When KLRN digital marketing manager Ian Cruz worked for the city’s international relations office, he saw firsthand a wide swath of San Antonio’s culture.
Showing off the city to international delegations “opened my eyes to the diversity of our scene,” Cruz said. His knowledge has been transformed into the KLRN City Showdown, a lighthearted competition among musical acts from each of the city’s 10 council districts.
San Antonio residents are invited to watch videos by the 10 contestants and vote for their favorites through Dec. 8. The winner will receive a $250 H-E-B gift card and “bragging rights for the year,” according to the website.
Talent in every district
The City of San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture’s artist registry proved an invaluable resource in selecting musical acts for the competition, Cruz said, as well as scouring social media.
As described in an announcement to local media, musical genres in this year’s selection include “Indie, Tejano, punk, Latin house, nerdcore and dark electronic pop.”
The bands and artists are DELENDA from District 1, 34K from District 2, Los Juanos from District 3, Vinny Tovar from District 4, HoneyBunny from District 5, INOHA from District 6, Vanita Leo from District 7, Bat Allison from District 8, XO Monie from District 9 and Kris Cari from District 10.
Cruz then assembled a jury of 11 San Antonians ranging in age from 15 to 50 and including high school students, journalists, producers and contestants from last year’s first annual competition.
Ernie Ramirez, Carver Community Cultural Center supervisor, participated as a juror for the first time. He said ranking the contestants was difficult, “because there was a time where throughout the city you’d have pockets of really talented artists. But now, literally, they are all over, in every single district of town.”
Votes of the public will be compiled with the jury’s rankings to determine the winner.
Raising awareness
Cruz said the showdown is meant to raise cultural awareness among San Antonians by showcasing the city’s musical artists, and Ramirez agreed.
“Live music has been blowing up in San Antonio for many, many years, and I think now it’s finally getting the exposure on a larger scale” that it deserves, Ramirez said.
Cruz said he hopes to expand the showdown in coming years, first by holding an open call to extend beyond his range and that of the city’s artist registry. Then, he said, a live component such as showcasing the top four artists could be in the works. Provided he finds the bandwidth, Cruz said, “I’d love to open it up next year.”
Competition videos and biographical information on all 10 musical artists are available on the KLRN City Showcase website.
