Jesse Borrego graduated from Harlandale High School in 1980, a year before my parents.
Mary WilkinsKelly / Photo courtesy
San Antonio residents do their best when the city of the Alamo is commended or local businesses and restaurants are recognized nationally, as we should. We can’t help but be at ease with our friends and family as we watch Texas native Kelly Clarkson praise Whataburger or showcase the San Antonio experience on TV thanks to Southwest grad Shea Serrano. But perhaps even more exciting than famous people showing their love to San Antonio are our own encounters with a certain group of celebrities.
Living in the 2-1-0 means each of us has connections and experiences with Puro celebrities.
Millennials like me appreciate growing up in a special era in Spurs history, hence my Coyote’s autograph sticker.
Sarah Martinez for MySA
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I have a few myself, having been born and raised in San Antonian. I remember meeting former boxer Jesse James Leija as a kid, as well as Brackenridge High School and St. Mary’s University graduate and TV host John Quiñones, although at the time I wished I had a disposable camera (here a ’90s one). years baby) proving it. Ditto for the time I met the Spurs Coyote, but at least I have his autograph and personalized “Sarah Barah!” on a Fiesta color logo sticker for reminders. As a journalist, I was able to meet Serrano, a personal idol of mine, and Julián Castro (and his mother, Rosie Castro).
Shea Serrano and I are just two Southside kids who love writing and taquerias.
Jess Elizarraras
Being the Chismosa that I am, I also love to share the connections I have through my family to other big names locally.
My parents both graduated from Harlandale High School in 1981, a year after actor Jesse Borrego. My mother not only had an English course with Borrego, but also stood in a quince with him. I was shocked to hear that a few years ago she threw out a photo of them even after he starred in the classic Blood In Blood Out.
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My love of Tejano music may stem from my family being so close to Tejano royalty. One of my paternal grandmother’s sisters dated David Lee Garza’s father Tony when they were young when they were all growing up in Poteet, according to the family saying. Sure, my dad can’t call the musicales’ leader his cousin, but it’s still very special that he and my mom met Garza when they stopped by his HQ in Poteet in the late ’90s. My Uncle Mark, who used to be a DJ, is somewhat familiar with the family, having met the Tejano legend several times and even been to Garza’s house out in Poteet.
My parents stopped by David Lee Garza’s Poteet headquarters in the late 1990’s and met the Tejano accordionist by chance.
Sarah Martinez for MySA
Many San Antonians may have their own Selena stories, but I will forever claim my parents’ as my own since I was only a year old when she was killed in 1995. While eating at Uncle Barney’s on an ordinary day in April 1992, my parents heard a lot of excitement from the Hungry Farmer Steakhouse, which shares the building with the Southside burger joint. My dad finally asked a worker what was going on, and he learned that Selena and her new husband (we all know who that is) were dining with Abraham Quintanilla at Hungry Farmer. The low-key performance obviously wowed fans, but the worker told my parents the singer’s father tried to keep other diners away so they could enjoy their meal in peace.
I usually meet old classmates or family friends when I dine at Uncle Barney’s, so I would definitely have made a fuss if I had seen the Queen of Tejano in person. Who else has Selena memories to cherish forever? Tell us about all the must-share Puro meet-ups with local celebrities in a room full of Chismosos.
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