveled guitarist Kevin McCormick from Vivaldi’s “Spring.” McCormick also will premiere an original set of etudes for guitar inspired by the Texas Hill Country along with another new piece and chants arranged for guitar. Free, 4 p.m., Chapel of the Incarnate Word, 4503 Broadway, (210) 828-2224, ext. 294, ccvichapel.org. — Sanford Nowlin
WED | 04.22
LECTURE
EVERYDAY AESTHETIC ACTIVISM
Trinity University welcomes Sherri Irvin, professor of philosophy at the University of Oklahoma and vice president of the American Society for Aesthetics, for a lecture about the philosophy of art. Irvin focuses on the intersection of aesthetics and social justice as experienced in everyday life, based largely on research conducted for her book Immaterial: Rules in Contemporary Art (Oxford University Press, 2022). She parses the practices of contemporary artists, curators, conservators and critics to discuss the possibilities of successful creative expression. Free, 7-8:30 p.m., Trinity University Campus, 1 Trinity Place, (210) 999-8305, trinity.edu — AG
Courtesy Photo _ San Antonio Book Festival
Courtesy Photo Chapel of the Incarnate Word
WED | 04.22
LECTURE
WATER WONKS HOUR LECTURE SERIES #4: A DEEP DIVE INTO ATMOSPHERIC WATER GENERATION
Atmospheric water generation (AWG), although not a new technology, is little known outside the study of water generation. This method creates liquid H2O by condensing atmospheric humidity, which could very well have remarkable worldwide utility. In this lecture and discussion — a primer on the subject co-presented by Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance Policy and Programs Intern Audrey Marik and Eric Sheng, co-founder and chief operating officer of climatology and water tech outfit Aquaria — explores the infinite potential of this technology. Free with reservation, 3:30-4:30 p.m., Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, 1809 Blanco Road, (210) 320-6294, aquiferalliance.org. — AG
THU – SUN | 04.23 – 04.26
THEATER
NOTEVERYMOUNTAIN
Trinity University’s Department of Human Communication and Theatre closes its 60th season with NOT EVERY MOUNTAIN, created and presented by Rude Mechs, an Austin-based performance collaborative. NOT EVERY MOUNTAIN is a rumination on humanity’s place in the Anthropocene, presented as an extended metaphor about the life cycle of mountains — how they form and eventually dematerialize. The work is scored by Peter Stopschinski, co-creator along with Graham Reynolds of the Golden Hornet Project, a laboratory for contemporary composers. Ambitious and poetic, this play promises to deliver in both scale and scope. Free with reservation, 8 p.m., Stieren Theater at the Ruth Taylor Theater Building, 1 Trinity Place, (210) 999-8305, trinity.edu. — AG
Courtesy Photo Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance
Courtesy Photo _ Artpace
Cornyation Collaborators
San Antonio creatives Chris Sauter and Rick Frederick take us behind the scenes of Fiesta’s most irreverent tradition
BY BRYAN RINDFUSS
With family-friendly roots that date to 1951, Cornyation was devised by San Antonio Little Theatre director Bob Salek to lampoon Fiesta’s stuffiest tradition: the Coronation of the Queen of the Order of the Alamo.
For its debut at the Arneson River Theatre during A Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA), comically named duchesses paraded ridiculous gowns for King Anchovy before he crowned the Empress of the Cracked Salad Bowl. By 1965, Cornyation had evolved into a bawdy satire that got thrown out of NIOSA — only to be revived in the 1980s as an uncensored romp at Bonham Exchange. In the 2000s, Cornyation settled into its current home at the Empire Theatre.
More than half of a century after its inception, Cornyation remains an irreverent Fiesta fan favorite that gets crowds roaring. During six performances on three nights, between 10 and 12 volunteer groups present campy skits mocking local and national politics, current events, pop-culture icons and plenty in between. In keeping with Fiesta’s mission to be “a party with a purpose,” Cornyation is a heavy-duty fundraiser that’s donated millions to local AIDS charities and LGBTQ+ organizations.
Although Fiesta fanatics are well aware of the Cornyation basics, there’s plenty about the beloved event that remains unseen. In hopes of going behind the scenes, we sat down with Rick Frederick and Chris Sauter — married San Antonio creatives who’ve been involved with Cornyation for more than a decade. While they were happy to share insider trivia and colorful anecdotes about the skits they’ve helped bring to life — mishaps and all — details are still under wraps for this year’s Cornyation, which is set for April 21-23, when King Anchovy LIX Marty Schlesinger will preside over the Court of Highfalutin Radicals. But first, a little background.
Rick Frederick
Born and raised in Detroit, Rick Frederick studied fashion design, ceramics and dance in college but ultimately found himself feeling directionless.
“I was like, this is way too expensive to not know what to do,” Frederick told the Current. “So I dropped out.” After a stint doing improv and frequenting renaissance fairs, he found his way into the Detroit theater scene through a conservatory program. With professional experience under his belt, he relocated to Chicago and spent 13 years there working with a theater company. “It was great but then 9/11 happened and everything was crazy,” he recalled. “It was really difficult to do left-leaning political work in a climate where everybody just wanted musicals. So I pulled back from the theater company and started working for Thomas Blackman and Associates, who runs the international art fair Art Chicago.”
Through his work there, Frederick met San Antonio artist Chris Sauter, who was exhibiting work in Chicago. After hitting it off, the pair struck up a long-distance relationship and Frederick eventually moved to San Antonio in 2005. Frederick took a job at Liberty Bar and his introduction to Cornyation came via coworker Matt Wolff, who was designing skits.
