Day: October 25, 2022

Sips and Sounds series returns with Norteño Night at the Briscoe

Briscoe Western Art Museum’s Sips & Sounds of the West series celebrates Hispanic influence on the West with a night of Norteño music featuring Los Callejeros de San Anto. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Let music take you to Northern Mexico as you enjoy a night of music under the stars on the River Walk at the Briscoe’s “Sips and Sounds of the West” Norteño Night on Friday October 28, 2022. With band Los Callejeros De San Anto in the museum’s McNutt Sculpture Garden, the museum will celebrate the Hispanic influence on the America West with a night of tunes perfect for a date night or a night out with friends in the heart of San Antonio. The ticketed event begins at 6:30p.m. (Briscoe Western Art Museum, 2022)

Launched by Pinata Protest front man Alvaro Del Norte with bandmates Jose Morales on bajo sexto, bassist Richie Brown, and Chris Ramirez on drums, Los Callejeros De San Anto blends well known influences of Conjunto and Norteño into the perfect Tex-Mex street band and is “abuela approved.” Sips and Sounds of the West tickets are $10 for museum members and $20 for non-members. The event is for ages 18+ and includes student tickets at $10 each. Food truck fare is available for purchase from Dona Kika’s Tacos & Gorditas and a cash bar will be available.

The Briscoe’s Sips and Sounds of the West series highlights the soundtrack of the West through live music while surrounded by the beauty of the garden’s fantastic bronze sculptures and lush greenery. The museum’s McNutt Sculpture Garden is an oasis featuring a beautiful courtyard surrounded by bronze sculptures depicting iconic figures of the American West. With the lights of downtown in the background and stars overhead, the garden becomes magical at night, making it the perfect spot for a date night or a night out with friends.

From its McNutt Sculpture Garden to the museum’s beautifully restored historic home inside the former San Antonio Public Library building, the Briscoe’s collection spans 14 galleries, with special exhibitions, events and a fantastic Museum Store, providing art, culture, history and entertainment. Museum hours, parking and admission details are available online.

Preserving and presenting the art, history and culture of the American West through engaging exhibitions, educational programs and public events reflective of the region’s rich traditions and shared heritage, the Briscoe Western Art Museum is located on the San Antonio River Walk at 210 W. Market Street in the beautifully restored 1930s former San Antonio Public Library building. Named in honor of the late Texas Gov. Dolph Briscoe Jr. and his wife, Janey Slaughter Briscoe, the museum includes the three-story Jack Guenther Pavilion, used for event rentals and programs, and the outdoor McNutt Sculpture Garden.

Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Television adaptation: ‘Shantaram’ by Gregory David Roberts

The television adaptation of ‘Shantaram’ is available on Apple TV +. Photo: Amazon

Gregory David Roberts, the author of “Shantaram” and its sequel, “The Mountain Shadow,” was born in Melbourne, Australia. Sentenced to nineteen years in prison for a series of armed robberies, he escaped and spent ten of his fugitive years in Bombay―where he established a free medical clinic for slum-dwellers, and worked as a counterfeiter, smuggler, gunrunner, and street soldier for a branch of the Bombay mafia. Recaptured, he served out his sentence, and established a successful multimedia company upon his release. Roberts is now a full time writer and lives in Bombay. “Shantaram” is the story of a convicted Australian bank robber and heroin addict who escapes from Pentridge Prison and flees to India. The novel is reportedly influenced by real events in the life of the author, though some claims made by Roberts are contested by others involved in the story. It was adapted into a major television series from Apple TV+ starring Charlie Hunnam. (Amazon, 2022)

“Shantaram” –  An escaped convict with a false passport, Lin flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of Bombay, where he can disappear. Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter the city’s hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere. As a hunted man without a home, family, or identity, Lin searches for love and meaning while running a clinic in one of the city’s poorest slums, and serving his apprenticeship in the dark arts of the Bombay mafia. The search leads him to war, prison torture, murder, and a series of enigmatic and bloody betrayals. Two people hold the keys to unlock the mysteries and intrigues that bind Lin. The first is Khader Khan: mafia godfather, criminal-philosopher-saint, and mentor to Lin in the underworld of the Golden City. The second is Karla: elusive, dangerous, and beautiful, whose passions are driven by secrets that torment her and yet give her a terrible power. Burning slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison agonies, criminal wars and Bollywood films, spiritual gurus and mujaheddin guerrillas―this huge novel has the world of human experience in its reach, and a passionate love for India at its heart.