Video story of the event is here.
By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
As the sounds of the Bexar Brass Band filled the night air at Brown Plaza Friday night, the bugle player should have been playing Taps, as the 10-week summer season of Noches Musicales played its last notes of the summer.
Most weeks featured one band playing, but the grand finale had
three performances.
A local dance troupe Ballet Folklorico Macuilxochiti, followed by San Antonio’s Bexar Brass Band playing the sounds of New Orleans-style jazz and Alto Voltaje Grupo closed out the evening with plenty of cumbias that got the crowd moving.
The season kicked off June 10 and featured a variety of performances from bands throughout the region, including Eztilo, Nightlife, La Quimica, Conjunto Mi Rey, Family Jewelz, Los Navegantes Del Bravo, On the Fly, Potenzia and After the Fly in addition to Friday’s final lineup.
Lupita De La Paz, Casa de la Cultura’s executive director, said each season costs between $15,000 to $20,000 to produce. This covers the musicians, sound and lights, plus they pay the city to close the streets, rent barricades and lease the Plaza Brown site.
“It’s a whole production, everything from picking up the trash to the bands,” De La Paz said.
However, the event wasn’t an immediate success.
The series kicked off in 2005.
“We didn’t have people turning out much and one night, the band didn’t show up, and I had to take my guitar out and play some songs,” De La Paz recalled.
However, the series has come a long way as vendors and bands are now calling her beginning in March, trying to snag space for their grills or a date on the calendar to entertain the audience that typically numbers in the hundreds.
Lazer Sanchez, a musician who’s played and a fan who seldom misses a performance, said it’s invaluable to Del Rio.
“It’s a great place to be every summer,” said Sanchez. “It brings a lot of unity to our community…and everyone enjoys themselves and has a great time.”
“We feel like this is important for our community,” De La Paz said. There are some people who never leave here, and we want to make it special for them.”
The writer can be reached at JoelALangton@gmail.com .
