Art
The Latest News on Javier Galván and the Ramos Family
By Ramón Hernández
It was 10:19 p.m. on Sunday, June 13 when Javier Galván was involved in a head-on collision with an oncoming vehicle near Winters, Texas. And it didn’t take long for the rumor mill to spread word that Galván had perished. And when some people read that he was incapacitated, they took this to mean decapitated.
As everyone now knows, the saddest of news is that three persons did lose their life. They were Marisa Ramos, 20, Cissy Ramos, 46 and seven-year-old Adalynn Muñiz. Therefore, this writer and the entire StreetTalk magazine staff extend our deepest sympathies to their families.
God spared siblings Keelie Ramos, 12, and Kolbie Ramos, 9. However, they, as Galván, were critically injured and all are recovering in different hospitals.
During Galván’s stay in an Abilene medical facility, I was kept abreast of his condition by Allysun Marie “Ally” Sandoval Gutiérrez, who works for the City of Abilene.
When her sister, Anissa Sandoval Saldana, who is best friends with Norma (Javier’s wife) and Javi Jr., learned of Javier’s situation, she made sure that Ally tended to the Galvan family’s needs. Furthermore, thanks to Ally’s husband (T)Sgt. Demitrio Gutierrez, who is stationed at Dyess AFB, they were able to house Norma at the military lodging facility.
And their father Eddie Sandoval, of RiverCityAttractions kept this writer up to date of all that was going on until Javier was transferred to a San Antonio hospital where this writer was able to visit the now full bearded singer/songwriter shortly after his arrival. Thus, I was witness to the result of the power of prayer when I saw he had survived despite numerous internal injuries and a few broken bones.
I was initially in deep shock since Galván wrote an incredibly tell-all book, God Always Wins, in which he covers his unbelievably rise to stardom and the pitfalls of most musicians in his personal testimony as he hooks the reader into an awesome inspiring motivational message that covers forgiveness and redemption. I know because as his editor, I read the book four times. Then, we met on an average of once a week to tighten it up plus select the best of hundreds of pictures. Then, this unfortunate devastating fatal collision occurred a few days after our fourth meeting.
Two weeks later, I attended the fundraiser that J.R. Gómez, a close friend of the Ramos Family, had put together to benefit the families of the fatal accident on Friday, July 1 at Desperados.
The lineup this evening included Rubén Ramos, Jay Pérez, La Sombra’s Tony Guerrero, Ram Herrera, Art Tigerina, LA 45, Jaimé De Anda, La Calma, Texas Latino; plus, newcomers LaDezz featuring Lisa Mar, and Tina Marez – all backed with a house band led by Mario Ortíz. And of course, 41-year-old J.R. Ramos – formerly with Mazz, the Kumbia Kingz and Los Conjunto Bandits – put on an unforgettable performance.
No need to say that I wanted to make it a point to meet the families of the victims in what would have been an awkward situation for the deepest heartfelt condolences cannot not resurrect their loved ones. Words can not change what transpired. Beautifully said phrases cannot erase or alleviate their grief. However, they did not attend this function.
“However, they will be present at the second benefit concert to be held on Friday, July 9 at Club Pink in Lubbock,” J.R. Gómez told me after a couple of hours of backing up other acts.
That fundraiser will feature the Homeboyz, David Lee Rodríguez, Tristan Ramos, Mónica Saldivar, Savannah Votion, the Jordan Rodríguez Band, plus Bobby G and the Galaxy Band, followed by a monster jam session consisting of West Texas musicians will follow all the acts.’
Desperados club owner J.R. Rendón, who loaned his venue for this benefit was also disappointed, but as he said, “I am now have a non-profit association so I’m doing this to help out people as I do a food line on the side.”
Noting the vocalists, musicians, their families, and guests out-numbered those that paid, I pray this benefit made money to help the Ramos family. Therefore, I’m glad that according to www.tejanonation.net, a GoFundMe page has been set up for the families of the victims.In closing, Streettalk magazine’s staff asks our readers to continue praying for God to lay his healing hand on Galván, Keelie and Kolbie Ramos.
‘Bean & Chisme’ web show tells it like it is, San Antonio style
Two savvy media professionals in San Antonio have built the perfect platform for entertaining and educating fellow Latinos about their culture. All it took was unleashing their inner hoodrat.
That platform is “Bean & Chisme,” a live web show by Nina Duran, former publisher of the bilingual newspaper La Prensa, and Samantha Najera, CEO of the creative marketing firm HeartFire Media. It features raucous sketch comedy and unfiltered talk about all things Latino.
As for the so-called hoodrats, meet Lil’ Frijolita and Lil’ Chismosa, Duran and Najera’s alter-egos. They embody chola subculture from their bold black eyebrows to their long white tube socks, with the attitude and street-smarts to match.
The “Bean & Chisme” mission: Spoof and spotlight the topics Latinos relate to no matter how taboo. Or as Lil’ Chismosa and Lil’ Frijolita put it, they “call you out on your (expletive) and enjoy teaching la raza a thing or two about life.”
“The whole goal of ‘Bean & Chisme’ was to not just draw attention to the Latino culture but to the San Antonio South Texas vibe, living as a Mexican American. All of that,” Najera said. “We want to celebrate that and bring attention to it.”
So far “Bean & Chisme” has captured the attention of more than 90,000 followers on their Facebook page (@beanchisme). And a handful of original videos by the duo have racked up more than half a million views.
