First impression: Main Street Deli

Main Street Deli. Photo: Sandra Cruz

Another Friday night meant another chance to venture out into the city and find a new and interesting place for dinner. This time it was Main Street Deli in downtown Brownsville. We had noticed this restaurant the last few times we were in the area and decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a chance. As usual, the parking in the area is challenging but we managed to quickly find a spot. It is located on Market Square in the area that has become the focus for downtown revitalization.

The inside has a charming deli atmosphere and as soon as we walked in, to the right, there is a bright pink neon sign that reads “this must be the place” – so obviously I knew then that we were in the right place. I was impressed by how neat, clean, and tidy everything looks which is always a good sign. There are more than enough seating options so we chose a table right next to the window. The walls are mostly glass and it is on a corner lot, so customers can see traffic go by as they are enjoying their meal.

Menu options, as with other delis, include salads (Caesar, Market Square, and Main Street), wraps (turkey, chicken, and veggie), and pasta (fettucine Alfredo, Cheesy Fettucine, and Spaghetti and Meatballs). I ordered the Veggie Wrap and the Market Square Salad and my husband ordered the Cuban Sandwich and since the salad is big enough, we ended up sharing it. I am usually hesitant about ordering salads because more often than not, the greens are not fresh but in this case every ingredient was fresh: the greens, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers and it comes with a side of cilantro sauce. Wanting to save room for the salad, I ended up taking half of the veggie wrap to go. The Cuban Sandwich is delicious too, and it comes with a cup of lentil soup. It would have been nice to have a separate dipping sauce for it, but overall it was good.

As a deli/sandwich shop, it was a pleasant experience. In business for a couple of years, owners Hector Zavala and Diana Medina should be proud of what they are offering downtown patrons. It is a nice place to sit, slow down for a bit, and have a tasty meal. Service was fast and the staff is friendly and helpful. We went in early in the afternoon so it was not too crowded and by the time we left, at around 6p.m., it was starting to get busy. Next time you are in the area, stop by Main Street Deli for lunch or dinner; the lemonade looks so refreshing for these coming hot months. Remember: shop small, shop local, and support your community.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Price range: $ – $$
Main Street Deli
1157 E. Washington St.
Brownsville, TX 78520
(956) 551-9498

Business hours:
Monday through Saturday 11a.m. to 8:30p.m.
Closed Sundays

Mexican singer-songwriter Gloria España breaks down gender barriers

Mexican singer-songwriter Gloria España. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Mexican singer-songwriter Gloria España continues to break down gender barriers in the United States and showing that her music is for everyone, especially women. España was in the middle of recording her first single “Boca de Agua” when the pandemic struck, causing her to stop production of her long awaited album. In recent years, España’s work as a composer has resulted in multiple hit songs, some performed by Cristian Castro, Larry Hernández, Regulo Caro, Juan Rivera, and Adan Chalino Sánchez. Her song writing has received multiple awards and nominations including Latin Grammy, BMI, Billboard and RIAA certifications. (Gloria España, 2021)

“For me to sing and compose, to be able to express with music and voice the feelings of the soul is a great blessing. When your work is your passion, the feeling is exhilarating.” – Gloria España

Today women are advancing in different fields, and the progress in the music industry is significant, as evidenced by Gloria España’s career as a composer. Her contribution in a predominately male industry is to tell a story from a woman’s point of view. Such is the case in “Boca de Agua,” a song that will be part of her much anticipated album which will contain songs mostly told from the female perspective. The singer-songwriter has also composed many successful songs for male singers proving her songwriting ability knows no limits.

Her work as a composer is significant in the world and in the United States since many of the greatest hits at the moment in Spanish and English have been written by women. The feminine point of view through composition is basic and important. España comments “there are many women composers who are still at home, there are those who are beginning to emerge and it is necessary that they arise, so the music industry at the composition level would be of more colorful with many varied voices.”

España recognizes that people have a deep personal connection to her songs. “The best that a composer can do is to connect with people through their songs. People identify themselves with music, and through the song they can express what they feel. Music is a connection to the soul, it is a way of freely expressing what we feel,” she states. She currently produces new songs for other artists and for her own production as a singer-songwriter that she hopes to release soon.

Originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, the singer-songwriter realized her inclination for music at an early age. She began to play piano at the age of 15 and later the guitar. In 1990 she obtained the National Music Composition scholarship, a very exclusive scholarship since it is only given to 60 composition talents in the country. This support is granted by Televisa and is a two-year workshop led by the prestigious author Amparo Rubín. At the same time, she entered the National School of Music of Mexico City where she studied harmony, composition, and rhythm. She was a semi-finalist at the national festival “Valores Bacardí” in Mexico City and later a member of the participating cast of the OTI International Song Festival in which she participated as a singer-songwriter, where she was selected from among thousands of participants as part of the 40 finalists.

She is co-author of “La Primera Vez,” which is included in the album of the renowned and successful telenovela of the 90s, “El Abuelo y Yo.” Her song “El Culpable Soy Yo,” performed by Cristian Castro was the main theme of the telenovela “Vidas Cruzadas” starring Kate del Castillo and Guy Ecker, a telenovela that marked the beginning of telenovelas on the Internet. She studied vocal technique with teacher and producer Pedro Gerardo Bader, who later became her husband. In addition to being a composer and producer, Pedro Bader is one of the most internationally recognized teachers in the area of professional vocal technique.

 

Tickets for ‘My Fair Lady’ at the Majestic Theatre go on sale Friday

Leslie Alexander as Mrs. Higgins, Shereen Ahmed as Eliza Doolittle and Kevin Pariseau as Colonel Pickering in The Lincoln Center Theater Production of Lerner & Loewe’s ‘My Fair Lady.’ Photo: Joan Marcus, used with permission.

North Park Lexus Broadway in San Antonio is pleased to announce that the North American tour of Lincoln Center Theater’s critically acclaimed production of Lerner & Loewe’s ‘My Fair Lady’ relaunches the Majestic Theatre 2021-2022 Broadway in San Antonio season. Directed by Bartlett Sher, the North American tour will play eight performances September 21-26 at the Majestic Theatre. Tickets start at $45 and are available online, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 982.ARTS (2787), or by visiting the Majestic Box Office. The Majestic Box Office does not accept single ticket orders over the phone; all ticket sales must be made in person. Majestic Box Office hours are noon to 5p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10a.m. to 5p.m. Friday. Weekend hours vary, call (210) 226.3333 to verify. Orders for groups of 10 or more may be placed by calling (210) 226-5967. (North Park Lexus Broadway in San Antonio, 2021)

Tickets go on sale this Friday July 9 at 10a.m. Performance times are 7:30p.m., Tuesday through Thursday; 8p.m. on Friday; 2p.m. and 8p.m., Saturday and at 2p.m. and 7:30p.m. on Sunday. Welcoming audiences, artists, staff, cast, and crew back to the Majestic Theatre at full capacity safely and responsibly remains Broadway in San Antonio’s top priority. Masks will be required while in the theatre for this performance. Health and safety protocols are subject to change and will be clearly communicated to ticket holders in advance of each performance. Current protocols are available online. 

Lincoln Center Theater’s production of Lerner & Loewe’s ‘My Fair Lady’ is the winner of 5 Outer Critics Circle Awards including Best Revival of Musical and was nominated for 10 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival, 5 Drama Desk Awards including Best Musical Revival and 3 Drama League Awards including Best Musical Revival. The production, which premiered in the spring of 2018, ended its long run at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater on July 7, 2019 after playing 548 performances.

Adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s play and Gabriel Pascal’s motion picture Pygmalion, ‘My Fair Lady,’ with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, premiered on Broadway on March 15, 1956. The legendary original production won 6 Tony Awards including Best Musical and ran for 2,717 performances making it, at the time, the longest-running musical in Broadway history. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins so that she may pass as a lady.

Boasting a score that contains such now-classic songs as “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “Get Me to the Church on Time,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” “On the Street Where You Live,” “The Rain in Spain,” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face,” Lincoln Center Theater’s production of ‘My Fair Lady’ was hailed by The New York Times as “Thrilling, glorious and better than it ever was. A marvelous and transformative revival.” New York Magazine described it as ‘Enthralling,” adding that “Bartlett Sher’s glowing revival proves that a beloved musical from another era can keep on kicking.” Entertainment Weekly raved “A sumptuous new revival of the most perfect musical of all time. A masterful piece of entertainment.”

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Opening night of ‘My Fair Lady’