“I jumped in and did makeup for them because I had a theater background,” Frederick said. “That was when it was ‘tortilla time’ and it was crazy backstage with lots of drinking. And the audience was crazy. I was just like, ‘What have I fallen into? This is amazing.’ It was really appealing to be [part of] this San Antonio culture with tortillas flying around and this exuberance.”
Frederick eventually took over design duties for the group — with Sauter among his players — until he became one of the event’s emcees. A self-described “theater freak,” Frederick recently celebrated his nine-year anniversary at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, where he serves as
the Creative and Resident Relations Director as well as the Producing Artistic Director of the Tobin’s 100A Productions, a local theater company that’s now in its third season.
Chris Sauter
Born in San Antonio and raised in Boerne, Chris Sauter is an accomplished visual artist whose work has been exhibited at the McNay Art Museum, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and MoMA PS1. Primarily working between sculpture, installation, drawing and video, Sauter has creatively explored the intersections of science and religion, the construction of identity and, as he puts it, “why people believe things that are not true.”
Sauter’s unique perspective and mastery of unexpected materials made him an ideal fit for a Cornyation designer but he started as an actor in one of Frederick’s skits.
“I played George Bush,” Sauter said of his debut, which involved him and a troupe of short-shorted female soldiers emerging from underneath a massive gown worn by Cornyation duchess Dana Montana — who was decked out to evoke oil personified.
“People didn’t notice that we were scurrying in underneath the skirt so we could pop out at the end. It was pretty amazing,” he added.
The following year he played televangelist Ted Haggard in a skit referencing his scandal with a meth-dealing male prostitute.
In 2012, Sauter began designing skits for his own group, which has won Cornyation’s coveted Spirit Award multiple times.
“I’ve populated my group with a lot of people who have the skills to make things,”
Sauter explained. “We start meeting in January and making props. We’re pretty prop heavy — it’s narrative-driven and costume-driven. I try to keep it duchess-focused so [there’s still] a connection to Coronation. … I have all these fantasies about what to do for Cornyation each year [and] I have a
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dark sense of humor. … I’m doing something really dark [this year].
I’m making the duchess’ antebellum dress out of white trash But I’m not going to give away too much because it’s totally about surprise this year.”
Outside of Cornyation and his career as a visual artist, Sauter works in the art and art history department at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he earned his MFA in 1996.
Corny trivia
During our chat with Frederick and Sauter, we learned quite a bit about the inner workings of Cornyation. For starters, there are no rehearsals with the full cast. Individual groups hold offsite rehearsals but the entire cast isn’t in the same room together until the first show of the year.
“The first show on Tuesday is essentially our dress rehearsal,” Sauter confirmed. “And nobody knows what anyone else is doing,” Frederick added.
The skits are limited to four minutes each with a maximum of 10 people on stage at the same time. “So it’s months of work for 24 minutes on stage,” Sauter continued.
Amusingly, Cornyation’s opening-night performance coincides with the actual Coronation, which takes place right behind the Empire at the
Majestic Theatre. Situated back-toback, the sister theaters share dressing rooms — meaning that Coronation gets half and Cornyation gets the other half — and “duchesses” from both events are getting dolled up in close proximity at the same time.
Another lesser-known tidbit, the Cornyation Spirit Award is an internal affair based on participant voting.
Beyond bragging rights and a DIY trophy, the winning group gets to select the winning group the following year.
“You get the trophy for a year and you add [elements] to it,” said Sauter, whose group won the Spirit Award in 2025. “They recently retired the old trophy, which was so big it had to be carted around on a dolly. It was actually two trophies strapped together.”
Confessions of an emcee
During his stint as a Cornyation emcee, Frederick shared duties with other announcers including Dana Montana and former Current editor Elaine Wolff. Oftentimes, Frederick wasn’t given the script until the day before opening night.
“It was already hard to work a fulltime job at the Tobin and then do two shows a night,” he said. “Whereas all the crews are going on for four minutes twice a night, the emcees are on fulltime. They have intermission breaks
and then they go back on. One time I was backstage waiting for the curtain to open, and I was just standing there with my eyes closed because when you go on, you’ve got to fuel that crowd.
[Former Cornyation emcee] Michael Quintanilla taught me how to do that. I modeled myself after him, but it takes a lot of energy. … It’s this balance of trying to keep it fresh and improvisational. That’s why working with Elaine was really good: she knows everybody and would tell me, ‘So-and-so is in the audience. Say this.’ [One night] Elaine was like, ‘There are a ton of former King Anchovies here tonight. So after the start of the second act, let’s call them out and cheer them.’”
Once they’d toasted the royalty in the crowd, a voice rang out from one of the Empire’s top boxes: “What about me?!”
That voice belonged to former San Antonio City Council member and former King Anchovy Debra Guerrero.
“She was not on my list and she kept yelling back down. I was like, ‘Bitch, sit down! This isn’t about you tonight!’ I didn’t know her … but I do now. Every time she sees me, she’s like, ‘You’re the only person brave enough to call me a bitch in public!”’
Trump dump
Likely unbeknownst to him, Don-
ald Trump has been a Cornyation fixture since at least 2016. Thanks to Sauter’s darkly creative sense of humor, Number 47 is frequently associated with Number 2.
