June 2026 Vol. 39 Issue 5 San Antonio, TejasBelen Escobedo 2026 NEA National Heritage Fellow!Felicidades! De parte de la Buena Gente de Esperanza
Belén Escobedo, 2026 NEA National Heritage Fellow Felicidades a Belén Escobedo, Pánfilo’s Güera, a frequent performer at Esperanza Peace & Justice Center’s annual programs including Paseo Por El Westside, Día de los Muertos, & the Peace Market/Mercado de Paz. Belén specializes in Mexican and Tejano fiddle tunes from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, music deeply rooted in the cultural exchange of the Texas borderlands. She performs on violin accompanied by bajo sexto, a 12-string bass instrument. Her group also features the tololoche, a Mexican upright bass, played by her husband, Ramón Gutiérrez. Her roots in music reach back to her early childhood and was born of necessity and of her grandfather’s love of traditional tunes that he heard on radio. Moving between formal music training and the daily musical life of the Southside in SA, Belén developed a style grounded in technical skill and local tradition. She became popular on the national folk and traditional music circuit appearing at major festivals throughout the U.S. and received the Master of Texas Fiddling Award in 2017. ¡Muy merecido, querida Belén!La Voz deEsperanzaJune 2026Vol. 39 Issue 5Editor: Gloria A. RamírezLayout: Elizandro CarringtonPhoto credit: Ramón GutiérrezContributorsSalem Alaydi, Agosto Cuellar, Christine Drennon, Elise D. García, OP, Teresa Gutiérrez, Don Mathis, Dr. Puente Para La Gente Esperanza DirectorGraciela I. SánchezEsperanza StaffRichard Aguilar, Sherry Campos, Arabella Chávez, Elizandro Carrington, Kayla Miranda, Nonye Okoye, René Saenz, Imane Saliba, Susana Segura, Rosa VegaConjunto de Nepantleras—Esperanza Board of Directors—Rachel Jennings, Marivel Dávila, Dennise Frausto, Amy Kastely, Sylvia Mendoza, Ana Lucía Ramírez, Gloria A. Ramírez, Rudy Rosales, Lilliana Saldaña, Nadine Saliba, Graciela I. Sánchez• We advocate for a wide variety of social, economic & environmental justice issues.• Opinions expressed in La Voz are not necessarily those of the Esperanza Center.La Voz de Esperanza Esperanza Peace & Justice Center922 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX 78212210.228.0201 • www.esperanzacenter.orgInquiries/Articles can be sent to:[email protected] due by the 8th of each monthPolicy Statements* We ask that articles be visionary, progressive, instructive & thoughtful. Submissions must be literate & critical; not sexist, racist, homophobic, violent, or oppressive & may be edited for length.* All letters in response to Esperanza activities or articles in La Voz will be considered for publication. Letters with intent to slander individuals or groups will not be published.The Esperanza invites you to join us for two Pride Month events: Runway Rasquachic with visionary San Antonio fashion designer/producer. Agosto Cuellar, takes place June 6th at the corner of Guadalupe and S. Brazos in the Historic Westside. Read more about this in pages 7-10 in this issue of Voz. And on Sunday, June 14th at 2pm, join us at the Esperanza for the 9th Annual Tardeada of Queer Voices 2026 brought to life by curators Anel Flores and Chibbi Orduña. See the anuncio in the back page and information on the National Book Launch of The Donkey Lady on June 20th and GIVE OUT DAY on June 4th. Remember to send in articles, creative works and poetry to [email protected] VISION STATEMENT: La Voz de Esperanza speaks for many individual, progressive voices who are gente-based, multi-visioned and milagro-bound. We are diverse survivors of materialism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, classism, violence, earth-damage, speciesism and cultural and political oppression. We are recapturing the powers of alliance, activism and healthy conflict in order to achieve interdependent economic/spiritual healing and fuerza. La Voz is a resource for peace, justice, and human rights, providing a forum for criticism, information, education, humor and other creative works. La Voz provokes bold actions in response to local and global problems, with the knowledge that the many risks we take for the earth, our body, and the dignity of all people will result in profound change for the seven generations to come.ATTENTION VOZ READERS: If you have a mailing address correction please send it to [email protected]. If you want to be removed from the La Voz mailing list, for whatever reason, please let us know. La Voz is provided as a courtesy to people on the mailing list of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. The subscription rate is $35 per year ($100 for institutions). The cost of producing and mailing La Voz has substantially increased and we need your help to keep it afloat. To help, send in your subscriptions, sign up as a monthly donor, or send in a donation to the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. Thank you. -GARLA VOZ de ESPERANZA • May 2026 Vol. 39 Issue 4•Belén performs with her husband, Ramón Gutierrez who plays a traditional tololoche, a Mexican upright bass. Photo: Lupito ConjuntoBelén and her group often play at Esperanza events including the annual Paseo Por El Westside, Día de Muertos and Peace Market/Mercado de Paz.
