February Scene and Heard

The Stock Show and Rodeo is back in town with another jam-packed passel of fun, food, festivities and farm animals―and a carnival to boot. As the Stock Show and Rodeo's official magazine, this month's Scene in SA is your guide to all things rodeo― from hot events to cool facts about the kind of fun you'll find there this year. Here's something you won't find, though―norteno star Ramon Ayala, famous for his narcocorrido ballads, who was busted in Mexico in December as his band played a bash at the home of an alleged kingpin of the notorious Beltran-Leyva drug cartel.

Ayala was released from custody after the widely publicized raid, but is said to remain under investigation. Rodeo folks said they couldn't be sure he'd be able to make the Valentine's night concert, so after much deliberation they booked another hot norteno band, Latin Grammy-winning Grupo Pesado, for the Feb. 14 gig, which caps the rodeo's Dia de Vaqueros. It's a small world―in November, Pesado and Ayala shared top billing at a huge gig in Chicago just weeks before the bust at which Ayala was nabbed. Tough break for Ayala; good save by the rodeo folks. Those drug cartels create havoc in all kinds of unexpected ways….

Here's a non-traditional way to woo your Valentine―Fluffy Tacos. That would be red-hot Latino comic Gabriel Iglesias, whose "Fluffy Shop Tour" plays two Valentine's night shows at the Majestic Theater. Iglesias, who is definitely not related to super-suave Spanish crooner Julio Iglesias, famously refers to his super-sized shape as "fluffy." This is not Iglesias' first time in S.A. On a recent HBO special, he noted that the last time he played the Majestic Theater he was approached by a zealous policeman who saw him lingering on the Houston Street sidewalk outside the theater after his show.

"He wanted to know what I was doing standing there," the comic said. "I just pointed to the big poster with my picture." Right after Iglesias' "Fluffy" gig, the Majestic plays host to a familiar favorite with a new twist―Tuna Does Las Vegas. It's the S.A. debut of Joe Sears' and Jaston Williams' latest show featuring the bodacious, outrageous characters of their mythical Tuna, Texas, and it's a pretty good bet that it's just as funny as the rest. Want to go? Details are in our Calendar.

Congrats to former mayor Lila Cockrell, the woman behind S.A.'s spectacular "Celebrate San Antonio" citywide New Year's bash. (Oh, Miz Lila will tell you about the many people and organizations behind the big annual bash downtown, but as the imaginative, seasoned force at the head of the S.A. Parks Foundation, she deserves a lot of credit for this annual event.)

This year Cockrell and her colleagues had even more reason to celebrate the New Year, since Priceline.com hailed “Celebrate San Antonio” as one of the top places in the world to be on New Year's Eve. And S.A. is the only city in Texas that even made the Priceline list. Salud!

Former CPS board chair and recent lightning rod Aurora Geis wasn't getting much respect from the public and local pols by the time she resigned under pressure in the wake of CPS’ nuclear proposal near-meltdown.

But a few weeks before Geis’ departure from the board, a group of civic dynamos sent a little sunshine her way at a low-key breakfast at the Bright Shawl sponsored by Solar San Antonio.

Mayor Julian Castro was not there. But former Mayor Phil Hardberger and his new employer, attorney Jamie Smith; Solar S.A. leaders Bill and Lanny Sinkin; CPS' interim exec Jelynne LeBlanc-Burley and still-standing board member Steven Hennigan; Mary Kelly, Lisa Rodriguez and Ginger Purdy were among those who attended to bolster Geis’ spirits and praise her for her stint at CPS.

"I have not known a more hardworking person that got nothing for her time,” Hardberger declared. "I talked her into it [accepting the CPS board position],” he added, "and I am unrepentant on the choice. She is a creative, imaginative public servant―and a hell of a lot of fun." LeBlanc-Burley recalled being recruited to the CPS staff by former interim jefe Steve Bartley (another casualty of the nuclear communications fiasco). When friends cautioned her about the difficulties the job entailed, Burley said, "I told everybody 'Aurora's there, it will be fine.’" Bill Sinkin praised Geis for supporting solar and other alternative technologies, as well as Hardberger's "green jobs" initiative.

For her part, Geis shared this hard-earned lesson: "You cannot underestimate the importance of public understanding." Powerful words.

S.A.'s financial outlook is on the upswing, according to Steve Niven, head of regional economic think tank SABER, a joint project of the S.A. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and St. Mary's U. Niven presented SABER's Economic Trends monthly report at the Hispanic Chamber’s 2010 Economic Forecast breakfast last month.

It's a fascinating document, full of relevant graphs and statistics, and available to all online. But our favorite part has to be the last page, a quotation from Steven Brill's article "What's a Banker Really Worth?" in the Jan 3. New York Times Magazine. Outlining the recent Wall Street proposal to pay bankers partially in stock, with requirements on when they could sell it, Brill quotes an anonymous bank exec on why the plan would be a hardship on many poor, struggling bankers: “A lot of our folks have second and third homes and alimony payments and other obligations that require substantial current cash.”

Can you hear the world's tiniest violin playing heartrending music?

Acclaimed author Sandra Cisneros sure knows how to make an entrance. Just before Christmas, La Sandra, who's as powerful in person as she is on the page, celebrated her 55th birthday with leopard-print sizzle―and a leopard-print stretch limo to match.

Fans and friends from all walks of life donned whatever leopard-look outfits they could lay hands on to help the beloved literary lioness usher in another successful year with a jazzy bash at cool club Luna. Even better, the $55 "suggested donation" let even those who couldn't pay join the play―and all proceeds went to Cisneros' world-class, S.A.-based Macondo Foundation for writers and artists.