“I’m really into the scatological,” Sauter confessed. “Well it’s Trump — what can you do? I’ve had Trump in my skit many times. In one of my favorites, Trump was a big pig head based on Lord of the Flies but [our version] was Lord of the Lies and there was shit flowing out of his mouth. And our duchess was [the embodiment of] shit, so she was blowing diarrhea. It was amazing. And she danced to “Fuck the Pain Away” by Peaches. But [Cornyation Director] Ray Chavez didn’t want us to say ‘fuck’ so I [bleeped it with] a farting sound.”
“I was throwing turds out of Trump’s mouth that knocked over the ‘shithole countries’ and got buried in a pile of shit,” Frederick added.
Another year, Sauter’s skit employed George Michael’s 1998 arrest as a peg for a Texas “bathroom bill” skit that rained down on Trump. “We had a giant toilet and our duchess came out of it dressed as George Michael. And then, while standing on a toilet, she transformed into the Duchess of Pee. Her dress was covered in pee and she was peeing on all the people around. … [We used] shiny, yellow Chinese
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paper yo-yos [to simulate that].”
Having built it, Sauter was rightfully concerned about the safety of his eight-foot prop toilet on wheels.
“The toilet started moving,” he said. “And she was really high. So she’s surfing this thing as it’s moving. … Fortunately, I saw it happen and since I was playing a ‘Squatty Potty’ prince from the Squatty Potty commercials, I just went out early and held the toilet so she wouldn’t fall. … And then all these golden streamers came down from the ceiling and we had a Trump from someone else’s skit come out and frolic in them to ‘Singin’ in the Rain.’ Because at the time the news was about him liking to get peed on by Russian prostitutes.”
Measles in the Magic Kingdom
Drawing creative inspiration from a Disneyland outbreak, Sauter designed a skit titled “Measles in the Magic Kingdom” that employed Disney songs as narration. Although his group has rehearsed at local venues including the Guadalupe Theater and SAY Sí, Sauter has also made an impromptu stage out
of the front yard of his artist studio, which happens to be a former church on San Antonio’s East Side.
“We were out there with our Disney heads on and we’re all vomiting. It was gross but people just loved it. We had an audience and they were getting their pictures taken with us. … I just love this kind of impromptu theater [and that people were wondering] what do they do in that church?”
Making people cry
“People cried last year, and that was why we won,” Sauter said of his group’s 2025 skit. “It was all about how Trump was wanting Greenland, Gaza and the Panama Canal. So we had him as a voracious, hungry big baby and our Duchess was the world. We made a dress that was as big as the whole stage — it was a big map split into five sections. Five of us were inside of the dress with our heads sticking out wearing little hats that said Gaza or Greenland or Canada. And then Trump’s like, ‘I’m so hungry, feed me!’ So we had Elon Musk come out in a Cybertruck and he started
taking bits of the earth and feeding it to Donald Trump. He ripped chunks of the dress off until our duchess was naked. She looked like Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus and [Trump’s] diaper kept getting bigger … and eventually it exploded. All of us who had been ‘eaten’ had turned into the poop so we flew out and plopped on the floor. And then our secondary duchess [came out] dressed like a smiling sun in a dress striped like all the Pride flags — she was like the personification of DEI. She started watering the poop to the [1965 song] ’What the World Needs Now Is Love.’ We were all dressed as flowers underneath the poop and we started coming out to the song ‘Rise Up.’ People just started screaming and crying because it started out so horrible and [ended with] this uplifting moment.
The Big Payoff
When asked about his favorite Cornyation moments from the last 14 years, Sauter turned away from dark humor to celebrate the event’s true soul.
“Cornyation was invited to the gala for Thrive Youth Center, which is one of the organizations that we give money to every year,” he said.
“They awarded us and I was invited to represent Cornyation. It became really obvious to me at that moment that we have an impact. What we are doing has an impact. That’s what keeps me here. One of the reasons why I keep doing this is because it’s for charity. It’s all fun and games, and we like to poke fun at our politics. But in the end, it’s really about service to others. And that’s very meaningful.”
McCombs Empire Theatre, 226 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 226-5700, majesticempire.com.
7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, April 21-23
Rick Frederick
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The future is now for the Spurs as the team enters its first playoffs in six seasons
BY M. SOLIS
At the start of the current NBA season, league MVP candidate Victor Wembanyama made his expectations for the Spurs clear. Defense was “nonnegotiable” regardless of player status, and “success would be getting into the playoffs and not the play-in,” meaning at least the sixth seed in a stacked Western Conference.
Wembanyama was recently named Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month for the third consecutive month, and San Antonio’s defensive rating has improved from 23rd in the league last season to third-best overall.
The Spurs also return to the NBA playoffs for the first time in six seasons as the second seed in the West, ending the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
“After he [Wembanyama] said that, I was hoping for them to be somewhere around the six seed,” said Spurs superfan Shea Serrano, author of five New York Times bestsellers, including Basketball (and Other Things). “I didn’t think that they would be as good as they are as quickly as they’ve gotten this good, so it’s been a tremendous amount of fun.”
In his latest bestseller, Expensive Basketball, Serrano reminds us that NBA legacies are forged in the playoffs. For the Spurs, this includes defining moments such as Sean Elliot’s Memorial Day Miracle in Game 2 of the 1999 Western Conference Finals, and Tim Duncan’s stellar performances in Game 6 of the 2003 conference semi-finals against the Lakers and Game 6 of the 2014 conference finals versus the Thunder.
High spirits
San Antonio’s longest tenured player, Sixth Man of the Year candidate Keldon Johnson recently described the team’s focus on forward momentum as the playoffs approach.
