We are so proud of La Chicana Collectiva!

San Anto Cultural Arts would like to congratulate La Chicana Collectiva on their great art opening on December 19. The Collective is composed of two San Anto staff, Ruth Buentello y Cristina Ordonez, and three other loyal San Anto supporters, Mari Hernandez, Sarah Castillo, and Kristin Gamez. The Collective explored the theme of the Quinceanera in Latino cultura, and what it means to women around the age of 30 who missed it the first time around. They used multiple different media-- drawing, painting, video, fotography, and soundscape-- to create a body of work that both challenged traditional perceptions of that rite of passage and celebrated the women they have become.

Congratulations, Ruth, Cristina, Mari, Sarah, and Kristin!

We can't wait to see what happens next!

Viva La Chicana Collectiva!

To learn more about the exhibit, check out the Current's great article by Natalia Ciolko, and visit Mari Hernandez's blog.

Happy Holidays!

Have a safe and fun holiday season!

We look forward to your support in the new year!

love,

San Anto Cultural Arts Board and Staff

The office will be closed December 22-27 for the Christmas holiday.

Chase What Matters!

Friends y familia,

Chase Bank has come up with an exciting new way to give back to your community. Go to this link to learn more, but basically the gist is that if you search your favorite nonprofit (say, for example, San Anto Cultural Arts), you can cast your vote for them. If the organization gets enough votes, it will be eligible to get a nice chunk of change from Chase Community Giving. They're distributing $5,000,000 nationwide! Help us get in on that!

Here's what you do:

1. Go to http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/home/

2. Search for San Anto Cultural Arts

3. Become a fan of Chase Community Giving

4. Cast your vote for San Anto!

Help out San Anto!

VOTE

Muchos thank yous!

Celebrating the Sound of the City: La Musica de San Anto Mural Blessing

The Saturday before Thanksgiving, which was two days before Manny's birthday, San Anto blessed our 37th mural, La Musica de San Anto. Over a year in the making, La Musica is our biggest mural to date, and is one of our most special projects because of all of the superb musicians captured in its vibrant colors. These musicians include Doug Sahm, Randy Garibay, Eva Garza, Lydia Mendoza, Valerio Longoria, Clifford Scott, Felix Villarreal, Rocky Morales, and Rosita Fernandez. But we treasure this project especially because our late Executive Director, Manuel "Manny" Castillo, Jr. was added after his death in January. He is pictured doing something he loved best: tearin' up his drums.

La Musica has become something of a gateway to the Westside since it's located as cars pass coming over the Commerce bridge. We are extremely proud that the mural has been blessed and dedicated, and we hope that if you missed the blessing on November 21, that you will take a minute to drive by. It's located on the side of a bail bonds building at 1303 W. Commerce.

For more coverage of the event and the mural, check out the great article in the Southside Reporter by Nicole Marie Moore.