Nestled between highways, a bustling metropolis and parking lots, the Western Heritage Weekend was a surprising escape from the city. The market kicked off on Friday, lasting throughout the weekend at the Historic Market Square in downtown San Antonio.
While the Square was crisscrossed with the usual rainbow of papeles picados and enclosed by equally colorful walls, the market saturated it with life. A visitor could not walk a few feet without running into a vendor. Booths selling an array of commodities — such as trinkets, jewelry and clothing with a western twist, next to gorditas, tacos and Labubu dubai chocolate fruit cups — lined the walkway.
Every seller brought the diverse culture of San Antonio together. Gorditas, along with other food, were prepared live, and of course, that fruit cup had Tajín in it; anything less would be inauthentic for the River City.
Nicole Norman, owner of a women’s western clothing boutique called The Boho Buckle, even came from out of town. Selling in the market, Norman was carried by the event’s energy.
“We were slammed last year. It was phenomenal, so we’re just hoping for a good crowd,” Norman exclaimed. “We bring something different that San Antonio hasn’t been able to offer yet. We have a lot of people that are excited for us to be back.”
If the vendors were a building’s bricks, the live music was the mortar filling every space and holding it together.
The audience in the back was dazzled by each performer’s energy, but closer to the stage, dancing became a spectacle of its own. What initially began as a salsa dance competition — which crowned two winners — evolved into hours of continuous frolicking.
Even passersby who happened to be eating in a neighboring restaurant or browsing in a shop were swept into the frenzy. Stephanie Hernandez and her partner had been eating when they decided to step outside.
“We heard the live music, so we came outside to hear some covers of my favorite songs,” Hernandez said.
Jase Martin and the Standing Peppers performed for most of the evening, coming back to their hometown for the weekend in the middle of their “The Soundtrack of Your Life Tour.” The band, featuring three-time Grammy nominee and music veteran Jason Martinez, filled the block with various rock and country covers.
Martin’s band carried the audience through serenity and celebration. They elegantly covered “Easy Like Sunday Morning” and “I Love Rock and Roll,” followed by a mash of heavy rock covers, including “Devil Went Down to Georgia,” “Brass Monkey” and “Ice Ice Baby.” It seemed like the band could turn any genre into nonstop rock and roll.
After the show, the band described the music and heritage weekend best: a little of everything for everyone.
“I think we can go from a ballad to a cumbia to a rock song. We cover a lot of bases here. If you don’t like something, eventually you’ll like something we play,” bass player Steven Gonzalez described.
“We’re like the Texas weather,” Martin chimed in. “It’s just one of those things where you want to come out. You want to come out and check out all of the bands, all of the performers, all of the different things that are happening because it’s super fun.”
Whether someone happened to stroll by or had visited each shop, the Western Heritage Weekend was a celebration of life and culture, with no one leaving empty-handed.
