CULTURE AND COMMUNITY

6 ways to celebrate Black History Month in San Antonio

The String Queens will perform February 20 at the Carver Community Cultural Center.

San Antonio is celebrating 100 years of Black History Month with a calendar that goes way beyond the classroom. Alamo City’s February lineup offers everything from electrifying string recitals to intimate poetry salons to a wine-fueled trek through the Hill Country. Here are all the can’t-miss events.

Join a story time
he special edition of Cortez Branch Library’s story time series features “Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti,” Gerald McDermott’s classic tale about a loveable yet mischievous spider. After listening to the West African-inspired story, participants can customize their own headgear, then cut a rug with the legendary trickster’s hat-shaking dance.
February 12, 10:20 am. Free.

Wine and ride in the Hill Country
Pedal through the Hill Country with San Antonio Black History Tours. Riders will stop by Kai-Simone Winery in Spring Branch for sips and light bites, and learn about pivotal moments in Central Texas’ Black history along the way. Meet-up details will be provided with a ticket purchase.
February 12, 10 am-4 pm. $70.

Evoke the muse
Need some creative inspiration? Lion's Field Adult and Senior Center will host a special poetry roundtable event focused on famous Black poets. Each station features envelopes containing masterworks. Open one, read it aloud, and dive into a discussion with your tablemates.
February 20, 1 pm. Free.

Feel the rhythm
The Carver Community Cultural Center welcomes The String Queens, a world-renowned trio that interprets everything from Baroque classics to pop hits through viola, violin, and cello. The String Queens have performed at several high-profile gigs, such as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the 2021 presidential inaugural concert.
February 20, 8 pm. $27-plus.

Dive into art
The San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum will have a market day where community members can browse exhibits that pay tribute to people, organizations, movements, and events that helped to shape the local cultural landscape. After a stroll through the collections, check out vendor booths, or enjoy music, arts, crafts, and refreshments.
February 21, 10 am-4 pm. Free.

Cycle through East Side history
Local cyclists are invited to take part in an inclusive, social ride that will double as an exploration of social and cultural progress. Riders start and end at Cherrity Bar, where a community market will feature vendors, bites, live music, and nonprofit booths to learn how you can be involved in Black history year-round. Cyclists must bring their own bike or rent one from Ghisallo Cycling at Blue Star.
February 28, 8:30 am. Free admission, but RSVP is encouraged.

san antonio music bicycle ride art storytime nature walk winery poetry san antonio african american community archive and museum market day black history month

Texas Film Icons

San Antonio's Michelle Rodriguez among celebs honored at Texas Film Awards

Photo by Lauren Slusher

Vin Diesel came to support his co-star Michelle Rodriguez at the Texas Film Awards.

The Texas capital is busy with visitors from all over, including San Antonio. In addition to some San Antonians playing sets at South by Southwest, one of San Antonio's own, Michelle Rodriguez was just featured in the Texas Film Awards. Honoring legends of the Texas film industry, the annual fundraising event in Austin inducted new members into the Texas Film Hall of Fame, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the Austin Film Society (AFS), the milestone year for the Texas Film Hall of Fame welcomed new members Michelle Rodriguez, Tim and Karrie League, and Noah Hawley. Before the event, CultureMap caught up with AFS founder and film director Richard Linklater about the anniversary.

Richard Linklater Texas Film Awards Richard LinklaterPhoto by David Brendan Hall

“It’s very cool,” he said, “Forty years is wild. You can’t help but reflect back to year one. We grew with Austin: as Austin has grown, so have we.”

Sharing the impact of AFS grants on stage during the event, Linklater elaborated further on this symbiotic growth.

“The rising tide of Austin lifted our boat, and we grew when we needed to [without] losing our fundamental film freakiness," Linklater said. "Forty years in, I know two things to be true: community is everything. Watching movies together connects us and builds that community. And, the love and appreciation of cinema knows no bounds: if you nurture it, it feeds you back ten fold.”

Linklater is on a recent awards streak, having been honored with a Texas Medal of Arts Award in late February.

Robert Rodriguez and Michelle RodriguezPhoto by Lauren Slusher

He also introduced a surprise guest to the event, Vin Diesel, who co-starred with Rodriguez in the Fast and Furious franchise. Sauntering onto the stage in a black cowboy hat, Diesel shared that he recently discovered his Texan roots and that their Texan identity was one of many things that bind him to Rodriguez as his ride-or-die.

Vin Diesel Texas Film Awards Vin DieselDavid Brendan Hall

Actor and one-time Austinite Elijah Wood presented the award to Tim and Karrie League, founders of the Alamo Drafthouse and Fantastic Fest.

Elijah Wood Tim and Karrie League Texas Film Awards Elijah Wood, Tim and Karrie LeaguePhoto by Lauren Slusher

Wood praised the Leagues for their impact not just on the Austin film industry but the wider film community by redefining what a theater could be, “a place that embraces both first-run studio films, independent and international gems, and the most obscure oddities dug from the archives; a place where you can pair dinner with a movie; where themed screenings create memories beyond the film itself.”

For the final award of the night, Atlanta actress Zazie Beetz and Fargo actor David Rysdahl presented the award to writer and producer Noah Hawley, who is currently working on Fargo and Alien: Earth.

David Rysdahl, Noah Hawley, and Zazie BeetzPhoto by Lauren Slusher

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