Out of the past comes San Antonio’s future Julie Ovenel?-Carter Contributing Writer SAN Antonio is to Texas what dark rye is to Wonder Bread: ethnic, appetiz- ing, and spiritually satisfying. As the crow flies, the Alamo city is only 400 km from Dallas, with its abundance of sugary-etched society matrons and sun-bronzed oil magnates. But San Antonio is light years away in mood and 4 manners, thanks largely to its substantial Hispanic population: in fact, any one who has experienced the happy chaos of a Mexican airport would feel completely at ease with the quirky inefficiencies of . San Antonio’s international terminal. (Recently overheard at the baggage carousel: “It’s just like Mexico, except there are no chickens running around.”) Indeed, if Sears made Mexico, it would look a {ot like San Antonio: plenty of glamour with hard- ly any grit. There is, in fact, nothing not to like about the historic town, established as a Spanish mil- itary garrison in 1718. Icis not a town of extremes. It is kind to the eye — the Plantation-style homes that grace the King William neighbourhood, and the Spanish Colonial missions strung like rosary beads along the San Antonio River, are stellar examples of the arca’s abundant heritage architecture. And it’s easy on the palate — Zuni Grill, on the famed downtown Riverwalk, and featured in the pages of Bon Appetit, = and La Fogata, a venerable San Antonio eatery, are just two of many restaurants featuring exem- plary Tex-Mex cuisine. Even the weather is pleasant, especially for winter-weary Canadians: the annual average temperature is a sunny 26 C. If San Antonio is refreshingly short on urban menace — people actually make eye contact and exchange pleasantries on downtown streets — its urban edge is long and razor-sharp. The city is home toa lange and varied artistic communi-- ty, and the city elders are aggressively redevelop- ing the downtown core as a centre for theatre and visual arts. Several defunct movie palaces _ were slated for restoration: two of them, the Moorish-style 2,500-seat Majestic and the ‘smaller, deco-era Empire have now reopened, and their breathtaking multi-million dollar inte- “fors are testimony to the vision and values of - San Antonio’s arts supporters. Compared to other cultural meccas such as ‘New York or Santa Fe, San Antonio has a far more reasonable cost of living (“it’s practically free,” according to one former New Yorker), a fact that is attracting increasing numbers of artists and craftspeople to the area. Artists’ stu- ' dios and galleries are woven along every twist and turn of the river. Ar one end of the artistic spectrum is the wend-setting non-profit collec- tive known as. Blue Star Art Complex; in the King William district, featuring work by a vari- ety of young contemporary artists, : Similarly, ArtPace is an exciting, avant garde venue in an old industrial neighbourhood, bankrolled by the. heiress to the Pace Picante _Whale Watching Packa Although ‘the University of Texas’ impressive Institute of Texan tures highlights more than 25 ethnic groups that helped settle he state, Latin American culture is unquestionably the dominant . - spict in the Galtural stew that is San Antonio. Almost 60% of the population is of Hispanic origin, and if San Antoni is still Spanish : Guadalupe :Culoural."Arts Center, on the city’s Westside, is its main cultural artery... © 5 8 Founded in the late 70s by a coalition of Hispanic artists who “wanted a place to celebrate their heritage, the Guadalupe Center promotes the best of Latino life and culture with on-going theatre, ce and visual art presentations, and annual events such as the ‘Tejano Conjunto Music Festival each spring, and the wildly popu- Jar Hecho a Mano/Made by. Hand craft fair each winter, featuring », exquisite pottery, metalwork, jewelry, and toys made by local arti- ‘Tofino’s Original Whale Watchers. - 65’ Cruisers _(Zodiacs available) Anaheim & Baja Cruise © October 6 - 13, 2000 woe INCLUDES: © Roundtrip airfare Vancouver to Los Angeles _ ¢ 4 nights aboard the Viking Serenade _ © 3 nights in Anaheim © Disneyland® Fiex Passport © Port charges of $128 mG) eee”. March I'to May 31 . : : . ae ay! ; Photes Julle Ovenet-Certor SAN Antenio's historic missions are still active parish churches. Here a focal’. bride prepares to be photographed In front of Mission San Jose, the church be! parents were married in. =. rr ne ae, Still, the best way to experience San Antonio’s vibrant Latin culture is not in a gallery but on the: street. You can fortify your body with the wickedly delicious breakfast pastries from: Mi Tierra bakery.:: while you haggle for souvenirs with vendors in Market Square. Or you can fortify your spirit by tak ing in a Sunday mass at one of the old missions. Built by the Franciscans in the early.1700s * tected today by the U.S. National Park Service, che churches are still active centres of Catholic ship: men and women still marry at their altars; generations of babies have been baptized at their fon Out of San Antonio’s past comes its future. 70° Teas st wep l ; In 1836, San Antonio earned a place in the guidebooks with cne ‘ nflict: bloody battle of the Alamo, where Mexican General Santa Anna defeated 189 Texas patriots. Happily, in the year 2000, it’s not the clash but the coexistence. of cultures that’s sparking a whole new. kind of fireworks in the museums, theatres and galleries of San Antonio. nS Bi American Airlines lies direct daily-from Vancouver to San Antonio, For more information ‘ San ‘Antonio, contact the San Antonio Convention & Visitors ‘Bureau at 1-800-447-3372 ol . 15 day:Cruise-Tou 4. ,October: 24,2000 imbel, Aswan and Lux Pacific Sands Beach Resort. 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