Eulogy For Manuel P. Berriozabal, By Elise D. García, OPThe Buena gente of Esperanza Peace and Justice Center join in sorrow with María and her beloved community noting the passing of Manuel P. Berriozábal, hombre noble y illustre. The following eulogy was delivered at the Angelus Funeral Home on April 30, 2026. It is my honor this evening to pay tribute to a highly respected and beloved man—Dr. Manuel Philip Berriozábal—known to some as Dr. B., to others as Uncle Manuel, to most of us as Manny, and to his beloved wife, María Antonietta, as, My Manny.From the moment he turned around and laid eyes on the 30-year-old woman in the aquamarine pantsuit sitting behind him at an archdiocesan meeting in San Antonio, Manny was smitten. In her autobiography, María, Daughter of Immigrants by María Antonietta Berriozábal, she writes: “He had a beard and was wearing a green suit, olive green. As he caught sight of me, a startled look came over his face. He stared at me for what seemed like a very long and awkward time. I have a clear picture of it in my mind. That look was frozen on his face, and behind him, on the wall, was a clock. It seemed to sit on his head, declaring the time: 7:05 p.m. That was the exact moment, on March 20, 1972—the first day of spring—when a new chapter of my life began.” It was also clearly the exact moment when a new chapter in the life of Manuel Berriozábal began. Many of us know that though Manny was born in San Antonio, on July 12, 1931, he grew up in Missouri. His father came to the U.S. from Durango, Mexico in 1910, during the Mexican Revolution, and his mother was the daughter of German immigrants. The family moved to Missouri when he was a year old. He spent his early years living with his German immigrant grandparents in Independence, Missouri, learning German songs, customs and language. As a gifted and hardworking student, especially in mathematics, Manny became the first in his family, on both sides, to attend college —Rockhurst College in Kansas. He eventually earned a Master’s degree in mathematics at Notre Dame University in 1956, though his studies were interrupted by service in the Army during the Korean War. His math skills had him writing programming for the Army’s first computers—in the days when a computer occupied a whole room. It was thanks to the encouragement of a mentor at Notre Dame, Dr. Arnold Ross, who became a lifelong friend, that Manny pursued a PhD in mathematics—earning it at UCLA in 1961. We are now about 10 years away from the fateful encounter between the olive green suit and the aquamarine pantsuit. During this chapter of his life Manny taught at UCLA and then in New Orleans, at Tulane University and Louisiana State University. In New Orleans, he began to work on and create pre-college programs in mathematics, understanding that the path to college, particularly for minorities, had to start before students entered college. He began creating STEMprograms before the acronym was used. Manny was deeply devoted to his Catholic faith and very involved in his parish as a lector and member of the choir. He also was active in progressive good government groups. His dedication to students, especially those under-represented in the sciences—students of color and girls—was integrally connected to his faith. When Manny heard that a new public university—the University of Texas at San Antonio—was being established in his birthplace, he was interested in joining its faculty. It was on a visit to obtain a position that he met the love of his life at a community-organizing meeting of the Catholic Archdiocese. He somehow finagled his way to sit at the table where María was leading a discussion. She began with a process of getting to know each other. As María writes, “I really pushed the process.”María asked this newcomer: “Manuel, tell me about yourself?” (He was single). “Manuel, tell me about your family?”and “Manuel, what are your thoughts on the needs of our Mejicano community.”When the meeting was over, Manny asked her: “Do you think we could go somewhere and continue this interesting discussion?”María stalled. “I can’t. I have work tomorrow.” Manny persisted, “Can we have dinner tomorrow after work?” “No, I have night school,” she said. “Well, do you think we could have lunch before I leave town?” María agreed and in writing her address on a piece of paper where he would pick her up, she prefaced her name with Miss María Antonietta Rodríguez, as she wanted to be sure he knew she was not a “Mrs.” Of course, before going out with him, María did her research, calling the pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe ChurchLA VOZ de ESPERANZA • June 2026 Vol. 39 Issue 5•3Manny and María, a love story for the ages.
who had invited Manny to the meeting. Father Edmundo Rodríguez was a friend of both. His “Ahhh!” and laughter when she called to ask about the man he had brought the night before gave away his matchmaking approval before he said a word. Edmundo told her that he had met the man in New Orleans and that Manny was a leader in that archdiocese, doing work with Latinas and Latinos. Before Manny returned to New Orleans, they both knew—even though they didn’t confess it, until later—that they had found the love of their lives. They married three years later, on August 9, 1975, living in New Orleans until the following summerwhen Manny obtained the position he sought at UTSA. In 1976 they both returned home, each beginning legendary careers in service to their San Antonio community—and beyond. As we know, Manny went on to found the extraordinarily successful UTSA Pre-Freshman Engineering Program(PREP) in 1979, a pioneering mathematics-based academic enrichment initiative that was later replicated on 25 college campuses across Texas and in 8 other states as Proyecto Access. The UTSA PREP program today bears the founder’s name—and has expanded to over 125 Texas school districts. It boasts more than 50,000 Texas alumni, and universities across the country have adopted the innovative model. —The idea was first disparaged because critics didn’t think young people would want to devote their summers to learning about mathematics, logical thinking, abstract reasoning, and computer science. Manny persisted. That fall, an anonymous member of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board expressed his opposition to approving an engineering program at UTSA, stating, “The Mexican American community is not where engineers come from anyway.” Manny took those words as an insult to both “our community and me” – but he also viewed them as a challenge for PREP and himself. Manny persisted. His resulting impact on the lives of so many people is immeasurable. Here are a few words former students have posted online: PREP made such an impact in my life. Using skills I learned there when I went to college, I really felt prepared. He changed the lives of so many, especially mine. Being a kid from the westside and learning logic and advanced algebra made me feel invincible.While I didn’t stay in STEM, PREP was instrumental in creating a higher ed pathway for me. I’ve come full circle and teach at the