“We can’t backtrack now,” Johnson told reporters after a convincing home win versus the Chicago Bulls. “I feel like we’re preparing for something that only a few of us have been a part of. We can’t get complacent. We can’t be satisfied with what we have going on. We just gotta continue to strive for perfection.”
The Spurs were a perfect 11-0 in February and rattled off another double digit winning streak after that. Earlier this month, San Antonio crossed the 60-win mark for the first time since the 2016-17 season, when Hall of Famers Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were still on the roster.
Wembanyama has been phenomenal on both ends of the floor, and the backcourt trio of veteran De’Aaron Fox, rising star Stephon Castle and rookie Dylan Harper has the Spurs primed for a postseason run.
“We kind of knew Castle was going to be pretty good, but I don’t think anybody was expecting this,” Serrano said. “I was at the game against the Mavericks when he had that 40-plus point triple-double, and everybody was just looking around like, ‘Is this who this guy is now?’ Because that would be pretty great.”
‘All the tools’
Serrano also praised Harper’s growth during the season.
“I mean a rookie obviously, but [he’s] still showing those Tony Parker signs or those Manu Ginobili signs where you’re like, ‘Man, do we have a Big Three?’” Serrano said. “I think we have a Big Three again.”
Although lack of playoff experience remains a concern, with six of the team’s seven top scorers making their postseason debut, spirits are high in San Antonio. While no one is planning any river parades just yet, echoes of the Spurs’ signature beautiful game and the team’s egalitarian offense have fans on cloud nine.
“There’s clips going around where you see two, three, four, five extra passes, then we’re getting shots,” swingman Devin Vassell told reporters after a win against Milwaukee. “That’s what we were trying to instill these past couple of years, and with the team and talent we have now it’s obviously able to show.”
At the center of it all is Wembanyama, whose gravity and defensive impact
is undeniable. After recovering from last season’s deep vein thrombosis, the center is the overwhelming favorite for Defensive Player of the Year honors and is in the conversation for NBA MVP.
As the increased speed and physicality of the playoffs settles in, the experience of veterans including Fox, Harrison Barnes and Luke Kornet on the floor, and former players such as Rashard Lewis and Corliss Williamson on the coaching staff should prove beneficial.
“I just think we have all the tools to do it,” Stephon Castle told reporters last month after another resounding win.
“We have the right guys and we have great coaches that put us in great positions to succeed and win every game. I feel like we’ve shown what we can do
throughout the season. I feel like we have a lot of aspirations for this team, and obviously we’re still a young group, but I don’t think it’s too early for us.”
The NBA is better when the Spurs are in the playoffs, and so is San Antonio. After enduring consecutive 22-win seasons just two years ago, the Race for Seis resumes in April as the promise of a playoff run unites a hopeful fanbase. Adversity awaits.
“There’s a whole generation of Spurs fans who grew up and don’t know what that feels like,” Serrano said. “They don’t know what it feels like to have that confidence that you’re going to win a title or that you can at least have a chance to win a title. I’m very excited to see what that feels like in the city.”
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Loathe Thy Neighbor
HBO docuseries explores bitter conflict between two
San Antonio residents
BY KIKO MARTINEZ
The grass may be greener on the other side of the fence, but not for the feuding folks at the center of the HBO docuseries Neighbors.
Created by Harrison Fishman and Dylan Redford, the series explores the often bizarre and deeply personal conflicts between neighbors across the U.S. Those range from disputes over stray cats and extravagant Halloween decorations to a 71-year-old man’s decision to wear a yellow thong when he exercises outdoors.
In the fourth episode of the series titled White Privilege Card, Fishman and Redford introduce audiences to San Antonio residents Jeff Wentworth, a former Texas senator, and Alexa Person, an author and self-described alchemist. Their dispute centers on a 9-foot concrete wall that Person has built around her home in the affluent Oak Park-Northwood neighborhood in northeast San Antonio. Wentworth wants the wall, which is across the street from his home, torn down. He compares it to Osama Bin Laden’s compound.
Meanwhile, Person says she needs the wall to protect her psychic abilities from dark forces. Their encounter comes to a head at a San Antonio zoning board meeting, but not before they turn their spat into a saga.
During a recent interview with the Current, Fishman and Redford, who spent three weeks in San Antonio, talked about what initially attracted them to the story of Wentworth and Person, and why neighbor disputes are a universal battleground.
Neighbors is currently streaming on HBO Max.
At what point did you realize that this fence dispute wasn’t just a quirky neighborhood disagreement?
Dylan Redford: I think it happened when our head of casting started doing research and digging into the deeper layers of who Jeff and Alexa were. Once we got a better understanding of Jeff’s political history and his role in Texas politics, we thought it was so interesting. The research on Alexa also unearthed all the books she had written and this whole world she was involved in. The contrast between these two people living in very distinct worlds felt so unique.
How did you approach presenting Alexa’s
metaphysical beliefs without turning her into a caricature?
Harrison Fishman: The wall in some ways is like an extension of Alexa. It’s a barrier between her and the outside world and all these forces she feels might put her in danger. To someone just passing by, or to Jeff, it’s just a giant wall. But to Alexa, it’s like a force field. That idea is endlessly fascinating. It’s easy for us not to make caricatures of any of these people because we genuinely want to understand them.
DR: Our whole show is trying to understand why something that seems so small has gotten so big. To understand why Alexa has her wall, you have to understand her spiritual beliefs. That’s the only way to empathize with where she’s coming from and why she needs it. Our approach is always in service of a deeper understanding of the conflict — whether it seems crazy to you or not.
