Arts Highlights

Viva Fiesta!

Visit the SAHEARTS Calendar for a list of

Fiesta cultural events in San Antonio.

Fiesta Dances! Ballets, Polkas and Bailes

April 18 - 27

Witte Museum

3801 Broadway

Dance themes were often used on the elaborate gowns and trains in the Order of the Alamo's coronation. The 2008 Fiesta exhibit at the Witte Museum honors these dancing traditions through a display of dance costumes and photographs. Six royal trains with dance images highlighted with rhinestones and sequins will be exhibited as well as the royal gowns of the 2008 Fiesta royalty. The Witte's 2008 official Fiesta pin is based upon the train worn by Ruth Ann Davis, Princess of Ethereal Splendor in the 1955 Court of Enchanted Dance. www.wittemuseum.org

Tiempo Libre

April 18 - 20

Majestic Theatre

208 E. Houston Street

Grammy-nominated Tiempo Libre is one the hottest young Latin bands today. Equally at home in concert halls, jazz clubs and dance venues, the Miami-based band has become known for their incendiary, joyful performances of timba - an irresistible, dance-inducing mix of high-voltage Latin jazz and the seductive rhythms of son - true modern heirs to the rich tradition of the music of their native Cuba. www.majesticempire.com

Fiesta Arts Fair

April 19 & 20

Southwest School of Art & Craft

300 Augusta Street

Celebrating 35 years of creativity, the Fiesta Arts Fair at the Southwest School of Art & Craft is an official "kick-off event" for the renowned Fiesta San Antonio. The 2-day Fiesta Arts Fair is a family-friendly occasion, featuring 120 top artists, live music, a Children's Art Garden and, as with all true Fiesta events, good food. The Fiesta Arts Fair has drawn artists from around the nation and the region, whose work has been selected by a juried panel. This year 120 artists from 23 states will display and sell works in metal, ceramics, glass, painting, photography, textures and jewelry. While the art is always the main attraction, Fiesta Arts Fair features two stages of live music throughout its two days. www.swschool.org

2nd Annual Fiesta del Lago Mariachi Festival

April 19, 5 pm - 11 pm

Our Lady of the Lake University

411 SW 24th Street

The fifth season of Our Lady of the Lake University's (OLLU) Calle 24 Performing Arts Series continues this April with the 2nd Annual Fiesta del Lago Mariachi Festival.The program celebrates Hispanic influences on the arts community of the West Side of San Antonio. The festival, which takes place in the OLLU University Wellness and Activities Center (UWAC) Lawn from 5-11 pm, will feature performances by 13 high school mariachi groups from San Antonio, Odessa and Laredo; Mariachi OLLU; and Los Galleros de San Antonio. A scholarship to OLLU will be awarded to a qualifying student, and the winning ensemble will be named the "Best in Texas." OLLU Website

Perspectivas Populares: Non-traditional Folk Expressions from Spain, Mexico and South Texas

Through July, 2009

San Antonio Museum of Art

200 W. Jones Avenue

Perspectivos Populares focuses on five 20th-century artists in the permanent collection whose work, in varying degrees, occupies positions between the two genres of "outsider art" and traditional folk art.  All draw from their communities in terms of daily stimulae, but, on the other hand, all manifest unique artistic responses to their individual environments.  None are in step with other, more traditional artists of their communities.  www.samuseum.org