Riding High: Saltillo’s Rodeo Spirit Saddles Up in Austin
At the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Austin, the air carried a hint of mesquite and melody—Mexico’s northern soul had arrived. The Governor of Coahuila, Manolo Jiménez Salinas, stood before…
To Kill a Mockingbird — Maycomb’s Mirror of Injustice
Opening night of City Theatre’s 20th anniversary season was To Kill a Mockingbird. Adapted from Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, this is the story and riveting stage production of the…
The Heat of the Soul: Tennessee Williams’s Summer and Smoke in Austin
The air in New Orleans hangs heavy, the kind of muggy heat that clings to your skin and thoughts alike. Tennessee Williams felt oppressed by that weight — the suffocating…
GRISHA – Opening Act of Austin Classical Guitar’s 35th Season
Robert Rodriguez, the legendary Austin filmmaker, opened his Troublemaker Studios for ACG’s 35th Season. They filmed Alita: Battle Angel there. At the open-air set, I felt as if I was…
An Allegiance to Life
An Interview with Agnes Nkhata – International DJ, Artist, Writer and Humanitarian How are you? I ask the question from my living room over Zoom, lightly, steam rising from a…
Learning to Human
Sims Holland has taken her one-woman powerhouse of a tragedy-comedy on quite a journey—from Los Angeles, to Off-Off Broadway in New York City, and now, full circle, back to her…
Cyberfloral Imaginings: When the Future Strips Down
The program promised Cyberfloral Imaginings through Pole Dance, Burlesque, & More. presented by Velvet Nox was Intriguing enough, since I had never seen live pole dancing. Burlesque? Plenty — from…
Intel Lastierre’s Infernal Rebirth into Hell
The Underdog Within Even as a child, I noticed the way people were treated differently — how some were dismissed as less than human because they didn’t “measure up” to…
“A Safe Place to Be Seen”: The Portraits—and Path—of Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon
On an afternoon inside a small East Austin space—half studio, half neighborhood hangout—photographer and filmmaker Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon waved a passerby in from the sidewalk. Ten minutes later, the man—Rick, a…
What Is Your Nightmare? Mine Is a Dream Come True
What is your nightmare? Mine is a dream come true: stepping into the 3D immersive set of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.…