This story takes place in a highly affluent part of San Antonio. Did you worry that there might be a disconnect with viewers since this is a conflict between two wealthy people and could be considered a firstworld problem for those who don’t have the resources to pursue a legal battle like this?
HF: At its core, these things might seem ridiculous on the outside, but for the people on the inside, it’s consuming. It makes sense to look at it from the outside and see it as a first-world problem. It’s like, “Are these people arguing over a little patch of grass?!” But it’s not like they’re faking it. They’re feeling real emotions. DR: One of the great equalizers for the public is having to navigate government bureaucracy. When Alexa goes into that zoning hearing, she might exist in a certain social class. Some people are getting farming zoning permits and others are getting remodeling permits. It was part of the reason Jeff wanted to do the show — to show that everyone has equal access and that if you make enough noise, anyone can get things done. Whether you’re super rich or not,
everyone ends up in that same zoning board room where they have to make their case. Neighbor disputes are not something limited to a certain class. Everyone deals with having to negotiate your living space with someone else.
After spending so much time on this subject, what would you say are some of the larger takeaways that you hope viewers walk away with when they see Neighbors?
HF: There’s a universal nature to neighbor disputes. Everyone has to try to coexist with their neighbor no matter what your class or race or where you live. There have been a few people who have watched the show and told us that it makes them grateful for their positive neighbor relationships. It’s nice to make people aware that they even have neighbors.
DR: Everyone is capable of being in a neighbor dispute. There’s something that happens where people get access to their primal desire to defend what’s theirs. Once that’s activated, you’re capable of doing things that you never thought you’d be capable of doing. It’s easy to watch the show and say, “These people are all crazy!” But I guarantee you, anyone put in the position that some of these neighbors are put in would do things just as crazy.
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Pure Bliss
Exemplary restaurant Bliss remains a stalwart of San Antonio’s dining scene
BY RON BECHTOL
To judge by the number of publicity touts for new restaurants that scroll across my screen in any given week, you’d think San Antonio’s a culinary hotbed.
But in the immortal words of Aretha Franklin, “Chain chain chain…”
The vast majority of those promotions are for serial outlets — some from within Texas, such as a barbecue joint soon to open in a Bass Pro Shop, for example, while some hail from as far away as South Korea — a “Parisian” bakery with thousands of outlets around the world, no less. There’s nothing wrong with that. It all contributes to diversity of choice. Personally, though, I prefer to stay closer to home. And while I’m as excited as the next guy at the prospect of something new, I also like to occasionally revisit the players that have created our city’s foundation for the bright and shiny.
Along with durable favorites such as Biga and Bistr09, Bliss is one such stalwart, and it’s as good as it ever was. Which is to say very. The top of the menu is as good a place to start as any.
The mini-Hamachi tostadas were a brilliant blending of both Mexican and Japanese influences. Though the exact composition may vary, expect impeccable fish with yin and yang supporting players such as avocado, yuzu, ginger and serrano chile. Take your time, appreciate the play of flavors — the tostada won’t shatter. Much.
The platter of six oysters — from eastern Canada in this case — were less adorned, but no less satisfying. They arrived with a classic mignonette and “cilantro water” for anointing, lemon for squeezing and dramatic shards of squid ink crackers for the hell of it. A sharp white wine such as sauvignon blanc would be a good match. We twisted the usual equation a tad with a Chenin Blanc from South Africa and a white Côtes du Rhône. No alarms sounded.
Still plumbing the menu’s Starters category, we switched from surf to turf with roasted bone marrow served in a halved bone and topped with beef-tenderloin tartare enlivened with Dijon, capers and minced shallots. This is a textbook example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Marrow on its own can be dauntingly rich, and tartare a little boring. But together they bring out the best in each other.
Can I now interest you in a salad? Hope that the endive with halved white grapes, sliced pear, candied pecans and blue cheese is available. Arranged in a stratified presentation and served with a fruity vinaigrette, it offered a beautiful
combination of textures and sweet-to-mellow tastes.
Attention to presentation is a hallmark of Bliss’ cuisine — especially appropriate in what must surely be the classiest redo of a historic Humble Oil station anywhere.
The sautéed redfish, for example, provided an essay in simplicity — a little black dress equivalent with the golden-crisped fish sitting atop a pool of inky risotto, the whole complemented by a saffron-hued beurre blanc artfully placed off-center. Tiny beads of caviar added an onyx-like sparkle, while slivers of mushroom remained to be discovered in the risotto. Oh, and it tasted good too. While we’re in fashion mode, consider this advice from legendary designer Coco Chanel: “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” The grilled swordfish was beautiful on its own, but there seemed to be at least one too many elements in this composition: cauliflower, fennel, citrus supremes, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, quinoa “crunch” and tahini dressing. Enough!
The delicacy of seared sea scallops, bedded on mushroom risotto, was recognized in that plate’s simpler assembly with only a few accessory pearls
BLISS
926S.PresaSt.,(210)225-2547,foodisbliss.com.
of salmon roe, some crisped, shredded leek and a splash of deeply dark squid ink beurre blanc to complete the ensemble.
Putting together seared duck breast and foie gras on the same plate creates a dilemma: do the accessories play to the unctuous foie or to the rare and meaty duck? Both, according to Bliss’ preparation of the dish. Squash purée was probably best with the almost-rare duck, while blueberry gastrique sparred nicely with the silky-textured liver. However, the chili-spiced strawberries that also appeared on the plate might have been superfluous.