first university I ever stepped foot in as a PREP student.From a parent: My daughter did PREP and has made a career out of high school aquatic biology. What a legacy. What a love story for the ages.It is the love story for the ages of María and Manny. Their mutual support for one another was unconditional – and inspirational. With deep pride, Manny supported his brilliant and pioneering wife in her extraordinary public service work, her speaking out on behalf of the community—even when he knew she could be arrested—and her mentoring of hundreds of young women. Manny supported his wife through the painful years of tender care for her parents as their lives were coming to an end. A feminist man, as María says, Manny was “my huge pillar and my love.”Equally matched was the deep pride María had in Manny, supporting him through all the years as he grew his brilliant, visionary and award-winning PREP program. She was there right by his side throughout what she called “Manny’s Ordeal” – a seven-year period when this man of impeccable integrity and selfless public dedication was wrongly subjected to unconscionable calumny. Manny, as always, persisted. And they made it through together. In her final accompaniment through the last years of Manny’s life, María tenderly cared for him as Alzheimer’s slowly stole his brilliant mind.Somewhere in his soul and consciousness, Manny found a way to extend a deep bow of gratitude to his beloved wife, his pillar. He waited until 1:23 am on April 15, the day after María’s 85th birthday on April 14, to cross over to the other side of the veil. It is there where he now awaits, watching over her with loving care – and letting María know that in the goodness of time, together, all shall be well. An untold multitude are deeply grateful for the witness of Manny’s extraordinary life and legacy for the common good of all God’s people and our beloved Earth home. And for the witness of his love and devotion to his beloved soul mate who, for more than 54 years, never stopped sweeping him off his feet.BIO: Elise D. García, OP serves as Prioress of the Dominican Sisters of Adrian, Michigan. She was Co-Director with Carol Coston, OP, of Santuario Sisterfarm, an eco-spirituality sanctuary in the Texas Hill Country co-founded in 2002 by Dominican Sisters and Latinas of the Borderlands to cultivate diversity – biodiversity and cultural diversity, living in right relationship with the whole Earth community. María Antonietta Berriozábal served as President. It closed in 2011 but its website, www.sister- LA VOZ farm.org/ still communicates its message.de ESPERANZA • June 2026 Vol. 39 Issue 5•4On June 20, 2023, UTSA celebrated the re-naming of the Prefreshman Engineering Program (PREP) after the program's founder, Manuel P. Berriozábal. Photo: UTSA archives
Normalizing GenocideBy Teresa Gutiérrez“Normalizing” is a concept frequently used these days. Internet sources define it in society and culture as “Normalizing behavior or ideas so they are viewed as standard, accepted, or “natural”.Without a doubt, this is exactly what Israel and US imperialism desire about the heinous genocide in Gaza. In fact, on April 29 —“Lawmakers in Jerusalem approved a 2026 national budget that includes roughly $730 million for public diplomacy, more than four times allocated the year before.” “The unprecedented expenditure comes as survey after survey show declining support for Israel in the US. A poll released this month found 60% of Americans now view Israel unfavorably, up seven points in a single year, with only 37% viewing it favorably.” Clearly the worldwide movement that demands an end to the genocide has had an effect. That movement will not and cannot stop. But it is easy to become numb to the slaughter. Humanity has never experienced a live streaming of a genocide. Children crying, burning, dying. Scenes of Palestinians running from bombs and fire, or hungry and cold. It is understandable to want to avoid these posts in order to be able to sleep at night. But as one individual posted “If they live it, we must see it.”Dr. Richard Hill and Dr. Gideon Polya published a report on the slaughter in Gaza. They wrote: “479,00 children killed, 360,000 infants under five killed.”On May 3, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported: “the food crisis caused by the Israeli blockade in Gaza has had a devastating effect on Palestinian pregnant women, newborns and infants. Between October 2024 and December 2025, MSF teams treated 513 children under six months old, of whom 91% were at risk of growth and development problems.”In the November 2025 issue of Jacobin, Abe Asher wrote: “What is clear is that the …genocide has cost Palestinians at least three percent of the Gaza population and there is no education, electricity, homes, health, safety, security, or water. Mass trauma is a pathetically inadequate word for what Palestinians have experienced since October 7.”The statics are daunting. Yet most U.S. politicians continue to back Israel, either applauding or ignoring its horrific slaughter campaign in Gaza. This is no surprise because since 1948, the US government has aided and abetted Israel. In fact, without US backing, Israel could not exist. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the US provides Israel “with approximately $3.8 billion in military aid annually.” That money could be spent instead on healthcare, education, or combating climate change. In fact, Trump and his mob of bloodthirsty billionaires are looking to cash in.Democracy Now wrote “On top of the slaughter and starvation of civilians, the Israeli military is ethnically cleansing Gaza City, a city of one million people, leveling it. The BBC reported that Israel’s far-right finance minister said…that Gaza could be a “real estate bonanza; ‘we’ve done the demolition phase… Now we…build.’”At one point “Trump posted a bizarre AI-generated video of a rebuilt Gaza complete with belly dancers, Elon Musk throwing fistfuls of bills into the air, and Trump and Netanyahu lying shirtless on beach chairs.” This bizarre post is one of many that demonstrate that Trump should not be in power. His world outlook spells nothing but doom and gloom for humanity. Fidel Castro stated in 1967 “What is Israel? It is an instrument of Yankee Imperialism. And the United States is the instigator. The protector of that state.”. So what can the people do now? Since the beginning of the genocide in October 2025, the anti-war movement in this country has been inspiring. Students and unionists and healthcare professionals and many others have carried out extraordinary challenges to US support of Israel. Disruptions, tent cities, and many local and national demonstrations occurred. Most striking has been the upsurge in Jewish solidarity with Palestine. Shelley Ettinger, an anti-Zionist Jew, says, “Zionism’s stranglehold on U.S. Jews has finally been broken as the horror of the Gaza genocide LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • June 2026 Vol. 39 Issue 5•5Worldwide coalitions are calling for the boycott of Chevron. In San Antonio, a local chapter has been formed: @sajp1948.
