ACL Music Fest Marks Return of Major In-Person Events in Austin

byTara Phipps

“A lesson we’ve all learned is that change is constant. I think we all learned that during the pandemic. It felt like it was never going to end, but it did. Here we are.”

A College Kid Reviews Movies Called 2020’s Best

byHannah Pruitt

To quote Anton Ego, the critic from Pixar’s Ratatouille, “in many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and themselves to our judgement.” The box critics often put art into can become stiff and outdated. As art evolves new generations should get to contribute their voices. With […]

Preservation without Reservations: Land Grabs of Past Rob True Native Texans of Indigenous History

byBrooke Nevins

Take a couple steps off nearly any highway spanning its 270 million acres, and you’re bound to be trespassing on someone else’s property. Over 95% of the state’s land is privately owned, resulting largely from the removal of Native peoples in the 19th century. Despite its huge size and a history of hundreds of Indigenous tribes inhabiting its present-day borders, Texas has only three federally-recognized reservations – those of the Alabama-Coushatta, the Kickapoo and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo. Hundreds of non-federally recognized tribal communities exist here, left without allotted land to practice self-autonomy or the funding to preserve cultural traditions.

Six Square Aims to Provide Brighter Future For Austin’s Black Residents

byMadelyn Gee

Austin’s Black population is dwindling, and formerly Black neighborhoods are gentrifying rapidly. Some residents worry about losing connection to African-American history and culture. The organization Six Square aims to protect that connection. 

Hays County’s Indigenous Community Continues Struggle for Recognition

byBrooke Nevins

Hays County Commissioners Court raised the ire of critics by failing to reappoint members of its historical commission during a meeting earlier this year, a move that effectively dissolved a committee that represented the interests of Tejano and Indigenous groups.  The criticism came from citizens after the court did not reappoint members of the Hays […]

Capareda’s Long, Winding Road to Ballet Austin

byKendall Tietz

For Alexa Capareda, dance has long been a force in her life, a whirlwind around the globe. It has also been transformative. A journey that took her from youthful dancer to esteemed ballet master. As a child in the Philippines, she was well on her way to success. Then, her father was named a professor […]

For ‘Esther’s Follies,’ Show Goes On (Virtually)

bySarah Kate Scribner

On Friday and Saturday nights at Sixth and Red River in downtown Austin, nine actors and a magician would stand beneath the warm glow of stage lights and look out at the sea of 270 bodies crammed in the sold-out theater, eager to deliver the next gut-busting joke or burst into comedic song. That was […]

Mexican Writer Témoris Grecko on Journalists Risking Their Lives 

bySumaiya Malik

Mexican journalist Témoris Grecko, who was kidnapped for several months in Syria in 2013, shares his experience reporting from war zones and tells stories of journalists who have been killed in their search for truth.

Grecko”s book, “Killing the Story: Journalists Risking Their Lives to Uncover the Truth in Mexico,” was published in the United States in June. He will speak at the Texas Book Festival at 12:45 p.m. on Nov. 8 on Zoom. The book festival, which is virtual this year, runs from Nov. 6 to 15.

Sex Workers Struggle as COVID-19 Pandemic Continues

byShelby Woods and Andrew Roberts

Bars, strip clubs and brothels have been shut down as non-essential businesses across the country closed for the coronavirus pandemic, leaving many sex workers out of a job. “It has completely stopped business,” said Mistress Natalie King, a dominatrix in New York City. “There are no in-person sessions to be had.” And unlike millions of […]

As Above, Not So Below: Redefining Dress Code on Zoom Amid a Pandemic

byTyler Lewis

Reporting Texas reached out to a few people to see what their Zoom meeting attire says about them.

Boiz Being Boiz: Group Members Find Identity, Community Through Drag

byHope Lenamon

Boiz of Austin aims to tear down barriers and redefine what it means to be a king in the queen-dominated world of drag.

Scenes from Austin’s Día de los Muertos Parade

Frida Kahlo look-alikes, Aztec dancers and marchers in sugar skull makeup paraded down Sixth Street as part of Austin’s 36th annual Viva la Vida Parade and Festival on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019.

Civil War Battle Rises Again in East Texas

byAndrea Tinning

The annual Battle of Blackjack Grove, a mock Civil War battle, started in 2017 in the East Texas town of Groveton and has attracted more and more attendees each year.

Fighting Addiction, One Dank Meme at a Time

bySahar Chmais

An addict turned recovery counselor uses dark humor and social media to help users clean up.

Poet Javier Zamora to Speak During Summit on Race

byJack Keyes

On April 10, New York-based poet and immigration activist Javier Zamora will join a panel discussion at the LBJ Presidential Library.

Austinite Aims to Foster Discussion of Sexual Abuse Through Musical

byAlyx Wilson

Anna Westbrook says her musical and an accompanying workshop have a simple goal — to make people more comfortable discussing sexual abuse.

Texas Plays Its Role in America’s Board-Game Comeback

byKatherine Corley

A renewed interest in board games has spawned an increase in amateur board game developers, particularly in Lone Star hotspots Dallas and Austin.

A Voice in the Night, Marfa Radio Host Broadcasts for Himself and the World

byHayli Rudolph

David Beebe, the host of the weekly Night Train Express on public-radio KRTS, keeps Motown sound alive in West Texas.

On Her Day to Shine (and Sing), Gabbi Wears the Crown

byLauren DeFilippo

Gabbi Huerte, 17, has Down Syndrome. The annual Miss Sweetheart Special Needs Pageant gave her a moment to remember.

Keeping Up with the Gaineses: In Waco, Entrepreneurs Build on the Success of Magnolia Market to revitalize downtown

byKate Groetzinger

A flood of tourists drawn by the TV stars has triggered a development wave.