Now after a pandemic-forced hiatus from their live online shows, the self-described “two chismosas doing hoodrat things” are back with “Hoodrat Cumbia,” a nalga-shaking new song and music video to mark their return and the return of Fiesta.
“Hoodrat Cumbia” drops Thursday on iTunes, Spotify, Tik Tok and other music streaming and social media platforms, just in time for the first day of Fiesta.
Duran and Najera credit their growing audience to their “crazy chemistry to play verbal ping-pong” and their willingness to take on any topic Latinos can relate to, no matter how taboo.
“We talk about everything from finances to why do you line up for Selena bags but you don’t vote,” Najera said. “How come tios and tias die with no money and we have to have plate sales at the funeral?”
Najera and Duran launched “Bean & Chisme” in October 2017, at first just to have fun with live streaming.
“People kept telling us, ‘You guys are hilarious together,’” Najera said. “And Nina would say, ‘Oh, if only there was a fly on the wall.’”
So the longtime friends decided to share the kinds of conversations out loud that most people wouldn’t dare have in public. But that blunt talk didn’t really take off until a few months later, when Lil’ Frijollita and Lil’ Chismosa came along.
In April 2018, Duran and Najera unveiled the characters at the old Image Shots photo studio in Ingram Park Mall, where they rocked their finest Claire’s dark lipstick and gaudy earrings as a jokey throwback to when they wore such so-called chola gear in the 1990s.
When they posted the photo online, “it went ridiculously viral,” Duran said. “And just like that, in the bathroom of Ingram Park Mall in April of 2018, the hoodrats were born.”
The likes and looks really blew up when the duo started appearing in “Bean & Chisme” spinoff videos, such as “Hoodrats at Fiesta” and “The Real Hoodrats of San Antonio.”
On Facebook alone, “Hoodrats at Fiesta” has more than 367,000 views, while “Real Hoodrats of San Antonio” has 184,000.
On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio rapper Southside Hoodlum making waves beyond his hometown (expressnews.com)
Some of the duo’s edgier satirical clips really raise eyebrows and view counts.
“Interview with The Cucuy: Episode 3, Yolanda Saldivar,” a 2019 mock sitdown with the convicted killer of Tejano star Selena, remains “Bean & Chisme’s” top YouTube video with more than 200,000 views. The faux “Frost/Nixon” has Lil’ Chismosa grilling the Saldivar stand-in (San Antonio comedian Joanna Estrada) until Lil’ Frijolita rips off her curly wig and fights her.
Then there’s their 2019 “Frozen” parody, “Do You Wanna Make Tamales?” More than 67,000 have seen the decidedly not-for-children video on Facebook, which stars Duran as a pot-smoking version of Elsa who spikes the tamales for her kid sis and family.
“We want to be like Cheech & Chong,” Najera said, “or like (the Spanish-language entertainment show) ‘El Gordo y La Flaca.’ Maybe if Cheech & Chong and Selena had a baby?”
“Bean & Chisme” may be about two crazy Latinas, Najera said, but their hoodrat humor can shed light on real topics, which can lead to frank conversations that influence change.
“We’re just embracing who we are,” Duran said. “We can embrace and educate our Latino population with a little humor.”
“And we’re educating people just by being ourselves,” Najera said. “Not everybody is just one thing. We’re also business owners and single moms.”
On ExpressNews.com: The first Texas rap record likely was made by a San Antonio DJ better known as radio personality Alberto Alegre
All jokes aside, Duran and Najeda pack some serious media credentials.
Before launching her San Antonio-based marketing and public relations firm in November 2012, Najera spent about a dozen years on both sides of the television camera. While earning her communications degree from the University of the Incarnate Word, she interned at Turner Studios in Atlanta as a production assistant on series such as TBS’s “Movie and a Makeover” and “Dinner & A Movie.” She parlayed that experience into production assistant work at KSAT-TV news and then reported the news for the ABC affiliate in College Station.
Duran’s own behind-the-camera work includes associate producer work at the KENS-TV morning show “Great Day SA.” She later worked her way up from sales to managing partner and then publisher of La Prensa, which her father Florentino “Tino” Duran founded in 1989 as a sort of relaunch of the original La Prensa, which dates back to 1913. Duran closed La Prensa in 2018, about a year after her father’s death.
Much as Najera and Duran enjoy channeling their inner cholas, they said a lot of hard work goes into making their on-screen personas look so easygoing.
“We wrote it, we did everything from the ground up,” Duran said. “We’ve done a good job at parodying, but I hope this also helps people see us as artists.”
Duran and Najera are working on new online shows and skits, and they hope to take their humor to the comedy club now that Fiesta and other large social gatherings are coming back.
In the meantime, the duo hopes that “Hoodrat Cumbia” helps score their San Antonio-based web show a larger national audience. They already have a #HoodratCumbiaChallenge planned for Tik Tok to really get the kids and cool abuelitas shaking and sharing what their mamas gave them.
And there’s nothing like a citywide celebration to get that party started.
“We wanted people to be able to play it wherever. And what better time to do that than Fiesta?” Duran said. “Yeah, our eyebrows are going to be melting this year.”
rguzman@express-news.net | Twitter: @reneguz
Peppy is Rockin’ The Planet
Peppy is Rockin’ The Planet
By Ramón Hernández
Singer, songwriter Emil “Peppy Castro” Thielhelm is “Rockin’ the Planet with The Greatest Story Ever Sung.”