has raised consciousness about what Israel really is: a settler-colonial Jewish-supremacist apartheid state that serves as a fortress against the Arab masses on behalf of Big Oil.” As for the efforts to brand Palestine solidarity as anti-Semitism, Ettinger says, “Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s a beautiful thing to see so many Jewish young people taking a stand with Palestine.”While the movement has waned, the spirit remains and there are still ongoing actions for Palestine. Worldwide coalitions for example are calling for the boycott of Chevron. A local chapter in San Antonio has been formed. For info visit @sajp1948. But more is needed. Additionally, solidarity with the people of Gaza and all of Palestine must be long range. At the end of the genocide, the world must assure that the children who have been cruelly traumatized have the support they will need. We must not only help with supplies but doctors, psychologists and specialists have to be sent to help Gaza recover from this cruel genocide. For decades the people of Palestine have fought for their right to exist in their homeland. This yearning will not be defeated. BIO: Teresa Gutiérrez is a life-long activist from the south side of San Antonio. She lived in NYC for years before coming home with her wife. She was fortunate to participate in countless campaigns for peace and justice and organized humanitarian aid to Cuba, Colombia and elsewhere. Sources for this article can be obtained from [email protected] mother Silvia died yesterday. Although we knew this day was coming, the news still took my breath away. I am happy that she is free from this purgatory of consciousness that is dementia. It is a cruel disease. I won’t remember how she died but how she lived. She liked to wear coordinated outfits—shoes, purse, jewelry. I teased her about it all the time. She liked birds and kept a parakeet she named ‘Pepe’. She loved her bougainvilleas. She had an excellent green thumb—a trait that I did not inherit. I remember the garden she had in the backyard, with peppers, tomatoes, and sunflowers. My mother liked coffee with a slice of cake after dinner and loved chinese food—traits I did inherit . She came from a family of teachers and was a teacher herself in her hometown in Mexico. Her students would call her ‘Maestra Silvia’ a title she wore with pride. She was a very smart lady. She was funny, too, had a good sense of humor and laughed at my father’s poor ability to tell a joke. I would always tease her about that time she locked herself in a restaurant bathroom. We thought we had to call 911 to get her out. She loved her sisters. I have great memories of family gatherings that she enjoyed coordinating. She loved her kids, my sister, Sylvia and my brother and adored her grandkids, Calen and Analise. I knew she loved me very much, and that’s all that matters. Thank you mamá for being mine. —Dulce BenavidesSilvia Palacios Torres de Benavides11 April 1940 - 14 April 2026.EDITOR’S NOTE: Dulce Benavides has been a long-time supporter and Buena gente of the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center.Her mom did wonderful job in bringing up a beautiful, caring individual who speaks up for justice and continues being who she is, out and proud! Our deepest condolences y muchos abrazos, Dulce. May her memory be eternal. LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • June 2026 Vol. 39 Issue 5•6
LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • June 2026 Vol. 39 Issue 5•7Read more on Runway Rasquachic p 8,9,10
Dr. Puente Para La GenteMy love for fashion is something I attribute to my grandmother, Virginia, a deeply creative woman whose influence continues to shape me. Some of my favorite memories are of being at her house—the smell of homemade flour tortillas filling the kitchen while I sat searching through her sewing bins. She knew how to knit, crochet and sew and her sewing machine—built into a desk and surrounded by bobbins, thimbles, and scraps—felt almost sacred to me as a child. As she grew older and came to live with us, I watched her continue to make something out of nothing. One of my fondest memories is of these little flowers she made out of toilet paper, where she used the discarded roll as a vase to decorate her room—a memory I still pay homage to in my work as a creative.In my family, clothing was always passed down, which meant there was always something that needed repair or alteration. Alongside that was the constant reality of trying to make ends meet with limited resources. Dr. Tomas Ybarra-Frausto states in his 1989 essay—Rasquachismo, the sensibility of being rasquacheis like “making a silk purse from a sow’s ear.” For me, in fashion, it goes deeper than the practice of just making do; it demonstrates how that sensibility has always been present in the care for our communities. Fashion is not absent among those with limited means; it simply moves in ways that modern fashion has often failed to recognize. Within working-class and marginalized communities, fashion exists through adaptation, repair, reuse, inheritance, and ingenuity. It’s shaped not by excess, but by resourcefulness. In reality, it is a deeply creative and culturally informed practice that challenges conventional ideas of value, luxury, and style. In modern fashion, what begins in the margins is now repeatedly absorbed, repackaged, and celebrated by the very industries that once overlooked itI recall a story Dr. Ybarra-Frausto shared about his tías who lived in San Antonio’s Westside. He described how they always looked glamorous—dressed beautifully and carrying themselves with elegance—despite having modest means. Their style was not dependent on wealth, but on creativity and pride. That story stayed with me because it reflects an irony I witness daily, our communities are the most influential, continuously shaping mainstream fashion through innovation yet, are undervalued. During my time working for the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, I became fascinated by the photos of Westside residents walking the streets of downtown San Antonio that were ultimately displayed on the streets as part of the project, Fotohistorias del Westside. As I learned about the city’s history through this project, I was told that many of those images had been taken on Houston Street. I also remember elders at the Second Saturday Convivios speaking about the photo studios that once lined Houston Street. For a small fee, photographers would take your picture and later you could pick up the developed images at the studio. This practice flourished because Houston Street in the 1940s and 1950s was vibrant. Going downtown was an occasion for which people dressed up. Even those with modest means took pride in their appearance, understanding fashion as part of their dignity. These many photos now serve as important visual records, revealing how style, self-fashioning and cultural expression were always present in everyday life in San Antonio.That brings me to another point about why our elders looked so sharp in these photos, which Dr. Ybarra-Frausto discussed in an oral history. During that time, many Westside residents had their clothing altered from secondhand or hand-me-down garments or Pictured are Grandma Virginia, Juanita Hernández Ramón (whose photo is part of Fotohistorias del Westside) and the dress of Beatriz Llamas, La Paloma del Norte,a member of Las Tesoros de San Antonio featured in the Museo del Westside of the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center. All mentioned in the article for their fashion sensibilities, creativity and influence on Dr. Puente Para La GenteLA VOZ de ESPERANZA • June 2026 Vol. 39 Issue 5•8Fashion, Virginia y Más
