I enjoyed this, found on facebook this morning, and thought some of our family might enjoy reading it also.
San Antonio, Texas: experience a 'rasquache' arts revelation
There's more to San Antonio than the tourist ghetto – get out of the centre and find a cornucopia of art events and galleries, off-beat tours, free swimming, and great bars and restaurants
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More than just Davy Crockett. The Alamo, pictured, is a San Antonio landmark but the city has a vibrant contemporary art scene too. Photograph: Rex Features
Even Texans overlook San Antonio, the state's second-largest city, unaware of the tremendous charm of this centuries-old metropolis – and I was one of them. As a kid growing up in the north of the state, the one family vacation we took to San Anto centred, as most do, on the River Walk in downtown – a tourist ghetto where an admittedly lovely fabricated river-channel meanders past chain restaurants and 1,000-room hotels. My strongest memory is of eating tortillas which, for the first time in my life, were handmade not store-bought.
Little did we know that San Antonio is one of the most delightful places inTexas, if not the US – a revelation typically reserved for residents.
There's no business bureau trumpeting our weirdness and precious few big-money developers or patrons imposing cultural significance upon us. San Antonio has always been a DIY society: we make our own tortillas, and just about everything else. We're proudly "rasquache", a Spanish/Chicano term that means doing a whole lot with very little, whether it's amateur home renovation, transforming a shack into a neighbourhood bar, or creating homegrown conjunto music.
For those in search of authentic experiences, San Antonio delivers – you just need the right information, most of which can't be found in the lobbies of those 1,000-room hotels.
For starters, you must venture beyond the River Walk to get a sense of the city, but need not go that far to find it: travelling in a less than three-mile radius from the centre of downtown offers days of activities.
Begin by going south to the aptly named Southtown. From the early 80s, this area was transformed from down-and-out to family-friendly, largely spurred by the artistic community, which has planted several artist-owned and operated communes here.
Joe Lopez, artist and owner of the Gallista Gallery. Photograph: City of San Antonio
Start at Sala Diaz, a ratty bungalow-turned contemporary arts exhibition space, which features experimental and often site-specific work by local and international artists. Pause at Blue Star Contemporary Art Centeror the exquisitely selected inventory at San Angel Folk Art Gallery. Proceed further south to what locals call the 1906 Building, a train track-side warehouse that is home to studios and galleries run by young artists, across the street from the Chicano art mainstay the Gallista Gallery. I would recommend art lovers time their trip to arrive on the second weekend of the month, when Sala Diaz, 1906 and Gallista all have gallery openings. Far from reserved wine-and-cheese affairs, these are more like block parties stocked with super-friendly artists, live music, and free beer in addition to quality works at prices that will make collectors' hearts skip a beat.
One of the grittier parts of the city, the West Side is an often overlooked, but integral, part of San Antonio. San Anto Cultural Arts Center offers $10 guided walking, bike, or van tours of the many evocative murals on the south and west sides, or a free, printable map on its website for self-guided excursions. The West Side also has my favourite local restaurant, Taqueria El Chilaquil, where the waitresses dress like Aztecs, serving homey Mexican fare, and I've stumbled upon international drag queen competitions on its stage, which also hosts tejano karaoke and Spanish-language lounge singer acts.
If it's summer, history buffs and swimmers should head back toward the city centre, just north of downtown to enjoy San Pedro Springs Park, the second oldest public park in the US after Boston Common, Boston. The pool, once springfed, is surrounded by cypress trees and costs nothing to enjoy. After a dip, explore the odd little grottos and other artifacts left from Victorian, and older, times.
Tucker's Kozy Korner. Photograph: Mary-Austin and Scott at flickr.com
Historically the home to the city's black population, the East Side also has one of the city's best bars, Tucker's Kozy Korner, which has live jazz or soul music every night of the week in its mid-century cool establishment.
There are treasures to discover even near the mother of all Texas tourist attractions, The Alamo. I insist visitors cross the street to The History Shop and pay $5 to view its historically accurate Alamo diorama. The miniature model features a light and sound display, including Phil Collins (yes, that Phil Collins, a noted Alamo history buff in his post-Genesis years) narrating the Battle of the Alamo. High kitsch, high rasquache, and puro San Antonio.
Callie Enlow, editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current, an alternative weekly newspaper
Callie Enlow, editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current, an alternative weekly newspaper
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