The former Blues Magoos founding father, guitarist and vocalist, who composed the music and wrote the lyrics to every tune in this musical production, says the message in these songs – all based on the Bible – is to bring peace, love, acceptance, healing, hope and making the world a better place.
“My son, Jesse Castro, contributed to writing the music for five of the tunes; and June Rachelson-Ospa was a co-lyricist to about one-third of the songs,” Peppy said.
Giving the reader an insight on how this project came about and giving credit where it’s due, he added, “It all started four years when Steve Leber called me up at 8:30 a.m. on Christmas Day. And he’s Jewish, so I told myself, ‘this is going to be good,’ and it was.
“He woke up feeling the world was so screwed that he wanted me to write a show call ‘Rock the Bible.’ I thought it was a great idea, and I agreed. Hence, the play was conceived by Steve.”
For those not familiar with Leber, he began his career with the William Morris Agency, where he developed and handled music icons like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles’ Concert for Bangladesh, plus. And that was only the beginning for the behind-the-scenes entertainment entrepreneur who went on to guide virtually every name in baby-boomer entertainment. And at the time he called Peppy, he had just become chairman and CEO of Grandparents.com.
New York City-based Peppy was a member of the original 1968 Broadway “Hair” cast; and his songs have been recorded by Diana Ross, Cher, Kiss, plus many others. So, this world-class caliber play could have been cast and presented on Broadway. It could also have enjoyed a successful run in Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago. So, why did he choose San Antonio?
“I met Jonathan Pennington through June (Rachelson-Ospa) when he did a showcase in New York; and, it was at that time that he asked if I would consider doing a version of ‘Hair’ at the Roxie. My answer was that I would rather do something original. He agreed and here I am,” Peppy said as he pointed to the Roxie’s main entrance.
“I came here not knowing what to expect, and I found a purpose,” said the award-winning playwright and multi-instrumentalist whose office walls are lined with Gold Records.
“Making new friends since I arrived and seeing the future in the kids in the play has become a blessing in disguise.”
“That’s right,” Jonathan added as he offered his analogy of the play. “God must be a teenager because of the things kids go through. Unlike churches that preach God’s fire and brimstone, God has shown me who he is through this production, which as the movie ‘Spiderman – Homecoming,’ contains a little humor. So yes, I think God is my super hero.”
While Leber, Pennington and Emmy-nominated Peppy may be the producers you never see, the ones who are going to impress, wow and amaze you are the cast members who will act and sing their way into your senses, your feelings and into your hearts. They are the stars.
Of course, our Lord and Savior gets universal top billing and the part of God is played by Paden Mercer. Starting out with the Book of Genesis, Sebastián Ramírez and Valeria Jauregui are cast as Adam and Eve. Cain and Abel are portrayed by Allan Jaurejui and Diego Jaurejui.
Then the evil Lucifer tries to steal the scene and Eve’s innocence with an apple as Sean Salazar enters the stage as Satan. However, Salazar later redeems himself as Noah with Jazmin Chacón at his side as Naamah.
We know we are surrounded by invisible angels. However, Savannah Mercer, Ivanna Danforth, Pauline Csitkovits, Yvette Cárdenas and Cristián Plata are five rockin’ angels that you will be able to see throughout each heavenly presentation in which the music is top gun.
It is said that “sometimes, music is the only medicine the heart and soul need,” so if you are feeling blue or just have plain humdrums, make a beeline for the Roxie Theater to go get a good dose of feel good contemporary rock music with a message that may change your life.
From “Creation,” “Seven,” “Make Us Over,” “Angel,” “The Ten Commandments” to “The People’s Hero,” “Flood of Love” to “Just One Love” plus 11 more tunes, be prepared to be transported to a level of peace, joy and delight as ten good-looking, wholesome, talented Alamo City teenagers and two preadolescents, sing, dance and tug at your heart strings.
“Rockin’ the Planet” can be seen at the Roxie Theater Performance House from March 29 to April 14. Performances are: Fridays @ 8:00 p.m.., Saturdays @ 7:30 p.m., and Saturdays @ 4 p.m. The Roxie Theater is located at 7460 Callaghan Road, Suite 333, San Antonio, Texas.
In closing, Leber is also known for his precedent-setting arena tour of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Jesus Christ Superstar,” a project that was such a success that it became a viable industry model. Coupled with Peppy’s experience in “Hair,” don’t be surprised if “Rockin’ the Planet” does not wind up on Broadway, then taken on a national tour.
To purchase tickets and for more information, call 210-360-9180 or visit their website: www.roxietheatrecompany.com/on-stage/rockin-the-planet.
Also, be sure to read the article on Peppy Castro on page ______ in this issue to find out how he went from being one of the early pioneers of the psychedelic garage band rock era to rocking Christian music.
(Note: Jonathan Pennington is the owner and director of the Roxie Theater Performance House.)
Alamo City Comic Con Experience 2017
Story by: David A. De La Rosa
Photographs by: Joseph Martinez
Alamo City Comic Con Experience 2017
This past weekend I attended San Antonio’s fifth installment of our local pop culture festival known as the Alamo City Comic Con (May 26th – 28th at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center). Convention goers’ have a chance to cut loose and let their inner geek out. This event allows the attendees the opportunity to dress up in costume and in makeup as their favorite superheroes or villains. It’s very common to see a whole family; mom, dad, and the kiddies dressed as their favorite hero’s.