Writer Ito Romo was the evening's emcee, and Jump-Start Performance Company's dancing diva, S.T. Shimi, heated up the birthday show with a spectacular "'Tangolele" performance that had party guests spellbound (and in a couple of overwrought cases, drooling).

Artistic dynamic duo Rolando Briseno and Angel Rodriguez-Diaz, Frances and John Phillip Santos and Frances Trevino, State Rep. Mike Villarreal, Creative Civilization PR pros Al Aguilar and Gisela Girard, Sandra and Dr. Rafael Guerra, Palo Alto College prez "Cha" Guzman and her hubby "Hilly" Ocanas and attorney-mediator Dan Naranjo were among the admirers in the standing-room-only crowd celebrating Cisneros, and the gifts she shares with writers, readers and her international community of fans.

Big news on two fronts from John Phillip Santos and Frances Trevino, S.A.’s coolest literary love story of the past decade, who married in April ’08. John Phillip's long-awaited new novel, The Farthest Home Is in an Empire of Fire: A Tejano Elegy, is due out in April, and it's already a hit. Santos says Texas Monthly plans to feature a chapter in its March magazine. But the "birthing" of the new book isn't the only big event for the couple this spring. Even bigger news: Frances is on the verge of producing an even more thrilling first edition. The couple’s first child, a baby girl, is expected to arrive just about the time the book comes out.

Another bodacious birthday bash―a surprise party Karen Herrmann tossed for her civic powerhouse hubby Ron at the Wetmore Smokehouse and Saloon (which, like Grady’s Barbecue, is one of the family businesses). Bill and Louree Greehey, Fully and Gloria Clingman, Charles and Melissa Barrett, Nelson and Tracy Wolff, "Cisco" and Graciela Cigarroa, Joci and Joe Straus Jr., Ron’s sister Jeanette Longoria, writer Bill Sibley, Lukin Gilliland and many more well-wishers tied on monogrammed bandanas and bellied up to sumptuous buffets at the bash, which also featured a Parisian mixologist shaking up fruity "fusion" cocktails. Seemed like half the crowd was on a circuit that evening, as they raced to work in both Herrmann's party and S.A. icon Edith McAllister’s annual Christmas open house. The more parties, the merrier.

The feisty ladies of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas came out swinging as the New Year dawned. On New Year’s Day, DRT leaders launched an online video, The Alamo Answers on their website. In it, DRT marketing director Tony Caridi and the DRT’s Alamo Committee chair, S.A.’s Virginia Van Cleave, sharply rapped the knuckles of KSAT-TV jefe Jim Joslyn for referring to the Alamo as a "laughing-stock”―a comment prompted by a protracted public feud that began when two disaffected S.A. members started their own, separate Alamo support group and launched a crusade to remove the DRT as the official caretakers of the historical mission. Van Cleave also announced plans to launch a new, DRT-created support group, Allies of the Alamo, later this month, and an "exciting event" coming up Feb. 26 at the Alamo―an historical evening with the timely title “The Alamo Under Siege" which is surely how the Daughters feel these days. Tickets are $10―for info call (210) 225-1391, ext. 28, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Allies of the Alamo is a catchy name for a support group, but there's a catch. A Google search for the name brings up a very different website, for a very different kind of group that happens to be called Alamo Allies. It's a web-based "clan" of online war-gamers, apparently inspired by the courage of the original Texians at the historical Alamo. That's pretty much where the connection to the "shrine of Texas liberty" stops. A brief tutorial on how to become an official member of the game includes the pithy advice; "Don't be an ASSHAT!" (sic) We'll bet Davy Crockett never heard that expression. But if he did, he might have liked it.

S.A.'s Daniel and Angelina Musik-Comp are social media pioneers. Their MOMtrepeneurs project uses media and web technology to connect and promote all kinds of people, groups and businesses in positive ways. Last fall the pair launched a new enterprise that's all about connecting the best of the real world through the myriad connections of the Web.

The new group is called the Red Dress Society, and its mission is to honor women making a difference in their communities and promote the work they do, with the society’s new Angel Awards.

The nominations, reviews of nominees and voting are all online. But real live events play a big role, too. The Red Dress Society idea has been gathering steam fast, not only in S.A., but, thanks to the magic of the internet, in L.A., Seattle, Miami, Portland and other cities that have their own local Red Dress groups and Angel Awards events coming up later this year. San Antonio had the first live awards banquet in December―a tribute-packed evening at the Quarry Golf Club featuring dozens of deserving honorees and grateful supporters. Eva's Heroes director Christiane Perkins-Garcia and assistant Barbara Dierker, National Alliance for Hispanic Families director Lorena Gonzalez, Society for Animal Rescue and Adoption founder Tracy Frank and Operation Homefront founder and CEO Amy Palmer were among the honorees. So were Suzanne Huber, director of Morningside Ministries; Dawn Dixon of Any Baby Can; Laura Fronzaglio, who heads up the Outreach and Transitional Living services at S.A.'s Family Violence Prevention Services; and Tracey Fontenot and Kacey Wernli, the co-founders of Kinetic Kids. Whew! There are still more ... Janet Ketcham, head of CASA-Child Advocates San Antonio; Dress for Success leader Pamela Taylor, ChildSafe development director Melanie Cawthorn, S.A. Youth Summit coordinator Janie Lopez, SAMMinistries CFO Dorothy Morris, Girl Scouts board chair Jackie Gorman-Johnson and Bexar County Civil Service director Andrea San Miguel. A whole Heaven full of Angel awardees, and the list goes on … Stand Up for Kids directors Janet Grigsby and Michelle Ryan; S.A. Ladies Ethnic Group founder Annette Ortiz; Little Black Dress Society chair Amanda Graybill, and attorney Tina Torres, who took home a special "Lifetime Community Servant" award.

Lots of honorees, lots of good works, lots of fun. And there’s much more to come in 2010. Cheers!