custom-made by local seamstresses to fit their bodies. Gente may have owned only a handful of dresses or suits but those garments fit beautifully and were treated with care and pride. Dr. Frausto remarked that seamstresses could be found throughout the Westside. Families invested what they could into quality fabrics and craftsmanship because a new dress or suit was a rare luxury, and expected to last for years rather than a single fashion trend or season. In contrast to today’s endless cycle of disposable fast fashion, this slower approach to clothing production created garments that endured—passed from tía to tía, prima to prima, and preserved across generations. And to think that many of our elders were, in essence, wearing custom couture. They selected sewing patterns, hand-picked fabrics, and worked with seamstresses to create garments made specifically for their bodies and lives. As these pieces were passed down, each new wearer altered, repaired, or restyled them. Fashion became an intergenerational conversation shaped through care, adaptation, and personal expression. Ironically, what was once a necessity in working-class communities has now become a contemporary luxury: clothing tailored, altered, or custommade to fit one’s body.Another example of this creative resilience I recall is from a Fotohistorias banner featuring Juanita Hernández Ramón, shown wearing a blouse embroidered with bright fuchsia flowers. Part of the caption reads: “Juanita Hernández Ramón was born in Rosita, Mexico and came to the U.S. at age nine… Juanita was also a sharecropper who picked cotton, corn, and beans. Juanita used to embroider all her own blouses and loved to garden.” What moves me is that we are able to witness a small piece of Juanita through her work—perhaps even seeing the very embroidery stitched by her own hands. There is another example of this sensibility in the fashion of Las Tesoros de San Antonio, as showcased in The Museo del Westside. Through their elegance and presentation, we are reminded that the gente of the Westside have always shone. Whether in carefully embroidered blouses or fully sequined gowns, fashion existed as a form of joy, dignity, glamour, and cultural pride regardless of circumstance.Lastly, I want to share a kind of love letter to tía seamstresses everywhere. When it came time for my high school prom, we simply did not have the money for a dress. While many of my friends were excitedly planning trips to Dillard’s or Foley’s, I knew I didn’t have Jessica McClintock money. My Tía Fina graciously offered to make my dress, just as she had once made my mother’s wedding dress when my family could not afford a store-bought one. She asked me to find an image and choose a sewing pattern, which proved difficult because what I wanted was not fashionable at the time. I dreamed of something sleek and fitted, inspired by the elegance of Ginger Rogers. But if you remember the 1990s, most formal dresses were filled with ruffles, puffed sleeves, and excess fabric. My mother and I went shopping for material, carefully selecting the fabric that would bring my dream dress to life. I loved that dress, and still have it! It was made specifically for me—cut to my body, and sewn with care by someone who loved me. Yet at the time, I remember feeling embarrassed when people asked where I bought it because I could not answer with the name of a designer or department store. Looking back, I realize the irony: while others wore mass-produced dresses, I was wearing something entirely unique, handmade, and deeply personal. Knowing everything I have learned in my years of loving fashion, in every way possible, I was the richest girl at my prom.Through mending, altering, reusing, embroidering, and passing garments down across generations, our elders created systems of care through creativity long before sustainability became trendy industry language. I know for a fact that every part of San Anto has those tías who served as our saints and saviors—women who, on top of their already demanding work as seamstresses, still found the time to make a new suit for a graduation, a dress for prom, or a communion outfit for someone in need. Looking back, I realize that my grandmother and many tías, seamstresses, and elders of the Westside were teaching us something far greater than how to dress—they were teaching us not only how to care for one another but how to care for our planet. What began as a necessity evolved into a sharpened sensibility—a way of seeing value, beauty, and possibility where others might not. Very very chic, or as I would say now, Rasquachic. See you at the runway!BIO: Dr. Puente Para La Gente is a community historian and curator who intersects work in the community with work as a rasquache scholar activist building bridges between those who produce knowledge and the community that are the source of that knowledge. Their research interests include San Antonio cultural bearers and artists, activism, the Borderlands, fashion, Rasquachismo and the arts.Kristel Puente, the author, at her high school prom wearing a dress expertly made by her Tía Fina.LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • June 2026 Vol. 39 Issue 5•9
By Agosto CuellarThe year was 2007. Jive Refried, my store and art gallery, exploded on the First Friday scene in Southtown. In 1999 we were celebrating life and cultural happenings inside a vintage installation space across Rosario’s—the place to eat and be seen in San Antonio. A hop and a skip from that energy of belonging, was exactly what Jive Refried offered clients—a creative outlet and a safe space to be yourself. It became a cultural phenomenon that existed in a way that could be felt, seen and experienced. Even now many creatives tell me that they shopped or hung out at Jive as teenagers. When I began running Jive, a fashion revolution was gaining traction in SA. We coordinated fashion events and a runway show with local designers, photographers, makeup artists and models. We were all working to build a creative community of fashionistas. We did Luminaria’s Art of Fashion and other events like the WEBB Party and caught the attention of festival producers, in particular, an event in the Westside called “Una Noche En La Gloria” —a spinoff of Luminaria that addressed the lack of latinx and other people of color in their event. Organizers reached out to me to help gather designers, hair and makeup artists—and to run the logistics of a fashion show on the streets of the historic Westside of San Antonio. The first runway show was in 2008 and thus began a ten-year run of Runway En La Calle, a name I coined for my production of the fashion show element of this event. I have many wonderful memories of that time that still bring me joy. One is of an image I have where community was seated next to buyers from Nieman Marcus—a premiere Texas retailer. I also remember a beautiful image of an abuelita from Alazan sitting next to a buyer from Saks Fifth Avenue. These illustrated to me the way that fashion connects people and how it’s so important. Over the years so many community members and artists have participated or attended events supporting the growing fashion community that I’ve been blessed to help grow. Of the many things I’ve done it has been working directly with the community bringing people to fashion as much as fashion to the people that’s been most rewarding. Whether