There was nothing extraneous in either dessert we tried at Bliss. The devil’s chocolate cake comes in the company of hazelnut ice cream, torched meringue, raspberry coulis, some toasted hazelnuts and a whisper of espresso powder. What’s not to like?
The same can be said for the less opulent, but equally accomplished and biscuit-like butter cake, complete with a crater to cradle vanilla ice cream and berry compote. A moat of créme anglaise and a caramel crown completed the composition — a beautiful (and unchained) note to go out on.
The lowdown: Bliss has been around long enough that one might think it was getting a little tired around the edges. The menu doesn’t seem to change a lot just for change’s sake, though the legendary chicken-fried oysters are no longer represented. But a recent visit proved the experience is as fresh as ever. Hamachi tostadas and roasted bone marrow with steak tartare were among the standout appetizers, while redfish with squid ink risotto and seared duck and foie gras shone as entrées. Devil’s chocolate cake with raspberries and hazelnut ice cream also proved to be exemplary desserts. Service is accomplished as well, and the wine list is just long enough.
Ron Bechtol
Diving into the details of NIOSA, one of Fiesta’s best-loved food
events, with DeAnna Keesee
BY KAT STINSON
Goji Revolving Sushi & Bar inside and Fiesta is once again drawing near, including the annual transformation of one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, La Villita, into a raucous celebration of San Antonio’s diverse cultures and their food.
Night In Old San Antonio, or NIOSA as the locals call it, is one of the citywide party’s most-beloved and best-attended events, drawing thousands of revelers and raising money for the San Antonio Conservation Society. This year’s installment runs April 21-24.
We spoke to DeAnna Keesee, NIOSA’s treasurer and a longtime fixture in the event, about what goes into presenting such a massive food fest, including behindthe-scenes tidbits about some of its favorite vendors and the one NIOSA food that’s never getting discontinued.
What’s your favorite thing about NIOSA?
You can experience food from all the cultures that represent San Antonio.
How did you get involved in NIOSA?
I married into it! I started with NIOSA in 1985 after I moved here from Houston to be with my husband. I started as a balloon booth chairwoman and wore many different hats. I chaired NIOSA from 2006 to
2007. I’m currently the treasurer.
How many volunteers typically work NIOSA?
About 10,000. Even the food and drink booths are volunteers. The event is possible because of the community.
What’s your favorite food and drink at NIOSA?
My favorite food is the fat bread. And I just love the red wine at NIOSA.
Is it true that the wine-based margs are now called NIOSA-Rita’s?
We officially started calling them NIOSA-Rita’s about four years ago.
Who do you think most deserves a NIOSA shoutout?
The volunteers are amazing! They deserve all of the accolades.
Besides organizing the event, what’s your favorite thing to do each year at NIOSA?
Just walking around and listening to the bands play is so relaxing.
When do you start planning for the event?
It feels like we start planning NIOSA for next year the second the current NIOSA ends! It’s usually a few weeks after, but it is a tight turnaround time.
What’s a special detail about longtime vendor Maria’s Tortillas that people may not know?
We have some ladies we call our “patters” — they get on their knees and roll out the masa themselves to create the tortillas.
The volunteers for NIOSA make the event so special with their dedication and hard work.
What famous Fiesta food item is crafted with a NIOSA recipe?
We have our own special recipe that we give to meat vendors for our anticuchos. So it’s truly something you can only get at NIOSA.
Talk about the famous bongo-k-bobs!
We actually get the meat and prep those ourselves. Starting next Friday, we’re going to have people starting to skewer them so they’re ready to go for the crowds. It’s always a bestseller.
What’s a new item locals can expect this year at NIOSA?
We have a new booth this year where we sell our own cake pops dipped in chocolate.
How does NIOSA decide on new food items?
The NIOSA chairman will pick a new item and then our group researches it to determine what’s most economical and how long it’s going to take to prepare it. Can it keep up with the crowd? Will it sell?
So it’s kind of like research and development for a restaurant menu in a way?
Exactly. It needs to be easy to cook and sell.
Was there a new item NIOSA tried that got discontinued?
They tried a hot dog wrapped in a piece of bacon. It tasted good, but the efforts to make and sell enough of them to justify the price just wasn’t enough.
What’s one food item at NIOSA that’s never going away?
The chicken on a stick with a jalapeño. It’s synonymous with Fiesta.
Outside of NIOSA, what’s your favorite place to eat in San Antonio?
I love La Fogata and Sandra’s Tinka Taco!
Courtesy Photo NIOSA
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Familiar Turf
Musician Mike Frazier’s upcoming shows with the Bad Quitters and the Shut Ups represent a San Antonio homecoming
BY BILL BAIRD
You could call Boise, Idaho musician Mike Frazier’s two upcoming San Antonio gigs a homecoming of sorts.
As frontman for the Austin bands Transmography and the Shut Ups, Frazier developed a fondness for the Alamo City, and the latter band was more of a fixture here than in its hometown.
Now, he’s returning to the 2-1-0 with his newest group, the Bad Quitters, who will perform Thursday, April 23, at the Lonesome Rose — a show that celebrates the group’s latest single, “Spend It All,” featuring the Alamo City’s own Garrett T. Capps on fiddle.
And to celebrate the past, Frazier’s other band, the Shut Ups, will play Lowcountry on Saturday, April 25, for King William Fest.
