Gregg Popovich said it has been hard for him “to even think about basketball” ever since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine.
Summer is upon us, San Antonio, but what can we expect from its hot and humid clutches? What developments are in store? Here is my hyper-local cultural trend forecast for the city as we move into the hottest time of the year. I'll be charting everything from the fate of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to new downtown developments.
Full disclosure, I am not a psychic and many of these are exaggerated predictions for the season based on my own informed intuition and good-humored projection. Come peer into my crystal ball!
I know ... this one is hard to hear, but it makes the most sense of anything on this list. The Spurs had an arguably solid season, Pop finally earned his "all-time winningest coach in the NBA" title, and the Spurs' 50-year anniversary is around the corner. Even ESPN is putting his retirement arc into the universe. The time is now, Pop. You had a beautiful run.
A family pack of Mediterranean food to-go includes, clockwise from bottom left, Greek salad, dolma (additional charge), baklava, chicken shawarma, lentil rice, fresh pita, garlic sauce, tzatziki and gyro meat with beef and lamb from Pasha Mediterranean Grill on Wurzbach Road.
It's coming to me now, I see a vision of Chad Carey of Empty Stomach, the restaurant group that owns spots like Little Death and Double Standard, opening a hot new Dionysian revel Greek-food concept called “bacchanalia.” Olives and dolma appetizers will certainly be on the menu, as will handmade pita and lemon-pepper hummus. There will be multiple murals with Aegean / Ionian Sea imagery featuring vignettes of debaucherous satyrs, goddesses, and nymphs frolicking through the woods and guzzling red wine. The cocktail menu will include refreshers with names like “Pyrrhic Victory” and “Vesuvius.” Bacchanalia will host "toga nights" on Tuesdays with grilled lamb kabobs and music from parishioners of the St. Sophia Orthodox Church.
San Antonio opens cooling stations as heat wave moves through South-Central Texas
If the first week or so of June is any indication (temperatures endlessly in the triple digits) it seems 2022 is primed to be the hottest summer in San Antonio on record. I am not a meteorologist (read: don't take this too seriously) but sometimes I do consult local meteorologists to write up weather reports for MySA. With our lack of rainfall of late, I wouldn't be surprised if this prophecy came true. Again, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but as things heat up I have an ominous premonition that something unfortunate will happen with all the splash pads...something about a bacteria. Hopefully I'm wrong!
MIAMI, FLORIDA - APRIL 01: Bad Bunny performs during his El Ãltimo Tour Del Mundo at FTX Arena on April 01, 2022 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by John Parra/WireImage)
Over the years, Liam Payne of defunct boyband One Direction has made local headlines due to his tumultuous relationship with Maya Henry, daughter of fat-cat lawyer Thomas J. Henry. Now that their relationship seems doomed, it only makes sense that the tabloid torch will be passed along to San Antonio's favorite Puerto Rican heartthrob. Bad Bunny did just name drop San Antonio in a new song after all! Who will be the lucky girl? Only the dog days of summer will reveal this secret.
METRO - Joshua Daniel Gonzales, 2, manages to take a nap on the shoulders of his mother, Cissy, during the Battle of Flowers parade on Friday, April 28, 2000. Kin Man Hui/staff.
In the wake of COVID-19-era burnout and the widespread return to downtown office spaces, COSA will finally establish a city-wide siesta program as a restorative way to raise morale and pay homage to San Antonio's Latin roots. Everyone can agree that as a collective, San Antonio needs vital rest. It will be groundbreaking and make national headlines, setting up Mayor Ron Nirenberg for an eventual vice-presidential bid. All businesses will break at 3 p.m. and reopen at 5 p.m. Another great free idea ... can somebody get this on a ballot?!?
San Antonio multimedia artist Aphro Oner built a collection of portraits of Hispanic Elvis from 2011 to 2014.
June is Pride month, and drag is a crucially important part of this. Earlier this year, we lost local street performer Hispanic Elvis to COVID-19. While yes, the Mercado King “left the building” (rest in peace), Elvis is still in the international airwaves thanks to the Austin Butler-led biopic that got a 10-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. I wouldn't be surprised if Luther's or The Bonham Exchange throws a drag show cementing this unique moment in time to celebrate Pride and the life of a memorable and beloved San Antonian.
With the recent opening of Black Potion, a table-top gaming tavern with beer and wine, I have a hunch that the local scene will see the beginnings of a board game renaissance this summer. A week after Black Potion's opening, Webhouse made an Instagram post announcing Dungeons and Dragons night. The Magic Time Machine has been hosting Magic the Gathering nights for years, but suddenly the novelty restaurant/site for basement comedy also seems to be in the zeitgeist (maybe I'm projecting because I did write an article about it recently.) In April, the New York Times dropped a piece about the rise of board game cafes in the Big Apple. Perennially a few steps behind, San Antonio will inevitably ride the wave.
''?“Top Gun'?’s''?” dogfights will look great in 3D IMAX, but what about all those powerful death stares between ''Mav'' (right) and arch-rival ''?“Iceman?”'' (left), played by Val Kilmer?
For years, San Antonio has been popularly known as "Military City U.S.A" due to our high concentration of service members from Army and Air Force bases with robust training and medical centers. If you've never identified with the label though, you may start to embrace it during the summer of Top Gun:Maverick. Have a fling with a hunky guy in uniform "just passing through" with a mustache and abs. Take him to the local VFW 76 post, the oldest in Texas. He may break up with you after he moves out of state, but it'll be fun and very zeitgeisty (trust me!).
In the heat of summer, we’ll finally get a good “scandal.” Nothing tragic, rather something entertaining and 80s-style. Like when former Congressman Henry B. Gonzalez punched a guy outside of Earl Abels, or when Councilman Van Archer went undercover at a Rush concert as part a feud with Bernardo Eureste about the fate of local teens. It will be puro San Antonio.
For better or for worse, Elon Musk's restaurateur brother “Kimbal” might open an eatery in San Antonio. I became aware of the younger Musk when I lived in Boulder, Colorado, where he had a restaurant called "The Kitchen." The guy already wears cowboy hats, so we know he'd enjoy appropriating some of our other local aesthetics. His Texas-obsessed brother Elon, who is currently proposing an underground tunnel between San Antonio and Austin, has likely already tipped him off on everything developing downtown. He probably knows about Weston Urban.
Camille Sauers grew up in San Antonio and studied at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Send ghost story, nature and music tips to camille.sauers@mysa.com. Twitter: @camillesaccount