People come to this convention for the spectacle of the event, to purchase limited edition artwork and collectibles. People go to be seen in their costumes and freely welcome people to take pictures with them if asked. There is also a contingent of professional cosplayers there who have awesome costumes and sell their pictures or offer to pose with attendees for a small fee. For me I like going to this event for a chance to meet some my favorite film and television stars. Whatever the reason people come to this event it all boils down to fun at a reasonable price.
There were many opportunities for the attendees to meet their favorite television or film stars that were scheduled for this event. Either directly by obtaining an autograph at a booth, or a free meet & greet or photo ops, also being able to ask some these celebrities in a panel setting, questions about their lives and television/film work. I attended no less than eight panels in the three day period, each one was very interesting.
The panels that I attended broke down into two groups. The first group, were panels dealing with actors connected to movies and television I grew up with from the ‘80s (i.e. The Goonies, Cheers, Star Wars, & Rocky IV). The second group of panels that I attended were concerning more current pop culture involving television/film and comics (Karl Urban, Kristin Bauer, Frank Miller, & Rob Schneider).
The first panel I attended was The Goonies panel. The panel was comprised of some of the key child actors of that film Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, & Ke Huy Quan. Seeing these actors speak about one of my favorites films growing up, made me get nostalgic for the ‘80s. They were all charming and were fully engaged with the panel audience’s questions. One question posed by the audience was why they never made a sequel; basically there wasn’t a quality script or idea that the three producers (Spielberg, Donner, and Columbus) of the film could agree on in order to make a sequel.
The next panel I went to was the Cheers panel. Two of the main characters of this very talented ensemble cast made it to this panel, George Wendt (Norm) and John Ratzenberger (Cliffy). Growing up, I never missed a Thursday night episode of this classic NBC sitcom. Both of these gentlemen were laid back and very charming, answering all the panel audiences’ questions. For me it was another trip down memory lane.
The main panel of this convention in my opinion was the Star Wars panel. I love anything dealing with Star Wars, and I eagerly awaited this opportunity to see these two actors. The actors that attended were Ian Mcdiarmid (the evil Emperor Palpatine) and Peter Mayhew (everyone’s favorite Wookie, Chewbacca). To begin this panel Mr. Mcdiarmid was escorted to the stage with red imperial guards on either side, with John Williams Imperial March being played in the background, a great entrance. Each gentleman gave interesting anecdotes, about their experiences working on these epic films. One funny anecdote was one in which Mr. Mayhew discussed his displeasure working in the Pacific Northwest filming forest scenes for Return of The Jedi. Mr. Mayhew was informed by the director that this was Bigfoot territory, and to not wander off, the idea being that someone might take a shot at him with his Chewbacca costume on. On a sad note, Mr. Mayhew informed the audience that Carrie Fisher was scheduled to attend this event, and she was sorely missed due to her untimely death.
A panel that I almost missed entirely was the Rob Schneider (Saturday Night Live, Duce Bigalow: Male Gigolo) panel. I really enjoy this comedian’s work, on the small/big screen. He spoke about the current political environment in this country as it pertains to stand up comedy. His speaking on this topic was very serious and thought provoking, it made me think of this man in a different light. He said the worst form of censorship was self censorship. He doesn’t believe in the way students are protesting their views in college campuses, and refuses to perform his act in any college campus, due these students’ activities.
Another panel that I really wanted to go to was the Rocky panel, which was comprised of Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed), and Dolph Lundgren (Drago). I am a very big fan of the Rocky movies and both these gentlemen were important to the Rocky film franchise. These two actors were very funny, charming and friendly rapport with the audience. If anyone has a chance to see these two men at a convention do it, you will leave very satisfied you did.
The Kristen Bauer was one panel, I wanted to attend. For those people who don’t know this actress she played Pam in the True Blood series and also played Maleficent on ABCs Once Upon a Time. This lady is very sweet, honest and down to earth. She is everything a Hollywood actress should be, but almost never is. I was walking by the autograph section of the convention center and a volunteer by Ms. Bauer’s booth said that a free meet and greet was fully acceptable, by Ms. Bauer. So my party and I went up to her shake her hand and say hello. Ms. Bauer couldn’t have been more gracious. If anyone has an opportunity to meet this actress please do it you won’t be disappointed.
One panel that has great significance, in the comic book world, was the Frank Miller panel. This man in the past 40 years has developed a modern adult content in comic books that has never been totally realized until now, in such titles as Daredevil, Batman, Sin City & 300. His stories are very gritty, and have a film noire visual feel to them. The panel was good but I’m not up par on his current project which is the DKIII limited series. There is one issue left to complete the story arch to be released in two weeks, he and other panel members said to read the last page, meaning something significant ends the storyline. Side note my partner covering this event witnessed a chance meeting between two comic book icons, Neal Adams and Frank Miller each one spoke to the other about their mutual admiration.
The last panel was a great one with Karl Urban. For those of you who don’t know this actor, he is currently portraying Dr. McCoy, in the new Star Trek reboot film franchise. This actor has been in many blockbusters such as Star Trek, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Chronicles of Riddick films. He has also had a turn portraying one of my favorite comic book characters Judge Dredd. Mr. Urban was very funny and very interesting. Anyone there in attendance could tell that he was having fun being there answering questions from the audience. This is another actor I must say if you have a chance to see in person at a convention setting make the effort to do it, he’s worth it.
My observations of this event were over all very favorable. I was glad to see the Black Friday promotion was still in effect offering a greatly reduced discount. Also those passes were mailed to the purchaser, that was a great convenience. For the most part there wasn’t any large lines to get into the convention center, people got in right way. All the panels I attended ran on time, with an exception, of a few cancellations.
