Latest / Austin Signal / Vikki Goodwin’s bid for lieutenant governor, Camp Mystic bankruptcy case, Girl Gurl Gorl

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Vikki Goodwin’s bid for lieutenant governor, Camp Mystic bankruptcy case, Girl Gurl Gorl · Austin Signal

• 0:08
  We are halfway through the first
• 0:10
  week of early voting, and there are
• 0:12
  many statewide races here in Texas
• 0:13
  that appear to be tight contests.
• 0:16
  Austin State Rep Vicki Goodwin is
• 0:17
  running to unseat Lieutenant
• 0:19
  Governor Dan Patrick, who's held the
• 0:21
  position for more than a decade.
• 0:23
  We're gonna tell you more about that
• 0:24
  race and the contest for
• 0:25
  representation in the Texas House
• 0:27
  and the Texas Senate.
• 0:29
  Plus, we've got an update on the
• 0:30
  bankruptcy case related to Camp
• 0:32
  Mystic.
• 0:33
  Plenty more about those stories
• 0:34
  coming up on today's show.
• 0:36
  The Austin Signal is a production
• 0:37
  of KUT News, hosted by
• 0:40
  Jerry Quijano.
• 0:41
  An Austin artist, embarrassment
• 0:43
  artist, is exploring girlhood,
• 0:45
  identity, and fast food in her new
• 0:47
  show. We're gonna hear about it.
• 0:49
  And there's plenty of spooky arts
• 0:50
  happenings around town as we grow
• 0:52
  closer to All Hallows Eve.
• 0:54
  Come find out what's happening.
• 0:56
  That's up next.
• 0:57
  It's right here on Austin Signal.
• 1:08
  Howdy out there, you are listening
• 1:10
  to Austin Signal.
• 1:12
  I'm your host, Jerry Kehannel.
• 1:13
  It is Thursday, October 22nd.
• 1:16
  Thank you for making us part of your
• 1:18
  day.
• 1:20
  It's been more than a year since the
• 1:21
  tragic flooding that killed more
• 1:22
  than 100 people in central Texas,
• 1:24
  including at the all-girls Christian
• 1:26
  summer camp, Camp Mystic,
• 1:28
  and in the aftermath, there have
• 1:30
  been multiple lawsuits and
• 1:31
  investigations looking into the
• 1:33
  camp. In June of this year,
• 1:35
  Camp Mystics filed for bankruptcy.
• 1:37
  Now, as KUT's Kaylee Hunt
• 1:39
  reports, a federal judge has
• 1:41
  declined to appoint a trustee to
• 1:43
  oversee Camp Mystic's bankruptcy
• 1:44
  case.
• 1:46
  The cases creditors committee made
• 1:47
  up of 13 parents whose children died
• 1:49
  at the camp during the July, 2025
• 1:51
  flooding requested the appointment
• 1:53
  of a chapter 11 trustee,
• 1:56
  a government approved independent
• 1:57
  fiduciary to oversee the case.
• 1:59
  They cited conflicts of interest
• 2:01
  created by wrongful death claims
• 2:03
  against the camp's current managers,
• 2:05
  the Eastland family.
• 2:06
  The committee also accuses the
• 2:08
  Eastlands of incompetence and
• 2:10
  gross mismanagement, as well as
• 2:12
  acrimony toward families of flood
• 2:13
  victims.
• 2:15
  The U.S.
• 2:16
  Trustee, a type of federal official
• 2:17
  that oversees bankruptcy cases,
• 2:19
  also requested the appointment of a
• 2:21
  Chapter 11 trustee for similar
• 2:23
  reasons.
• 2:24
  But Judge Christopher Lopez says the
• 2:26
  Eastlands should have more time to
• 2:28
  resolve the conflict internally.
• 2:30
  He said he failed to find enough
• 2:31
  evidence for the accusations against
• 2:33
  the Eastland's, and he says the
• 2:35
  family can appoint independent
• 2:37
  fiduciaries to oversee all aspects
• 2:39
  of the camp's finances on their own
• 2:41
  without court action.
• 2:43
  However, they must do so by October
• 2:45
  28th.
• 2:46
  Otherwise, he will direct the
• 2:48
  government to appoint one.
• 2:49
  I'm Kayleigh Hunt in Austin.
