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San Antonio’s historic West Side will be the center of celebration this weekend as The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center is celebrating its 16th annual Paseo del Westside.
The annual walking tour of the neighborhood is a cultural and community gathering celebrating the historic West Side and features numerous workshops.
“Workshops on everything from 'how can you tell the name of this pan dulce?' You go to the store, and you say, 'I want this and this and this and that,' but you don't know the name,” explained Esperanza Peace and Justice Center Executive Director Graciela Sanchez. “So somebody's going to teach a workshop on how to name them and how you can identify them. Some people are going to be making piñatas.”
The event also offers a sneak peek of Museo del Westside, San Antonio’s first community participatory museum scheduled to open in September.
“We’ll have a sense of the people who lived here," Sanchez said. "We've done research on the individuals who lived in this little corner, the Rinconcito de Esperanza — little corner of hope. We’ll highlight some of the store—tienditas—that existed in this neighborhood, from tire shops and welder shops to barber shops to just a regular little mom and pop store.”
Here are the scheduled workshops:
Interactive Workshops
Arte, Juegos y Tradiciones
- Clay Demos with MujerArtes Cooperativa de Esperanza 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
- Piñata Making with Rosalia Vargas 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- Juegas, Crea Risas (Juegos, Sombreros y Papalotes) with Xavier Reyes 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
- Flower Making with Lupe Segura 11 a.m. - Noon
- Abuelita Square Crochet with Rachel Martinez Noon - 1 p.m.
- Lotería Games with Rose Sandoval 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Preparación de Comida / Food Demonstrations
- Pan Dulce with Rachel Martinez 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.
- Raspa Making with Jaime Rivera 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Salud y Curación Workshops / Health & Healing Workshops
- Natural Soap Making with Araceli Herrera 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
- Rebozo Healing with De Corazón Circles
Recordando y Conservando Workshops / History & Preservation Workshops
- Sewing, Crocheting, Washboard Demo with Mona, Eva y Olivia 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
- Access Newspaper Archives Databases with Sylvia Reyna 11a.m.- Noon
- Quick Timeline of Indigenous Food History with Gloria Colom Braña PhD Noon - 12:30 p.m.
- Born into Conjunto with Santiago Jimenez Jr. 1:30 p.m. - 2 p.m.
The Paseo del Westside is Saturday, May 24, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Rinconcito de Esperanza at 816 S. Colorado St. at the intersection of Colorado & Guadalupe Streets.
