byAnissa Sanchez
Chanting “sí se puede” and holding small Mexican flags, several dozen people marched through East Austin on Saturday to celebrate the legacy of Mexican-American labor leader César Chávez and to highlight present-day challenges for Latino civil rights.
“To me, honoring that and not forgetting that struggle is so important,” said PODER director and march organizer Susana Almanza, “especially for the next generation that never got to meet César Chávez.”
byAbby L. Johnson
The sun has yet to rise. There is a stillness outside the G.B. Dealey Center for New Media, home to the University of Texas’ Moody College of Communication. The sidewalks are devoid of students — it’s far too early for them to begin their sleepy shuffle from dorm rooms to their 8 a.m. classes. The only sounds that disturb the silence are the occasional whoosh of a car speeding down Guadalupe Street and the piercing, steady clap ringing out ominously in the otherwise tranquil pre-dawn hours.
On this early morning, a university custodian walks toward the Dealey Center with arms outstretched. Despite the cover of darkness, his presence is clearly announced by the loud clapping of his hands as he approaches the building.
The custodian claps to scatter the rodents that live in the south-facing courtyard of the communications building.
byIsabella McGovern
Far in the countryside of Elgin, away from the congested city of Austin, is Evergreen Christmas Tree Farm, a 40-acre farm where families can choose or cut down their own Christmas tree. Large and small rows of Virginia pine trees cover the land Beth and Mike Walterscheidt call home.
This family-friendly farm has been growing and selling trees for 30 years, but it hasn’t always been easy.
“What was grueling was the summer,” Beth Walterscheidt said. “It was so hot, and that was really hard for us and hard on our trees.”
byMichelle Lavergne
This year’s show of works by homeless artists came as Art From the Streets achieved two milestones that signify new beginnings for the 32-year-old organization — settling into a permanent home that it moved into in 2021 and an expansion of its mental health programs.