• 2:58
  A West Austin Democrat is running
• 3:00
  a low-profile campaign against
• 3:02
  one of the highest-profiled
• 3:03
  Republicans on the ballot this
• 3:05
  election.
• 3:06
  KUT's Andrew Weber has more on
• 3:08
  the race for Texas Lieutenant
• 3:09
  Governor.
• 3:11
  Vicki Goodwin wasn't exactly a
• 3:12
  household name when the Texas
• 3:14
  Longhorns kicked off their football
• 3:15
  season.
• 3:15
  Bevo is back and so is
• 3:17
  college football.
• 3:18
  During the Longhorns' first game,
• 3:20
  Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan
• 3:21
  Patrick came out swinging against
• 3:23
  his Democratic opponent with an ad
• 3:25
  blitz that used AI imagery of her
• 3:27
  calling for more taxes at a UT
• 3:28
  football game. People took notice.
• 3:40
  This is the video of that AI depiction of Goodwin at a UT football game,
• 3:40
  her shirt says "taxes" instead of "Texas".
• 3:40
  Goodwin filed a complaint in Travis County and...
• 3:40
  Within 24 hours,
• 3:42
  Dan Patrick's team pulled them down.
• 3:45
  So we believe he
• 3:46
  realized that that goes against
• 3:48
  state law.
• 3:49
  Disinformation aside, Goodwin says
• 3:51
  Patrick's ad got to her, because as
• 3:53
  a West Austin Democrat, taxation,
• 3:55
  particularly property taxes,
• 3:57
  is one of the few areas where she
• 3:58
  can see eye-to-eye with Republicans.
• 4:00
  After the state representative
• 4:01
  defeated longtime Republican Paul
• 4:03
  Workman in 2018, she was
• 4:05
  invited to speak at the Lake Way
• 4:07
  Men's Breakfast Club.
• 4:08
  I was told it is mostly Republican
• 4:11
  men, but there might be a couple of
• 4:13
  Democrats in the crowd.
• 4:14
  And what did she talk about with
• 4:15
  those Republican men from Lakeway?
• 4:18
  Taxes. But they still enjoyed
• 4:19
  hearing what I had to say.
• 4:21
  And I can really get in depth on
• 4:23
  things like property taxes and
• 4:25
  why they are the way they are, why
• 4:27
  they're going up.
• 4:28
  Goodwin has a real estate brokerage
• 4:30
  in West Austin.
• 4:31
  She knows that property taxes have
• 4:32
  skyrocketed over the last 15 years.
• 4:34
  She says she's focused on that,
• 4:36
  pocketbook issues.
• 4:38
  She wants to boost school funding at
• 4:39
  the state level so Texas school
• 4:41
  districts don't have to rely as much
• 4:43
  on taxes.
• 4:44
  It's the kind of issue Goodwin says
• 4:45
  Patrick hasn't focused on this
• 4:47
  campaign.
• 4:48
  Here's Patrick at a capital press
• 4:49
  conference in August, talking about
• 4:51
  his podcast.
• 4:53
  As of this morning,
• 4:56
  over 625,000
• 4:58
  Texans have viewed the
• 5:01
  content of that podcast.
• 5:03
  You might be wondering, what was
• 5:05
  that podcast about?
• 5:06
  It's about the
• 5:09
  dirty, filthy and vulgar books in
• 5:11
  our school libraries.
• 5:12
  To me, that's a distraction.
• 5:14
  We shouldn't be talking about
• 5:16
  banning books. We should be talking
• 5:17
  about how we can encourage young
• 5:18
  kids to learn how to read.
• 5:21
  Our schools are severely
• 5:22
  underfunded.
• 5:23
  Well, he doesn't want to talk about
• 5:25
  that.
• 5:25
  Patrick did not respond to an
• 5:27
  interview request for this story,
• 5:29
  but the Lieutenant Governor has been
• 5:30
  hitting Goodwin hard in the lead up
• 5:31
  to this election, even though he's
• 5:33
  the incumbent with way more name
• 5:35
  recognition.
• 5:36
  That's because this election is
• 5:37
  different, says UT pollster Jim
• 5:39
  Henson.
• 5:40
  This is a unprecedented level
• 5:42
  of competition, certainly
• 5:44
  the most competitive election I've
• 5:45
  seen since I've been doing this for
• 5:47
  over two decades.
• 5:48
  So, what makes it different?
• 5:50
  Well, there's James Tallarico.
