The Rhythm of the Heart

The Rhythm of the Heart

In Songs of the Heartland by Hector Galan, we are introduced to the origin of our Spanish and Tejano ancestor’s passion for music. Music was a big part of the migrant workers. I was fortunate enough to have had this experience. We would follow the crop so to speak, and in our traveling from one place to another, we were exposed to this music.

My parents used to listen to play music on the stereo of a group called Los Relampagos del Norte. I loved this music. I remember the popular station they listened to back then was KCOR. I can understand why the button accordion is called the “heart of music”. The sound produced when playing a waltz is so flowing. Narcisco Martinez is considered the father of conjunto music.

Last October I went to the Pan American located on Southcross on the southside here in San Antonio. It was a wonderful night of dancing to the music of Los Fantasmas del Valle. They are a conjunto group from the valley. Like in Songs of the Homeland they follow the circuit of the migrant workers. They tour to Corpus Christi, Robestown, Brownsville, Alice, San Carlos, Rio Grande City, Seguin, Carlota, George West, Port Aransas, Weslaco, Mc Allen, Santa Rosa, Zapata, Roma and make many bookings here in San Antonio. I have found that many people who attend these dances, follow Los Fantasma’s music circuit to these little towns, to enjoy the group’s lively music and dance. The atmosphere is so electric yet relaxing. Some of their popular hits are El Troquero, La Curva, Contigo.

Rodney Rodriguez is about 20 and the youngest of the group. He is the accordionist. The lead singer is Hector Barron who plays bajo electrico. The bajo sexto is played by 2nd voice Julian Figueroa. The drummer is Cruz Gonzales.

Whether the rhythm is an upbeat two-step or the waltz, we enjoy the enthusiastic sounds of Tejano music that is a part of our heritage.

Hidden Treasures

Hidden Treasures

Hidden away on Jones St. in San Antonio is the San Antonio Museum of Art. It has four floors of different cultures, periods of time, and a variety of colorful art. There are not only oil pieces, but sculptures and treasures of artifacts to see. My granddaughter accompanied me to the museum. We were even fortunate to see the Classic movie, Cleopatra, starring ; Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Rex Harris in the theater.

The sculpture in the Contemporary Art section called “Moon,“ 1992 captivated me. It is a fairly large size metal frame cage, with a television set on its back, and the screen facing up . The television is entrapped in the framed box, showing whatever happens to be playing in real time. There is a bronze or copper colored bear standing on top of it. A ball and chain is attached to the base of the cage. The ball has a smiling face etched on it. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the bear is made of belts, gloves, ties shoes and holsters.

This sculpture was created by Ken Little, a native Texan, born in 1947.His work introduces a metaphor of our society’s obsession with television. The cage houses our controlling media with heavy exposure to commercial advertising and political commentary. While it entertains us, it also serves to influence both our conscious and unconscious activities and decisions. The bear astride represents a surrogate for the average South westerner. The ball and chain attached to the base of the cage, with the face of the moon, represents dreams and imagination.
I was captured by the color and the artist’s imagination in which he brought it all
together. I admire the message he is projecting and understand the concept he is trying to impress upon us.

In the Graphic Instructions section, one piece in particular caught my eye. A framed letter written by Joseph Lindon Smith was sent to his brother.(1863-1950)
In this letter he drew a self portrait and sent it to his little brother. He instructed him to take the two dollars from under the arm of the sketched figure (he had made a slit in the sketched figure’s underarm and inserted the dollars) and give them to their father. To the right of the sketch he wrote “I-O-IT-2-Him”. He sent this letter to clear a debt.

Mr. Smith expressed ingenuity and humor in his letter. This is quite a creative form of art.
There is a freshness to his creativity. He used a lot of lines and the richness of texture is evident in the illustration.

There are impressively large religious paintings and statues. The Egyptian slabs with their etchings tell interesting stories. Right now there is a wonderful exhibit of animal portraits giving ironic examples of oppression, greed, and industry.

Experiencing these wonderful exhibits in person greatly outweighs the perception
in comparison to seeing them on the internet. We spent quite a bit of time at the museum and found art that provoked both our tastes.

Haven on Earth

A Myriad of Color

A







Myriad of Color

The Daniel F. Sullivan Carriage House was built in 1896. This Is located on the property now known as the Botanical Gardens. It was built in the European Gothic style with a huge archway to allow carriages to enter. It has several stables and the upstairs area was the hayloft. The structure shows a rhythm in the repetition of the side by side stables and symmetry in the peaks angled in the roof. There is a balance evident in the two side off setting the main archway entrance. It was built behind the Sullivan house on Broadway and Fourth Avenue.

In the 1960’s the house and carriage were split and sold separately. The Hurst Corporation bought the Carriage House and donated it to the San Antonio museum association with the option for improvements. They in turn offered it to the Botanical Society.

In 1988 the Carriage House was moved by skilled stone masons who disassembled it . They cleaned and marked each limestone block and painstakingly reassembled it on its present site. Through much funding of trusts, organizations, societies, donations, and through funding of many private individuals, it was finally completed and opened in early summer of 1995.

The Botanical Gardens has a vast array of display gardens each distinctive in arrangement but each one blending in with the next. The gardens have so many aromas intermingling.
My favorite exhibit was the Lucille Halsell Conservatory. The orchids have such vivid colors. The exhibit has a myriad of strange plants. I felt like I was in a tropical rainforest. The Carriage House was a beautiful addition to the Botanical Gardens and has a steady stream of visitors, many of which are tourists visiting our city of San Antonio.