The Bad Quitters offer a refreshing take on Americana, drawing on the Neil Young and Crazy Horse template of raw, thrashed guitars
holding up a tenderly melodic sensibility. Meanwhile, the Shut Ups are a noise-rock whirlwind, whose shows are generally 20-minute meltdowns marked by frantic drumming, skittering guitars and outlandish costumes.
Though not a San Antonio native, Frazier’s had a long history with the city — and with music-scene fixture Capps in particular. Frazier, who’s 10 years older, was the local singer-songwriter’s camp counselor at Camp Rio Vista, the oldest summer camp in the state.
“I was his counselor when he was 11,” Frazier said. “When I met him, he was just a really cool kid. Had a big CaseLogic CD book of about 200 CDs, and we would just talk music all the time. He was already a drummer. I was a guy from Austin just figuring my way through music and thought it was great — here was this kid already with cool taste in music.”
Frazier recognized a kindred spirit and the pair bonded immediately.
“He was always the same guy he is now, man,” Frazier said of Capps. “He looked and talked the same. Well, he did have green hair one summer.
Capps’ high school band, the Boy Scout Cookies, even played the White Rabbit with Frazier’s Transmography. Eventually, Frazier snuck Capps and the band into his SXSW showcase.
Fast forward a few more years and Frazier had started The Shut Ups. Though based in Austin, San Antonio embraced the group and their particular brand of improvised insanity. The Shut Ups played Capps’ 2016 Cinco
de Mayo blowout, providing Frazier with his most treasured San Antonio memory.
“We were playing at Paper Tiger when they still had the radio antenna,” Frazier recalled. “We were playing the courtyard, packed house. Our drummer, Eric Green, kind of the front man of the band, he scaled that antenna. I had my eyes closed, and I noticed everyone looking up – Garrett had gotten on the drums and Eric scaled the antenna, at least 50 or 60 feet in the air, hanging upside down, in a monkey or shark costume.”
Eventually Paper Tiger’s owner — local restaurateur Chad Carey — was forced to take down the antenna due to liability concerns. The stunt made it obvious why.
“[Carey] wanted to put a statue of Eric up there ... but actually had to take it down,” Frazier added.
Now, fast forward again to the present, and Capps is hosting Frazier’s The Bad Quitters at his club, the Lonesome Rose, not long after he played fiddle on the band’s single, recorded with Josh Bloodsworth and Justin Morris at San Antonio’s Cornpound Complex.
A full album from the Bad Quitters, called I’ll Be Damned, is due out in a couple of months.
More than anything, the decades-long friendship and collaboration between Frazier and Capps is a testament to the power of music to bring us together.
In a world hell-bent on siloing everyone by age, gender and political persuasion, it’s refreshing to see these two musicians reach across the years and craft indelible, ass-kicking tunes.
critics’ picks
Wednesday, April 15
Southern Culture on the Skids Southern Culture on the Skids has been plying its party-centric, rootsy brand of swamp rock since 1983. After signing with David Geffen in the ’90s, the group hit a new level of visibility. For all intents and purposes, the act is rooted in classic Americana in the vein of the Byrds and Gram Parsons but with a turbo-charged punk edge tossed in for good measure. $30, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — Bill Baird
Sonidos de San Antonio featuring Patsy Torres, Little Joe, more
This one-night Fiesta season celebration of conjunto and Tejano music certainly brings the puro hometown flavor. For fans of the genres, it’s hard to think of a more packed lineup: Little Joe, Shelly Lares, Ruben Ramos, Santiago Jiménez Jr., Ram Herrera, Patsy Torres, Sunny Sauceda, and Mariachi Los Paisanos. The concert was put together by UT-San Antonio, Shellshock Records 3 and JMT Studios. $50, 7 p.m., Charline McCombs Empire Theatre, 226 N St. Mary’s St., (210) 226-5700, majesticempire.com. — BB
Friday, April 17
Dethklok, Amon Amarth
Almost 20 years on, Metalocalypse creator and Brendon Small continues to tour as the primary member of fictional metal band De-
thklok in celebration of his beloved animated show. Viking enthusiasts Amon Amarth serve as the second headliner on the bands’ appropriately named Amonklok Conquest Tour. As Dethklok guitarist Skwisgaar would say, “It will be mosts brutals death metals tour ever.” $78.49-$221.45, 7 p.m., 3331 General Hudnell Drive, (210) 600-3699, boeingcentertechport.com. — Brianna Espinoza
Saturday, April 18
Gridiron, Skourge, Scarab, Fear of Loss, Order of Living
The rap-rock act Gridiron has always tended toward the hardcore side of that equation Indeed, the “supergroup” itself was formed by members of several hardcore acts in post-pandemic Pennsylvania. With the 2025 release of its second full-length album Poetry from Pain, Gridiron continued to win over fans with moshable riffs and breakdowns supported by hip-hop inspired lyrics and flow. $23.57, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — Danny Cervantes
Wednesday, April 22
Bush, Mammoth, James & The Cold Gun Bush may not have been at the forefront of the grunge movement, but it certainly emerged as one of its biggest draws. Still together, the band will showcase a mix of new work and iconic anthems at Freeman Coliseum. The Land of Milk and Honey
Main Ave., fredstockmusicfest.org. — BB
Thursday, April 23-Friday, April 24
La Semana Alegre