it’s the models’ careers we helped launch, or the designers that continue to work in the industry, or the hair and makeup creatives that have gone on to success—I feel a commitment to all that are looking for opportunities and I will help them, if I can. That is why Runway Rasquachic is so important to me. Rasquachic is a term, close to my heart, inspired by my dear early mentor, Pilar Correa, who described her vintage style and stylings as not rasquache, but rasquachic. My Rasquachic 2017 Collection was also special to me because it was the second collaboration with Dr. Puente Para La Gente working as creative director. Her personal connection to rasquchismocame through her grandmother influencing her own creative and academic journey. It is very fitting that upon reimagining all I have accomplished and all that we have done together in the name of rasquachismo and the Westside of San Antonio—that we name this event Runway Rasquachic. I am also thrilled to announce that our creative collective Haus of Augustine is debuting two new designers and many other creatives. We are excited to show you all our creative labor of love that will continue to have many more exciting announcements and collaborations to come. The time is now, and it’s time to celebrate fashion street style, like only we can. Nos vemos en la calle. ¡Adelante!BIO: Agosto’s career started as a young artist on San Antonio’s Westside. His fashion fame soared as owner of Jive Refried from 1999-2011. It was featured in Elle Magazine in 2005 and in 2018, he was awarded the San Antonio Fashion Awards Cultural Pioneer Award. A founder and producer of Runway En La Calle for 10 years, Agosto’s personal collection, Barrio Folk Baroque, was showcased in New York and Paris Fashion Weeks and at San Antonio’s Fashion Week. Agosto now owns Augustine Atelier, named after his grandfather, at the Blue Star Complex.Runway Rasquachic, the beginningsLA VOZ de ESPERANZA • June 2026 Vol. 39 Issue 5•10Local fashion rasquachic designer, Agosto Cuellar, (pictured on the runway with Kristel Puente) was initially influenced by friend and mentor, Pilar Correa, now deceased but long remembered for her unique fashion sense.
“We cannot rebuild alone. We cannot carry this weight by ourselves. We need hands that reach back, hearts that refuse to look away…” —Photographer/Videographer Salem Alaydi: https://bit.ly/salem-alaydiI am only 19, and yet I have learned to hold a camera like it is a lifeline. Through my phone, through any lens I can find, I search for something that still breathes…something that still feels alive. A child’s smile in the middle of rubble. A piece of sky untouched by smoke. A small moment where life insists on existing. Photography is not just a hobby for me. It is how I survive. It is how I remind myself that hope has not completely left us.But the truth… the truth follows me everywhere.Gaza has become a place where every street carries the weight of loss. Where homes are no longer homes, but broken walls and scattered memories. Where the air itself feels heavy…with dust, with grief, with the smell of death. It is not something you can escape. It is not something you can pause. The ugly reality is always there, surrounding us, chasing us, reminding us of everything we have lost.Sometimes it feels like the whole place has turned into one vast graveyard.And yet…we are still here.We wake up every day choosing to live, even when life feels unbearable. We hold on to whatever fragments of hope we can find. We create moments of color in a world that has been stripped of it. We try, in the smallest ways, to bring joy back into spaces that have only known destruction.But surviving is not the same as healing.We cannot rebuild alone. We cannot carry this weight by ourselves. We need hands that reach back, hearts that refuse to look away, people who understand that rebuilding Gaza is not just about concrete and walls…it is about restoring life, dignity, and the right to dream again.We are still alive.And we will continue to live.But we need you to see us.We need you to stand with us.We need you to help us rebuild…so that one day, the pictures I take will no longer be about survival… but about life in its fullest, brightest form.Overnight, Rolla’s family was cut off from their main source of financial support, and are left not knowing how they will provide food and other life necessities for their children and themselves.So we have opened up a NEW FUNDRAISER, on Chuffed.org,a crowdfunding platform for socially-conscious projects. (They even have an entire Palestine section.) Here’s the link: bit.ly/hope-alive~ If you have donated recently, please check your credit card for the return of funds from GoFundMe and re-donate the funds to the new Chuffed fundraiser, if possible. Much appreciated!~ We hope you follow Rolla’s family on the new fundraiser and share this new link with others.THANK YOU again, for your support of my friend Rolla and her family trapped in Gaza.With gratitude and determined hope, Dianne MonroeLA VOZ de ESPERANZA • June 2026 Vol. 39 Issue 5•11*Salem Alaydi, Rolla’s nephew in Gazaphotographer, author“Shadows of Gaza, Stories I Couldn’t Let Die” by Salem AlaydiAvailable at: https://amzn.to/4fAvWbwUpdate: Alaydi Family in Gaza—
Public Arena Partnership with the San Antonio SpursBy Christine DrennonI want to begin by being very clear about what this is, and what it is not.This is not an argument against the Spurs. I love the Spurs. It is not an argument against downtown development. I love downtown. And it is not an argument to stop what has already been set in motion. I respect the democratic process. It is an argument about city council’s duty—right now—to ensure that the final, binding arena agreements reflect the best possible deal for the public you represent.You have approved a framework. But that framework is nonbinding. The enforceable decisions—the ones that will govern risk, cost, and return for decades—are still in front of you. And that means this is the moment where your fiduciary responsibility is at its highest.I have two points to make about this process, but I do so in the context of the report released last week by the consulting company Human Change called the Geography of Prosperity Index, that measured a city’s preparedness for the future. That report named San Antonio the 151st of 250 cities for “their structural readiness to thrive in the decades ahead.”As a researcher, I approach these indices and measurements with extreme caution and even suspicion. I do my homework, I work to understand their assumptions, I trace their data. Most I discard for a number of reasons; this one I like.This index is receiving national attention since its release in March, 2026 at SXSW. It’s been covered in the New York Times and has a Wikipedia page, it is also mentioned by the Brookings Institute, and the Hamilton Project. A link to it is on realtor.com. They call it the Geography of Prosperity Index—and rank SA as #151 of 250 cities—mostly due to poor governance (33%) and our lack of social cohesion (48%).Your unwillingness and inability to negotiate terms favorable to our city and to keep OUR interests front and center exemplifies why we received such utterly failing grades in these two indices. So, I will use it to frame my comments: First, good governance and shepherding of public resources. The researchers define and measure governance as the capacity to plan, invest, and execute at the scale of long-term community need. We earned a 33% for this index, and a warning that to reverse this trend would require substantial structural change in the way we govern and do business—that a single high-profile project will not change this— that is a way of doing business, not just one bad deal. Yet, here we are with another single, high profile project.So, let’s talk about the project and particularly about the fiscal burden on the public and the ability to execute “at the scale of long term community need”. Our ability to responsibly shepherd public resources.First, let me turn to the Spurs as a financial partner:• The San Antonio Spurs are not a marginal franchise. Public estimates from Forbes place the team at about $4.4 billion in value, generating roughly $400 million in revenue and about $150 million in operating income.