I did notice that attendance for this event was down considerably. I think two factors contributed to the lower than normal turnout. The first factor was that this event was held on Memorial Day weekend. A lot of people go out of town to visit family, go to the cemetery, or cookout. The second factor that affected the attendance numbers was that on Saturday, The River City Rockfest was held. This festival had 22 bands performing which included the likes of Def Leppard, Godsmack, The Offspring, and Pap Roach. A lot of people attending that event would have normally bought passes to go to the Alamo City Comic Con. I think that in the future the comic con organizers need to schedule, taking into account conflicting concerts/events. Every year is a learning process of what works and what doesn’t work. Each year there is improvement with this event, and the organizers strive for perfection. Next year’s con will be even better learning from these issues.
David A. De La Rosa: River City Attractions
Alamo City Comic Con Experience 2015
Story by: David A. De La Rosa
Photographs by: Joseph Martinez & Ramon Hernandez
Alamo City Comic Con Experience 2015
I have for a full year been greatly anticipating the third installment of the Alamo City Comic Con. I’ve missed the excitement, and festival like atmosphere of this event. I was very pleased with the event as a whole, and everyone who attended I’m sure were not disappointed.
For those people who have never attended a comicon, let me reiterate for past articles I’ve written on this topic. This is an event where people are encouraged to dress up in costume as their favorite superhero or villain. For the record my observations for this year’s most worn costume was a tossup between Deadpool and Harley Quinn.
There were many celebrities that attended this event for autograph and photo-op sessions. Any comic con attendee can meet with some of their favorite TV, and film stars with certain VIP passes. Fans can go into an auditorium for a Q&A panel (i.e. Stan Lee, The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy, etc.), and speak with some of their favorite film or television personalities. I myself sat in on no less than six panels all of which were very informative and entertaining.
There are vendors there selling merchandise that run the gambit between inexpensive pin back buttons to high end statues of superheroes. I personally get a kick out people buying awesome looking replica light sabers. There were also many published artists selling signed prints of their artwork.
This year I was glad to see that there was a children’s area sponsored by local educational institutions (i.e. The San Antonio Public Library, The San Antonio Zoo, and The Witte Museum). Last year some of these groups were in attendance, but they didn’t have the interactive children’s activities they had for the con this year. Along with the interactive activities there were huge moon bounces, for the kids to play in; this was a great rest area. We all know sometimes the little ones get disinterested, and parents need to rest their feet.
This year had live wrestling courtesy of River City Wrestling, (an organization with no affiliation with our website), and matches were performed periodically throughout the three days of the con (https://www.facebook.com/rcwforever). I enjoyed the matches that I saw, and it reminded me of when I was a kid and went to see wrestling at the Freemen Coliseum. I hope next year’s con will have more RCW.
I enjoy many aspects of this comic con people watching, shopping for merchandise, viewing artwork. The one thing I love above all of these aspects of this show is attending Q&A panels. The panels are great for people who can afford a ticket to the con, but cannot afford a VIP pass this is their opportunity to get access to their favorite stars. As I stated before I attended no less than six panels, all were entertaining and gave me new insights on the celebrities being paneled. The one Q&A session that stood out, was the one that I half heartedly attended.
The Edward James Olmos panel blew me away, and a more in depth separate article will be posted on our website about this panel experience. Mr. Olmos was a very charismatic, animated, intelligent man; he answered every question eloquently and fully. He spoke to the panel audience about politics, his Latino experience in Hollywood, and his film career. I have been a fan of his for years, and I have much respect for him because of his leading role in the Battlestar Galactica reboot. I never expected such an authentic discussion, and that was the only reason I didn’t pay much attention too attending that panel. A little advice to the organizers of the Alamo City Comic Con who might read this piece, please invite Mr. Olmos back for next year’s con, he was awesome.
I can see that this event has grown in scope and popularity as a premier comic con destination since its inception. I like some of the changes that have been implemented in this con. There was a major improvement with announcing scheduled events and changes with a free downloadable AP. The layout of exhibition halls were more spread out with regards to the artist tables any observer can see foot traffic moved more steadily than in the past conventions. I thought this made the attendance seem smaller in number as compared to last year but that was only my perception, because of the lack of crowd clutter. To my knowledge attendance records have not been released yet.
I did have one major criticism with regards to the major Q&A panels, and that was the location. In the past two comic cons the major panels were held in the rather large Lila Cockrell Theatre stage. The major panels this year were held in ballroom B, which according to a comic con official had a seating capacity of 1,250 seats. I believe individuals like Stan Lee an American icon deserves the large stage. That same large stage is better suited to accommodate a large ensemble cast of some of our favorite television shows.
I know the reason for this switch was made to accommodate screening films for the Alamo City Film Festival which was running concurrently with the comic con. My humble suggestion is that maybe the film festival could run films everyday all week long, and the weekend the theatre stage can be used for the comic cons major panels. I think that expanding the film festival to run all week long could attract more films and stars to the comic con, as well as utilize the theatre stage for the con.
I enjoyed attending this convention and I look forward to the continual grown of this event. I think that we have much to be proud of here in San Antonio, and this event reflects well on all of us. All the visitors form different parts of country if not the world have gained a better appreciation of what San Antonio is all about, because of an event like our Alamo City Comic Con.
The Pastie Pops
The Pastie Pops
Pictures and story, joseph Martinez.
