Danny De La Paz makes himself at home in our Alamo City.
Story & Photos By: G.Tomas Vasquez 2010
Whenever residents of the Alamo City think of the south side different opinions seem to vary from person to person. What we don't often realize and sometimes forget is that just south of downtown lies a unique and historic culture that is sometimes forgotten. During the past few years one thing that has changed drastically about San Antonio is the extreme business growth on our city’s south side. Businesses big and small, restaurant chains, live music venues/bars, new housing and apartment growth now cover the once slightly desolate area of our great city.
When actors Danny De La Paz and Jesse Borrego were ready to open up a store dedicated to the Latin culture they were a bit amazed none others resided here in San Antonio. “I’ve been coming and going for over 25 years.” States De La Paz, “And I’ve grown to love the city and la raza that’s here in San Antonio. How can you have so many people from the culture live here and not a single retail store exist that caters to them and the people that appreciate the culture?” (For all you college graduates, La Raza is Spanish for the race)
Krazy Vatos Emporium, which had its grand opening last October, is the product of a long time history of friendship. De La Paz and Borrego’s idea was to provide Hispanic culture to our city by displaying artwork and art inspired novelties for sale. “When you’re in San Antonio, there is a certain vibe you feel. It’s very different from Los Angeles.” Danny states when asked about opening his store in our city, “There is a certain kind of feeling you have when you’re there and I really like that feeling.”
The store provides high end pottery shipped from various parts of Mexico, hard to find DVDs and vintage movie memorabilia, local artwork and hand crafted items from San Antonio to California. Who could ask for a more perfect location than 2342 S Presa just southeast of downtown?
“Many of our local artists work are featured at our store and we are going to continue to do that.” There is so much talent out there it’s just amazing the amount of talent there is in San Antonio.” De La Paz states proudly,” We love being able to give that talent a showcase.”
Danny De La Paz and Jesse Borrego are currently involved with different big projects at the moment. De La Paz is in Los Angeles currently promoting his play, “The BLVD”, that was written by himself and Joseph Castel. Borrego was not available due to schedule conflicts promoting his role in “La Mission”. This upcoming film featuring Benjamin Bratt and Jeremy Valdez is an inspiring drama that touches on the challenges and the triumphs of life on the street along with current political and social issues. The BLVD is showing March 11th through April 18th at The Macha Theatre in West Hollywood and La Mission will hit theaters everywhere April 16th.”
One visit to the Krazy Vatos Facebook page and you can view weekly updates with photos of new merchandise along with previews of what the store and the actors are involved in. Captions like “Give your Tio this shirt.”, “We got this one last week, Ese!” and “It’s a nice day in SA so Krazy Vatos is in a good mood. We’re having a sale on all the 16oz (loteria) pint glasses” grace the pictures of their facebook page. The Krazy Vatos are also gearing up to promote a new clothing line that will be available exclusively at the store on S. Presa and online.
When asked for advice about failure and success to our readers Danny De La Paz shared this: “Believe in yourself. There is no defeat; there are challenges and many times disappointments, but never defeat. As long as you get right back up, brush yourself off and keep moving forward you’ll never be defeated. We are here to learn how we can serve our community and help the people around us.”
"Do not overlook these humble and unique gems that are the backbone of our culture."
i would love to visit the store .
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to visiting this coming weekend Orale ✊😎
ReplyDelete