• The Spurs rank near the top of the league—around eighth in operating income, third in overall scale, and fifth in operating margin.It is these measures of profitability, not market size, that determine a team’s ability to finance its own arena.When you compare the Spurs to their peers, the proposed Project Marvel funding structure looks out of alignment. The franchise just ahead of them in operating income, the Los Angeles Clippers, financed their arena entirely from private sources. Ours, on the other hand, finances our arena with 62% public sources, despite comparable resources.A partner with a balance sheet like this has substantial access to capital. It can absorb construction risk, support a larger upfront investment, and participate more meaningfully in long-term returns. So, the issue is not whether the Spursare a strong partner, they are. The issue is whether the current framework for this public arena partnership reflects LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • June 2026 Vol. 39 Issue 5•12The Geography of Prosperity Index is a national index developed by Motivf and Human Change. It ranks the largest 250 cities—not on growth—but on a range of factors that are intended to represent future-readiness for a prosperous life. https://geographyofprosperity.com/gop/home
their actual financial capacity AND how well it reflects ours.It does not. It overexaggerates ours and underexaggerates theirs.So if they are not funding it to their capacity, who is funding it? The answer is: We are. The public is. You say visitor-funded, but we all know“visitor-funded” is an oversimplification. The deal relies on visitor-oriented taxes up front, but it still exposes the public to lifecycle costs, foregone local tax capacity, lost opportunity costs, and revenue risk over time.As Mayor Jones remarked in her State of the City address, we are entering an era of economic uncertainty–and we must act accordingly. Instead, as the geography of prosperity measurement indicates, we are NOT preparing for what’s next.This is why we receive a 33% grade for governance. Are we making long term, sound investments based deeply in data that shepherd public resources responsibly, or have we negotiated an historically poor deal in comparison to every other city in the United States that has recently renegotiated terms with their NBA teams (which includes at least 7 other cities).My second point, and their second measurement: social cohesion, for which we earned a 48. They define social cohesion as our trust in public institutions, civic participation, inclusion and social stability.They remark that “SA remains deeply economically segregated and divided,” suggesting that it “isn’t well-positioned for what’s coming.” This is strongly reflected in the vote taken in November, and even more so in the response to that vote. An electorate could not BE MORE DIVIDED.52.1 percent of voters countywide voted in favor of using county venue tax to fund a new SPURS stadium downtown, closer to 50% of San Antonio voters approved the use of funds In the wealthy suburbs of Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, and Terrell Hills, 80% of voters voted in favor of using public county funds to build the new stadium. Their fiscal responsibility for this project stops there though; the rest of the financial responsibility lies with the City of San Antonio and the various partners we’ll tap along the way. Looking even more closely, three council districts voted against, and one was in favor by less than 1%. The only elected official who might even come close to legitimately claiming a ‘mandate’ would be City Council District 9, Councilwoman Misty Spears, where 56% of voters approved Proposition B. In all of the other city council districts, an average of 50.3% voted in favor.That vote was closer than we’ve been made to think. There was no mandate; instead, the vote reveals a public torn over the use of public money to fund a new arena—but a public willing to come out and participate in the democratic process, believing deeply that our representatives will listen to our desires and move to implement them accordingly because they are the people we chose to represent our interests. But when our interests are split 50:50 who is being represented?Since that vote, all has been quiet. No one has returned to us to discuss options; no one has returned to us to try and understand why so many are not in favor; no one has returned to us to invite us to join a wider conversation.This is exemplative of the reasons San Antonio has recently ranked as one of the worst governed cities in the United States with low levels of social cohesion.While a strong mandate may have provided our city council representatives with a clear directive to implement the Project Marvel agenda, they did not receive a strong mandate. Instead, they represent a clearly divided electorate whose will they must now represent.It’s still a democracy, and the majority still wins. But when the decision rests on 0.3% of votes, it is a signal. And, therein lies the opportunity. How do our elected officials gain the trust of the nearly 50% who voted against Proposition B and represent them accordingly? By negotiating terms more favorable to our city and county. Currently a non-binding term sheet and a community benefits agreement remain outstanding.Your attention to this may begin to address their finding that we lack social cohesion, and that we distrust our public institutions. To treat a 50.5% vote as a mandate with no further public input or engagement needed exemplifies this lack of social cohesion, civic engagement, and trust.Let me close with this.This report is getting nationwide attention. It was released at South by Southwest—one of the biggest venues in the country. We want to attract economic development and investment, yet here we are again, we’re back in the news.Your unwillingness and inability to negotiate terms favorable to the City of San Antonio and to keep OUR interests foremost in those negotiations exemplifies why we received such utterly failing grades in these two indices. Let’s disprove them and take this back to the negotiating table—and fight for our CITY rather than caving once again to powerful private interests. Let us be as strong and as principled as they are.BIO: Christine Drennon is an associate professor of sociology and anthropology and director of the Urban Studies program at Trinity University. Her academic interests center on urban geography and community development, particularly examining San Antonio’s inner-city neighborhoods, the interplay of housing, education, and community development, and patterns of economic segregation and inequity in the city. LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • June 2026 Vol. 39 Issue 5•13A homemade billboard by a crazy San Antonio Spurs fan.