Last Saturday night I drop by “Up Town Studio” at 700 Fredericksburg Rd. to see local show “The Pastie Pops”. All involved in the show was just wonderful. The head liner was Missy Lisa, and featuring “Elle Du Jour”. There was a total of eight performers doing their own unique thing. Some, combining song with their acts Poetry and light hearted comedy
Creativity and Graceful moves went hand and hand all night long.
If you have not been to a burlesque and variety show, Ya got to go and see one. It’s not what I was expecting. The local talents are out standingl.
Missy Lisa and Elle Du Jour, performances were well-planned out and choreograph exotic moves that titillated the audience.
I notice was most of the audience was about 75% ladys . I ask Jasper Saint James, of “The Pastie Pops” is this typical of your turn out. He said “Yes… Sometimes it’s a girls night out or they want to pick up some pointers so they can have some fun at home.”
Jasper has been doing burlesque and variety show with the Pastie Pops for five years. A lively show to say the least. Jasper not only produces the show. He is part of it as well.
If you miss this show It will be back at “Up Town Studio” in march. Check out Face book at https://www.facebook.com/pastiepops?fref=ts&ref=br_tf
for times, dates and if you think you may have the right stuff to be on stage. Contact Jasper to get details
All I can say, the evening. It was a BLAST.
Thanks Pastie Pops
Joseph Martinez
River City Attractions.
Beyond The Canvas
Beyond The Canvas
We from River City Attractions wish to Congratulations the winners!!
First Place went to Olesya Korsakoff & Kyle Otto as Mr Freeze.
Second Place went to Jason Lozano & Neal Henderson as The Red Lantern Atrocitus
Third Place went to Jsn Art & Belinda Lopes as Female Robocop!!!
All the competing artists and models in our opinion need to be congratulated as well. Like going to an ice-cream parlor that has over 57Flavors what to choose… What to choose….Hummm. It’s the same thing here at “BTC” 7th annual event. Everybody had their favorite. Seeing the models on the cat walk was wonderful and I enjoyed it immensely. One thing that caught me off guard was the time and effort the models and artists put in to get ready to compete. It’s in the detail. Look at some of the pictures we put on line and you will see. From head to toe, it looks like a lot of work to me. Shading is something I place close attention to. It gives depth where there is none. The overall effect was magical.
Before the competition began. It was all business. The paint was flowing. Still, everybody was polite. I ask a few questions on hair and wigs“How do you keep the paint from smearing (use hair spray to set it)
It was a friends and family’s having a good time all around. Food trucks and venders selling their wares. A great San Antonio Night.
Anthony the poet” was at the mic introducing the models and the Artists. I got a kick how the models transform when all eye’s and lights are on them. At that point, the villains or super heroes came out. After the last model walked the stage. It was time for them to relax together in all there painted glory.
Just a reminder on Sunday the 26th it’s the ZOMBI WALK down town. BTC will be there with a booth. http://www.sanantoniozombiewalk.com/
I’ve been told it’s going to be BIG BIG BIG. Guinness book of world records is sending people to confirm if it is going to be the largest gathering of zombies.
Filming of the upcoming new movie called “ZOMBI REIGN” is schedule to be there as well. (A story and information on the Zombie Reign will be posted on this web site shortly)
Thank you having a great event here in San Antonio.
Story and Pictures by Joseph Martinez
River City Attractions ,
We want to send out a very special Thank you to Ariel Valdez,
Who look great as KAMEN RIDER GAIM and for giving us the heads up on the event.
Find out more information on BTC At
https://www.facebook.com/beyondthecanvassa
Wizard World Comic Con Experience 2014
The Wizard World Comic Con Experience 2014
Story by: David A. De La Rosa
Photographs by: Joseph Martinez
The Wizard World San Antonio Comic Con 2014 was a fun filled event to attend for anyone who’s into comics or pop culture in general. It’s the kind of event to let ones inner geek out to put on the old superhero costume and for one day or possibly three to pretend they are their favorite crime fighter.
For those of you who are not familiar with the Wizard World Comic Cons they are a series of comic con events scheduled throughout the country some of these cities include Chicago, Portland, and New Orleans to name a few (www.wizardworld.com ).
This was the first Wizard World Comic Con in San Antonio, held at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center; for a few years now the closest scheduled event was in Austin. I must say I was wowed by the kind of special guest celebrities that Austin’s con has attained in the past so I was looking forward to this event. As with all comic cons there are many things that attract convention goers which include special guest celebrities, comic book artists, comic/pop culture merchandise, and family fun.
I love the fact that at events like this you can meet some of your favorite television and film stars, and attain autographs or photo ops with them. I enjoyed the celebrity panels I attend, and found them to be very entertaining. This comic con also had some great artists in attendance that sold and signed prints of their work. The merchandise was great which not only catered to the geek, but also the average person. As far as the family fun it was everywhere people dressed up and were taking pictures with their favorite superhero or villain all for the asking. Everyone in costume was so happy to pose for pictures
. The special guest celebrity line up was pretty impressive it included William Shatner, Michael Rooker, Lou Ferrigno, Cassandra Peterson, and James Marsters, just to name a few . The comic con had all its bases covered regarding attracting fans to this event simply by having these science fiction and horror film/television icons in attendance. Every one of these celebs had a booth where a fan could attain an autograph or photo op. Some of these celebs had special VIP passes and a special section in the convention hall was set aside for photo ops. Scheduled throughout the three days of this con there were Q&A panels with these celebs of which I attended three.