Beloved San Antonio music festival La Semana Alegre’s reboot is now in its second year, and while it still misses the “Semana” part of its name by five days, it has amassed a party-ready bill long on ’80s stars and local luminaries. Early MTV one-hit-wonders Flock of Seagulls and Men Without Hats headline the first night’s stacked bill, which also includes Tex-Mex legend Joe “King” Carrasco. The second night brings a more modern sound with the beloved Electro-pop duo Ghostland Observatory headlining with support from a bevy of touring and local acts. Check the website for a full roster of both days. $20 and up, 5 p.m., Hemisfair, 630 E. Nueva St., lasemanaalegre.com. — BB
Friday, April 24
ADULT., Donzii, The Treasury
Avatar
tour is in support of the band’s 2025 album I Beat Loneliness in which lead singer Gavin Rossdale offered more introspective lyrics that were well-received by fans. Expect songs from throughout Bush’s extensive catalog. $52.25-$149.45,7:00 p.mFreemanColiseum,3201E.HoustonSt.,(210) 226-1177, freemancoliseum.com. — DC
Avatar, Fleshgod Apocalypse
Come one, come all! There are many sights to behold when carnival-style metal act Avatar takes the stage. Known for blending Swedish melodic death metal heaviness with upbeat grooves and other elements, Avatar continue to evolve after almost 20 years as a band. Fleshgod Apocalypse, another makeup-clad outfit, is known for its distinctive hybrid of classical music and metal. $48-$79.05, 7 p.m., Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 8124355, theaztectheatre.com. — BE
Thursday, April 23
Fredstock
This free annual festival celebrates the legacy of Fred Weiss, the beloved professor who headed San Antonio College’s Music Business program for more than 20 years. Headlining this year’s Fredstock is Rick Trevino, the major label country artist who’s landed 14 singles on the Billboard charts. Grupo Massoro, Street Lamp, the Pain Junkies and the Barrio Blasters round out the bill. Free, 2 p.m., San Antonio College, 1819 N.
Married couple Adam Lee Miller and Nicola Kuperus are behind the synth-pop act ADULT. Formed in 1998, the group has ten studio albums to its credit plus myriad collaborations, including remixes of material by Felix da Housecat, Ladytron and others. ADULT.’s new album Kissing Luck Goodbye features energetic and danceable industrial beats underpinned by punk roots. $25.85, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — DC
Bad Suns, Little Image
Since forming in 2010, Los Angeles band the Bad Suns has been in steady rotation on the alternative charts, most notably for the 2013 single “Cardiac Arrest,” which was first released online and led to the debut studio album Language & Perspective that subsequently charted in the indie top 10. Christo Bowman’s voice and lyrical style suggests the influence of The Cure’s Robert Smith, while the band’s sound has evolved from a darker alt-rock sound to a more pop sensibility, especially on its 2025 release Accelerator. $37.00-$53.50,8p.m., AztecTheatre,104N.St.Mary’sSt.,(210)812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. — DC
Monday, April 27
Purity Ring
Canadian duo Purity Ring have kept the indie flag flying high since dropping its debut album in 2012. While much of the act’s discography consists of hip-hop beats intertwined with pop-infused electronic melodies, its latest release takes on a dreamy folk flair. Vocalist Megan James and instrumentalist Corbin Roddick only seem to drop a new release every five years or so, which means fans may not want to sit this show out. $36.11-$177.45, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — BE
18. Be better at evasion than 20. “The vest and jacket are itchy and don’t fit”?
22. “The Facts of Life” mentor Garrett
23. Sashimi topper
24. Non-dairy milk source
25. McKellen of the “X-Men” movies
26. More than -y
27. “Euphoria” network
30. Controversy when a Boston Marathon cheater becomes a TV host?
36. Former Chinese leader Zhou ___
37. NBA Hall of Famer Gasol
38. Dwight Eisenhower’s wife
39. Invitee who makes the party suddenly make sense?
42. Texting format initials
43. Fish that goes with chips
44. “Live ___” (Taco Bell slogan)
45. ___ TomÈ and PrÌncipe
46. Spam generator
47. Tom kha kai cuisine
51. Where to change direction in your LeSabre?
56. Build up
57. “Steamboat ___” (Mickey Mouse cartoon in public domain)
58. “The Bridges at ___-Ri” (1954 movie)
59. “Golly!”
60. Burning
61. Late Pink Floyd member Barrett
62. “77 Sunset Strip” actor Byrnes
63. Approvals Down
1. Seattle Slew, for one 2. How some things are read 3. Pine tree secretion
4. Led Zeppelin’s “Whole ___ Love”
5. Monthly util.
6. Festival of Lights symbol
7. Skip formal nuptials
8. Asterix’s home
9. “Can I bug you?”
10. Painful ordeal
11. Discount grocery chain headquartered in Germany
12. Word with hex or high 16. Ask for table scraps
19. Grade school projects
21. One-legged camera support 25. TV series about hiding edibles?
26. Words spoken before a spell
27. Computer-to-TV cable
28. “Mission: Impossible” actress Barbara
29. Fashion designer Cassini
30. Rules partner, briefly
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31. “E Pluribus ___”
32. Spots in the Loire
33. ___ in “zebra”
34. Song subject with the question “What is it good for?”
35. Granny
40. Filmed material
41. Corrode
45. Boston fish specialty
46. Holstein, e.g.
47. Bridge collections
48. Polynesian dances
49. “One-Punch Man” genre
50. Cannes concepts
51. You might commit to one
52. Ones, to Juan
53. Kinda gross
54. Like some textbooks
55. Abundant (with)
Answers on page 33.
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