What Did Your Dad Tell You?Help ever, hurt never.Don’t trust anyone that says “trust me.”Use the proper tool for the job.Don’t put it down. Put it away.Before you sit, check for toilet paper.It may be a bad day, not a bad life.Clean your kitchen at night so it’s nice in the morning.Never complain about the service until the food is served.Don’t ever take a sleeping pill with a laxative.You can’t change the wind, but you can adjust your sails.Don’t save nice things for later. You may never get the joy of using them.If they are talking to you about someone, they will talk about you.If you want it done right, do it yourself.Don’t skimp on shoes or mattresses; you spend 2/3 of your life in one, 1/3 on the other.Do one thing. Then do one thing more.Don’t get offended unless offense was intended.Ask yourself if it will matter in five years.The only failure in life is the failure to learn.Don’t spend money you don’t have.If in doubt…don’t.When you’re in a hole, stop diggingDon’t beat yourself up, the world will do that for you.Measure twice; cut once.It’s better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it.Work smarter not harder.Don’t lie to your doctor.It’s okay to ask for help.If it’s stupid and it works, it’s not stupid!Love many, but trust few.Always paddle your own canoe.If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.Don’t get greedy.Give yourself time to cry.The past is a foreign country and we don’t travel there anymore.Always pee before you leave.What other people think of you is none of your business.When someone shows you who they are, believe them.Keep your mouth closed when you’re cleaning the chicken coopA short pencil is better than a long memory.—Don MathisThe carnation’s association with fatherhood is said to stem from its traditional meanings of love, admiration, and gratitude. It is also said to represent the qualities of strength and resilience, which are often associated with fatherhood. The Third Sunday in June is Father’s DayDon Mathis has collected proverbs from papas around the world and invites you to answer this question:LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • June 2026 Vol. 39 Issue 5•14BIO: Don Mathis’ life revolves around the many poetry circles in San Antonio. His poems have been published in a hundred anthologies and periodicals and broadcast on local TV and national radio.
UnidosUS 2026 National Conference(formerly National Council of La Raza)July 29–30 in Austin, TexasRegister before June 1, 2026.https://unidosus.org/conference/—the largest national gathering of Latinos and allies Through the power of collective care, we are joining together to raise funds and gather supplies for immigrant birthing people and families in San Antonio. See a list of supplies needed via the QR code. Sueños Sin Fronteras BrunchSun, Jun 7, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM CDT Location shared with those who RSVP With a magician, bounce house, crafts, face painting, music, and more for all ages.Event is free, but a $5 donation is appreciated. Check QR code for more!Or visit https://tinyurl.com/ssfbenefit to registerSponsored by Sueños Sin Fronteras, Bimbos for Liberation & San Antonio DSAPoetry Crush: A Pride Month Literary EventGemini Ink celebrates Pride Month 2026 inviting generations of queer poets to read their own work and the works of their poetry crushes.June 18 @ 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm @ Coates Chapel—UTSA Southwest Campus300 Augusta St. SATX • Free!Contact: Mandy Lynn Lara | [email protected] individual websites, FB and other social media for information on community meetings previously listed in La Voz. For meetings and events scheduled at the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center check: www.esperanzacenter.org or call 210.228.0201.AnunciosJune 2026Remember your tax deductible giftsYour donation supports the Esperanza! go to: www.esperanzacenter.org/Donateor send check to:Esperanza Peace & Justice Center922 San Pedro Ave • SA, TX 78212Become a Monthly Donor!Second Saturday ConvivioJune 13, 2016 | 10am-12pm@ Rinconcito de Esperanza816 S. Colorado, SATXFor info call: 210.228.0201 Rita Vidaurri15LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • June 2026 Vol. 39 Issue 5•or call210-228-0201to donateYour donationhelps us advocatefor you.Support the Esperanzawww.esperanzacenter.org/donate
National Book Launch for Aztlan Libre Press’17th book publication & 1st Children’s/Juvenile & Young Adult Fiction titleSaturday, June 20, 2026, 3-6 pmEsperanza Peace & Justice Center922 San Pedro Ave. SATX Runway Rasquachic Fashion ShowJune 6, 2026 starting @ 5pmIn the street @ Brazos & GuadalupeSee inside Voz, p. 7-10 for more! Haven’t opened La Voz in a while? Prefer to read it online? Wrong address? TO CANCEL A SUBSCRIPTIONEMAIL [email protected] CALL: 210.228.0201Go to bit.ly/supportesperanza to donate or call 210.228.0201 for infoContact: Richard Aguilar, [email protected] Org.US PostagePAIDSan Antonio, TXPermit #332LA VOZ de ESPERANZA • June 2026 Vol. 39 Issue 5•ESPERANZA PEACE & JUSTICE CENTER922 San Pedro San Antonio TX 78212210.228.0201 • www.esperanzacenter.org