One was with Captain Kirk himself William Shatner. It was very informative he spoke about his life and some aspects of his early television career regarding the Twilight Zone episodes he did. Mr. Shatner was a very delightful gentleman. I attended the panel for James Marsters for those of you who don’t know he played Spike the evil vampire on the TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Now I didn’t know this, he is an American actor everything I’ve seen him in he always has a British accent, so I thought he was British. His panel was very informative about his past, present, and future projects. One panel attendee asked him a question regarding his onscreen kiss with John Barrowman who was also in attendance at this con. It was interesting to know that his wife directed the kissing scene on that episode of Torchwood.
I went kind of early to get good seating for a panel and caught the tail end of Dean Cain’s Q&A session. For people who don’t know Dean played Superman on the television series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. He was very open and the crowd liked his down to earth manner. One attendee asked him what his most embarrassing moment on television was. Dean replied that he felt he was in good physical shape being an ex professional football player so when he had break through a wall that had been weakened and prepared for a scene, he felt confident he could do it. Sometimes he couldn’t break through the wall to the laughter and amusement of the production crew.
The most memorable panel I went to was of Cassandra Peterson who hosted Horror films late at night in the early 80’s as the sexy wise cracking Elvira. She spoke about her friendships she formed years ago as a member of the Groundlings comedy group that included the late great Phil Hartman, and Paul Rubens (Pee Wee Herman). She talked about her experiences in Las Vegas as a young showgirl meeting the king himself Elvis. She spoke about how Elvis told her to leave Vegas in order reach her full potential as an entertainer. She was lovely and charming if anyone has the opportunity to meet her at a con go see her you won’t be disappointed. The comic book artists were well represented at the con, the legendary Neal Adams (Batman, Green Lantern, and Green Arrow) was there at a booth selling his prints at very affordable prices. I saw Greg Horn there and I bought a few prints from him because I’m big fan of his comic book cover artwork ( FYI if you have any of his comic books he will sign them for free as long as they are not special edition comics).
While looking at the different artist booths I ran into Adam Simon who spoke about his independent sci fi film Synapse. Adam wrote the screenplay and is also acting in the film; the premise is very interesting for more info on this film go to www.synapsethefilm.com. The merchandise at the con encompassed many interests to the geek and non geek alike. There was everything from comics to light sabers at the con. When I attend a con I look forward to finding comics for my collection, and action figures that won’t break my bank, that was all there. Sometimes when I go to a con something completely new to me fascinates me; this time it was the LED sound activated t-shirts I thought they were really cool and affordable.
The family could all come down and have fun at an event like this meeting other convention goers dressed up as superheroes who are happy to pose for photos. I saw whole families coming to this event dressed up each one a member of a superhero team like The Guardians of the Galaxy. I get a kick out of seeing peoples ingenuity when it comes making their own costumes. Oh by the way the most prevalent costume in attendance was Deadpool. The costume role-play was awesome but there was also videogame role-playing with huge simulator pods so you can pilot your own giant robot mecha (provided by Mechcorps) which was cool. To me it’s these things that make going to an event like this great fun.
Overview ,I enjoyed this event and I thought it was a moderate success. First off the staff running this event are all top notch and very professional. I think the way they handled the crowd of attendees was very organized as far as lining up for admission and to pick up VIP passes. The layout in the convention area was great there wasn’t any overcrowding at any one part of the space so the foot traffic kept on moving. The autograph booths were very good with respect to how they were dispersed throughout the convention area, and the lines they had at each booth was pretty clever. I liked the way the photo op area was set up; it was very organized and could handle hundreds of people at a time very easily. There was an area at the snack bar set up which I’m sure the mommies appreciated so they can sit down to rest to have a soda or a hot dog. I very much approved of the way they set up and utilized the media rooms for the Q&A panels there was plenty of seating.
I think the Frankly Chat app was a cool innovation being used in the panels. The Frankly Chat app is something that can be downloaded to your smartphone that enables you to pose questions to your favorite celebrities without having to be there. The reason I thought this event was a moderate success is that I had an expectation there would be more people in attendance. I spoke to a vendor who said that he attended the San Japan convention a few weeks earlier at the same venue, and the crowds there were comparable to this event. For those of you who do not know San Japan is a convention that celebrates all things Japanese and Japanese animation. It is a smaller niche subculture compared to the traditional comic con culture, and they achieved comparable attendance for that event. The same vendor stated that Wizard World needed to find a way to attract local vendors to this event.
I thought that maybe price point for the tickets might be a factor for the lack of attendance. Realistically I think that this town could support a convention like this even with the price of the tickets being what they are. I believe these points are valid, but I think the people at Wizard World shouldn’t have scheduled their convention roughly a little over a month before its convention competitor Alamo City Comic Con. I think that when they schedule their next convention they should have it 4 to 6 months apart from the Alamo City Comic Con. Scheduling with this in mind I think would insure a better turn out as well as bring in more local vendors to this event. I would love to see this event succeed in our city. I have one suggestion to Wizard World why not try to have this event during Fiesta, combining this event with an already established week long party sounds pretty good to me.
Thank you Wizard World for coming to San Antonio.
River City Attractions.
Octahedron @ the Olmos Pharmacy
Octahedron
The evening started with the young indie-alt band Octahedron
Playing tunes with melodic under tones.
Newly formed, in the of the summer of 2013 .These guys are the music of tomorrow. With a little more seasoning under their belt and a few more gigs they will be a force to be reckoned with.
