WHAT THE HECK?!

Simply stated, it is a series of 5 yard signs, each featuring contemporary phrases that have been given a "tweak" so they now "shout out" our enthusiasm for Fiesta.

This cultural late-comer to the SA Fiesta scene was conceived and commissioned by Art SA. These are collectable - a limited edition of 50 (numbered prints) for each design in 2011.

A local emerging artist designed and created these digitally produced, "sorta giclee-like" prints.

A local sign craftsman produced the set of 250 pieces, each one - expertly mounted on 12" x 24" coroplast panels with medium gauge wire stander-uppers.

This sign best represents the inspiration behind the creation of the Fiesta sign series.

The implied context of "Don't Mess With Fiesta" relates to a common presumption that Fiesta tradition is a cemented series of social events and cultural expectations that are implemented only according to prior practice.

One characteristic of Fiesta that needs to be "messed with" is the geographic hegemony that downtown and central SA holds over the larger series of events. The vast majority of the "official" Fiesta events are staged squarely in downtown and/or the central district of the city and this has been the practice for decades. The denizens of the neighborhoods that ring the downtown & central  SA areas have traditionally embraced Fiesta and it geographic proximity to their home/work/play territories.

If any of the Fiesta organizers were to travel out to the area we know as "outer loop land" for even the briefest visit during the 10 day "citywide" celebration, they may notice that Fiesta is a non-existant entity out "there". If this is news to you, just check the facts with any "outer loop lander" you may know . . . they will confirm this contention.

So as the city grows, Fiesta has not.  Its organizers have limited the Fiesta fun to an urban footprint that reflects the city's reality in 1951, certainly not 2011!

I can hear it now - the knee jerk response from our local culture isolationists is - "that it is the civic duty of folks who live outside the outer loop to travel towards the city core to experience its culture." The implication of this idea is that downtowners will never deign to themselves travel in the reverse direction for any reason, excepting; the Nordstroms 1/2 yearly sale and a one time excursion to that new Brazilian carved meat restaurant.

SO consider - how many people live within a 10 minute drive of central Stone Oak and its "no vacancy" dense retail district as opposed the central Broadway and its "no retail" density of its vacant lots and unfinished developments with a landscape with no parking available.

So now that we have unmasked the true villians of the unspoken expectations of upholding our standards of civic duty . . . a few suggestions:

 Idea #1 . . . stage the Fiesta carnival on any one of the mega-parking lots located at "The Rim", "La Cantera", "UTSA" or any one of the 35 appropriate sites that abound in outer loop land. So many people with soo much disposable income would flock to eat a turkey leg and ride the tilt-a-whell!!

Idea #2 . . . conduct the Fiesta Flambeau Parade along the route of any of the major thorough fares that criss cross the northern region of SA.  Maybe the route can terminate at the site of the carnival, thus integrating and maximizing participation in both events. Also, since there are fewer city lights to produce atmospheric light pollution, the parade and carnival will be easier to see from outer space. Throughout the north side of SA, there is plentitude of adjacent parking lots for spectators, who will also use the occasion to patronize all of the available chain fast food restaurants, frozen yogurt franchises and suntanning salons also in plentitude there. Imagine that, the City of SA providing an an economic boom event for SA businesses not located within blocks of the Riverwalk.

So city fathers and mothers as well as Fiesta commission wannabes - go ahead and mess with Fiesta!

This sign refers to the way "NIOSA" brings out the worst and the best of us - it speaks to all SA folk who embrace Fiesta.

The first implication of "NIOSA":

"NIOSA" provides the one issue that San Antonians seem to harbor their deepest and darkest biases against our multi-cultural friends and neighbors. SA society is permeated by an ethnically charged debate over the most appropriate pronounciation of this 5 letter word - as either "knee-osa" or "nigh-osa". It is more than a preference relating to syntax - it is the shark's fin that sticks up out of the water.

A palable tension exists between the anglo and hispanic cultures of SA. The multi-generational struggle for cultural dominance  bubbles beneath the surface of our city. This tendency towards cultural competition is neutralized by our accompanying cultural norm of being "SA friendly". This expectation of civility overides any tendencies towards conflict based on bias. So next time you feel the urge to snappishly correct someone else's pronounciation of "NIOSA" - ask them instead if they will go straight to the freshly made torillas stand or the avocado and salsa booth for their first taste sensation of  NIOSA 2011 . . .

The second implication of "NIOSA":

"NIOSA" has ceased to be an acronym and is instead a universally proper noun within the current context of our contemporary culture (the here and now of San Antonio 2011). This word does not occur very far beyond the Bexar county line. This reference is understood by people from across the social and economic spectrum of SA.  In fact, many folks who have never personally participated in the ubiquitous 3 day festival within a festival are clear on the concept.

So this Fiesta sign reflects Fiesta's collective cultural phenomenon. The "spoken here" explains that an  insider language surrounds Fiesta. A language used as we participate in the unique experiences that Fiesta provides. We've all seen this dynamic at work. Think about this episode we have all observed. How an instant cameradery forms between two strangers who learn that they both have had the opportunity to be volunteer server at a NIOSA beer booth.  

So everything considered, that SA ritual - NIOSA, an event created to celebrate the cultural diversity of SA - is the embodiment of Fiesta, who we celebrate it, where we celebrate it and "NIOSA means we are all "San Antonians". . . so celebrate it with a Fiesta Yard sign!!

Do ya totally want one of these or what?

Each individual sign costs $25.00

or purchase the whole set of

5 signs for $100.00.