N. Pasquariello is a filmmaker and journalist, author of Sounds of Movies: Interviews with the Creators of Feature SoundTracks. H.P. Mendoza, an innovative award-winning filmmaker, composer, lyricist and actor, who lives and works in the Mission, sat down with me recently at Borderlands to talk about his new film, Bitter Melon, which will have its world premiere at CAAMFEST, May 12...
Last Thursday for Listen Local, we spoke with Stacie Powers Cuellar, the executive director at Brava, about new cabaret space at the theater — a miniature theater space that will feature music, comedy and live theater.
Off Top is growing up The Mission-based cap designer Off Top is growing fast – so much so that it’s finally getting its own space on the corner of 19th and Mission streets June 1. Co-owner Armando Ramirez, 29, said the move will allow the one-year-old cap-embroidery business to focus on its own branding. Right now, he shares a space...
Today is the final day for viewing art at studios around the Mission District. Doors will be open from noon to 6 p.m. (See venues below.) We stopped in at the Pacific Felt Factory at 2830 20th St. late Saturday, and discovered compelling work by a number of artists, including Brian Singer (someguy), Rodney Ewing, Beth Davila Waldman and Azucena Hernandez. Here are...
In 1981, when she was just 26-years-old, Barbara Carrasco was commissioned by the Community Redevelopment Agency in Los Angeles to paint a mural. “They said the theme was anything to do with Los Angeles,” she said. Carrasco worked for months on the project, consulting historians and researching the history of the area. She decided to base the mural on a...
A show exploring the work of René Yañez runs at the Luggage Store Gallery until March 31. Another celebration of Yañez will take place at a fundraiser for SOMArts on April 14. There will be a community meal and program honoring Yañez from 7 to 9 p.m., followed by a dance party with performances from 9 p.m. to midnight. Tickets are available...
There’s nothing in René Yañez’s playful and inventive art to suggest it’s the work of a man in his 70s — let alone that the artist is dealing with a terminal illness. Yet that’s precisely the situation at the second-floor gallery at the Luggage Store, where a show by Yañez opens Friday. Yañez, an artist, curator and co-founder of two...
A year ago, I became interested in photographing surfaces where juxtapositions of spilled or running paint, a crack in the wall, a streak of rust, a splash of water, a shadow, can create interesting and intriguing images — what I call unintended art. That’s when I came across 2205 Mission St., at 18th — at one time, an appliance store....
Some are pink, some are blue and some are orange. Some have halos over their heads and some are surrounded by stars and hearts of bliss. Some are tall, some are short, some are fat, some are skinny. Some even say, “Plug me in.” They hang out on mailboxes, walls, street poles, newsstands and wooden boards. In the Mission, they’re...
It’s been a while since we’ve had such a great addition to the Mission’s walls. The new mural, Corazón de Campesinos by Alberto Ybarra, pays homage to San Juan Cítala, in Jalisco, Mexico, the hometown of Ybarra’s mother and her family. He depicts it from memories of summers he spent there, showing how the farming village encouraged community, whimsy and the...
In one of Ted Pushinsky’s photos, three boys stand at the 24th Street BART plaza. Two of them wear Stetson hats, one of them dances, and all three wear baggy slacks and shined-up shoes. Two of them read a sheet of paper whose words remain hidden from view. While it is only a black-and-white photograph — one taken in the...
Radio Habana Social Club sits tucked away on 1109 Valencia St., its blue awning faded and its windows covered with flyers and posters. Except for a small neon “open” sign, you might miss it. But on a Friday night, it is standing room only in the tiny café. If you weren’t paying attention, you might also miss Victor Navarrete. Navarrete...
Rush hour at San Francisco’s Civic Center BART station brings one word to mind: nightmare. Whether being sandwiched between other strap-hangers during your commute or braving pedestrian road rage en route to holiday shopping, the experience ranges from monotonous to downright offensive. But when riders get off at Civic Center, they’re greeted by a reprieve from the madness: the sweet...
A holiday walk in Bernal tonight, craft fairs and screen printing tomorrow. ‘Tis the season, and this weekend is loaded with possibilities for buying local or simply enjoying music and art. Holiday Shopping tips The Mission Bernal Merchants Association’s holiday walk will be held Friday (yes, today) from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The locally owned restaurants, bars, galleries, coffee...
As Valencia Street in the Mission is increasingly burnished to a shine, Artists’ Television Access — flying a black-and-white sign like a pirate flag — stands out as a rough spot in a sea of diamonds. The cinema collective moved from SoMa to the Mission in 1986. Since then, ATA has hosted art, performance and cinema, exploring the areas where...