They play all original songs. “Octahedron” Walk their own path.
The members of the band do have one thing in common. They say..
“Making music to make life better”
This hold true because some of their music sales from go to
“Charity World Vision”
http://www.reverbnation.com/octahedronmusic
I ask Elena and Austin, Why do you play without shoes?
Answer “To feel the music”
The ages of these musicians ranges from 15 to 19 years.
How can I describable how they sound? Well a bit of
Regina Spektor, GIVERS, BOY, and a little like Fiona Apple,
The songs I particular like are:
“Cold Reality” and “The End Game”
The members of Octahedron
Elena Lopez – Vocals, Keys Board
Austin Jimison – Guitar, Key Board
Ruben Lopez – Bass
Daniel Puente – Drums
Manager: Rey Lopez
Like in all band’s There are ebbs and tides
Time will tell where they will end up.
America has talent? The voice?
Time will tell
With Their father Rey Lopez as the band manager,
Elena and Rubens have a very good start along with fellow band members Austin & Daniel
Not being signed to any recording labels, it gives the band a wide door to explore their horizons
Good Luck and Thanks for the Music……
Story and photographs’ Joseph Martinez
River City Attractions
Also a Special “Thank you” to “Olmos Pharmacy”
For having a venue for Musicians to show case their talents.
http://www.olmosrx.com/index.php/en/
Need more information on Octahedron
Try the links below.
https://www.facebook.com/#!/OctahedronBand
https://twitter.com/OctahedronMusic
Comic Con: Special Guest Danny Trejo
Story by David A. De La Rosa
Photos by: Joseph Martinez
Alamo City Comic Con: Special Guest Danny Trejo
The inaugural Alamo City Comic Con has come and went; it was set up as a premier comic book convention. The four things people look forward to in a typical convention are comic book collectibles, artwork, dressing up in costume, and meeting celebrities. The Alamo City Comic Con did not disappoint in any of those aforementioned items.
Myself I wanted to see the actor Danny Trejo; for those of you who don’t know who he is let me tell you. Danny has had a long career as a character actor playing bad guys in both TV and film, and lately has attained cult hero status as the Machete in that film franchise. There were several ways to see and meet this celebrity either with a VIP pass, organized autograph signing, Q&A panel, or a lucky sighting in the halls. I went to see him at the Q&A panel which was free for convention goers, in the Lila Cockerell Theathre. The Lower level of theatre was almost filled to capacity with the two main isles set up with microphones for the audience to lineup and ask Mr. Trejo questions.
The Q&A session lasted 45 minutes to an hour in which the audience asked Mr. Trejo questions about his life, career, or just wanted to state their admiration for Mr. Trejo’s work. As for Mr. Trejo he could not have been cooler he answered every question fully with down to earth wit and humor. I liked that about Mr. Trejo because you could tell he was happy to be there with his fans. I’ve been to other conventions in which the celebrity guests (not mentioning any names) really made you feel that they didn’t want to be there, with their tone answering questions, or demeanor.
Here are a few questions asked of Mr. Trejo and his responses.
Q: Did you have any beef with any characters on the set?
A: Oh no god no I had a sword fight with uh Mel Gibson, and so when Robert yelled action I threw my sword down and Robert said what’s wrong. I said I’m not fighting William Wallace are you crazy he freed Scotland.
Q: Do you have a preference to play the bad guy?
A: Gimme what you got I don’t care man you got a good script I’ll be a good guy, you got a good script I’ll be a tree. It’s like a lot of people take this acting like really really serious you know but it’s I’m blessed it’s a great job but it’s still a job. You know I’m like a house painter and a house painter doesn’t really care what house he paints just as long as he gets paid. You know what I mean so somebody offers me a job it goes through my agent we get 20 scripts a week so they read’em and they see what fits me you know what is mean in a sense so ok let’s do this one. I’d do them all if I could.
Q: How old were you when you got your tattoo on your chest, that Charra?
A: God I got that, I’d hate to say it I got that in 1965. And uh and I was in prison and that was with a needle and thread. And me and a guy named Harry “Super Jew” Ross we did the outline in San Quentin and then I got kicked out of San Quentin. They sent me to Folsom, and Harry said don’t let anybody touch it, it’s my first tattoo. So he said I’ll be in Folsom, so in about 5 months later he showed up in Folsom and he did a little more and then I got sent to Soledad and uh and he was almost done he said let me finish it so then 8 months later he showed up in Soledad he finished it so it was about I don’t know 2 years and uh 3 penitentiaries. I got to tell you this was his first tattoo so he hated it because he became a real good shader and fine line and some of you tattoo artists will know what I’m talking about. He became a great tattoo artist so he hated this tattoo cause it made him so famous. Don’t show it to anybody. Shut up! (Danny lifted his shirt and exposed his tattoo to great applause) Harry just passed away but his legacy is he put the tattoo on Danny Trejo.
The whole panel session was great and before people entered the theatre everyone received a ticket. At the end of the Q&A session Mr. Trejo was asked to pick a ticket out of a bowl to choose a winner of a special prize which was a limited edition figure of Machete, sponsored by Sideshow Collectibles. Mr. Trejo graciously signed the prize and took pictures with the lucky winner. For myself I thought this panel session was the highlight in my comic con experience. A note to any organizers of this event that might read this article do yourself a favor and invite Mr. Trejo back for next year’s comic con.
River City Attractions
