Luminaria, the annual celebration of San Antonio’s art and artists, takes place Nov. 14.
Billy Calzada/Staff Photographer
Luminaria officials want San Antonians to do more than come out to see the art at this year’s festival – they’re inviting them to be part of an art parade.
The parade is part of a lineup that includes live music, visual art installations, digital projections and poetry created by more than 200 artists. There also will be food and art vendors.
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It all takes place from 6 p.m. to midnight Nov. 14 along a stretch of Houston Street at the intersection of Downtown West and La Zona Cultural.
Admission is free, though there will be ticketed VIP area at Texas Public Radio. Tickets cost $150. That includes live painting by Rubio, free drinks and refreshments and exclusive performances by former San Antonio Poet Laureate Octavio Quintanilla and participants in his VersoFrontera literary festival.
Tickets are available at luminariasa.org. That’s also where folks can register for the art parade, which will travel a block-and-a-half route down Houston Street.
Details for this year’s festivities were announced at a press conference Friday.
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The lineup includes live music by Los Texmaniacs, Marcy Grace and Yung Bambi; a headphone opera created by Nathan Felix; performance art by Cirque Aria and Seme Jatib; and large art installations and digital projections.
Sites within the festival’s footprint will be activated, including the San Pedro Springs Culture Park, La Zona, the Irma and Emilio Nicolas Media Center at TPR, and the Centro de Artes Gallery in Market Square. The UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures will open its doors, too, and admission will be free.
In addition, Urban-15 is teaming up with laser artist Tim Walsh for a performance during which he will project digital images onto the face of the Alameda Theatre while company members dance.
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Fashion will be in the mix as well, thanks to the fact that Goodwill of San Antonio’s sponsorship this year. The downtown Goodwill store is in the area where the festival will take place.
Besides the art parade, Agosto Cuellar is pulling together a fashion show. The San Antonio designer has made a name for himself internationally for his emphasis on sustainable fashion. Cuellar also is community engagement manager for Goodwill San Antonio.
Between 15 and 20 models will participate, all wearing ensembles inspired by performers who appeared at the Alameda, which opened in 1949 as a Spanish-language theater. A restoration project is ongoing.
All of the elements for those looks will come from Goodwill stores. Cuellar is hoping that parade participants will scour those same stores for their outfits.
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“Go check out our stores, make sure you look crazy and zany and fun because that’s what we’re looking for,” he said.
This is the 18th edition of Luminaria. The nighttime arts festival launched in 2008 at the behest of then-Mayor Phil Hardberger, who wanted to spotlight the city’s artists. It has been staged downtown off and on throughout its history, though this is the first time it will be in this part of downtown.
About 95 percent of the artists featured this year are based in San Antonio, said Yadhira Lozano, the festival’s director.
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“This year’s Luminaria has really grown with our collaborators, who are contributing to the effort,” said Lozano, who has led Luminaria since the end of 2020. “These are difficult times. There are a lot of events that are having trouble with the fundraising, with the budgets. And so I do want to announce that the past few years, we have been recognized by the highest arts office in this country, the National Endowment for the Arts.
“It is sponsoring us yet again because of the work that we’re producing. And so I think that is a star in our cap that we can really be proud of.”