• 5:51
  The Austin Democratic State
• 5:52
  Representative has ginned up a lot
• 5:54
  of enthusiasm in his race against
• 5:55
  Republican Ken Paxton for the open
• 5:57
  U.S. Senate seat.
• 5:59
  That's trickle-down ballot, and this
• 6:00
  is arguably the closest competition
• 6:02
  Patrick's had in his entire
• 6:04
  political career.
• 6:05
  Goodwin and Patrick are neck and
• 6:06
  neck in the most recent polling done
• 6:08
  by Henson's Texas politics project.
• 6:11
  That's despite the fact that,
• 6:12
  historically, the Lieutenant
• 6:13
  Governor's race is in top of mind
• 6:15
  for a lot Texans, Henson says.
• 6:17
  I think it's fair to say the
• 6:18
  lieutenant governor's office is the
• 6:20
  most powerful office that
• 6:22
  most people don't think about very
• 6:23
  much in Texas.
• 6:24
  But it's an incredibly powerful
• 6:26
  position at the Capitol, and Patrick
• 6:28
  regularly uses that bully pulpit,
• 6:30
  flexing that muscle in his campaign
• 6:32
  ads, touting his push in the Senate
• 6:33
  for property tax cuts, his
• 6:35
  effort to remove certain books from
• 6:37
  public schools, and his ban
• 6:39
  of certain THC products.
• 6:41
  That was the subject of another
• 6:43
  press conference last year.
• 6:44
  This is serious business.
• 6:46
  This is not Dan's folly.
• 6:47
  This is Dan's priority.
• 6:49
  This is to save an entire
• 6:51
  generation of being hooked on drugs.
• 6:53
  And I need for you all to take the
• 6:55
  story seriously.
• 6:56
  And that's an issue Goodwin has
• 6:57
  seized on.
• 6:58
  The fact that Patrick's Senate
• 6:59
  passed a bill banning certain kinds
• 7:01
  of cannabinoids only for it to
• 7:03
  be vetoed by the Republican
• 7:04
  governor, only for the state to ban
• 7:06
  THC products through administrative
• 7:08
  means later.
• 7:09
  Goodwin says that ban started with
• 7:11
  Patrick. And she says many Texans,
• 7:14
  even ones in his own party, don't
• 7:16
  agree with banning THC.
• 7:18
  A lot of people are really angry at
• 7:20
  what happened, and it is an
• 7:21
  opportunity.
• 7:23
  I believe that we should do what the
• 7:24
  majority of Texans want us to do.
• 7:26
  As a representative government, we
• 7:28
  are supposed to be doing what the
• 7:30
  majority wants.
• 7:31
  And Henson, the pollster, says
• 7:33
  that's been good for her campaign.
• 7:34
  But it's also, like he said,
• 7:36
  an unprecedented election season.
• 7:38
  Mostly, he argues, because, well,
• 7:41
  Republicans are an easy target.
• 7:42
  President Donald Trump's approval
• 7:43
  ratings are at historic lows.
• 7:45
  And the party in power tends to lose
• 7:47
  midterm elections.
• 7:49
  And statewide, Henson says, Texas
• 7:51
  Republicans aren't exactly psyched
• 7:53
  about their slate of candidates.
• 7:54
  Democrats have a lot of wind in
• 7:56
  their sails.
• 7:58
  Republicans are seeing a lot
• 7:59
  resistance.
• 8:00
  It's a very unusually, if not
• 8:02
  historically tough environment for
• 8:05
  Republican incumbents and Republican
• 8:07
  candidates this cycle.
• 8:08
  And that wind, or discontent,
• 8:10
  depending on how you look at it,
• 8:11
  could put Goodwin on a path to what
• 8:13
  could be the closest contest for
• 8:15
  the Republican-dominated lieutenant
• 8:16
  governor's office in recent memory.
• 8:19
  I'm Andrew Weber in Austin.
• 8:30
  Well, during this election season, a
• 8:31
  lot of focus has been on the
• 8:33
  national congressional seats that
• 8:34
  are coming from Texas.
• 8:35
  But as we just heard from Andrew
• 8:37
  there, there's also a lot of focus
• 8:38
  on the statewide races, as
• 8:41
  well as races for both the Texas
• 8:42
  House and the Texas Senate.
• 8:44
  Here to talk with us more about
• 8:46
  those races, we have KUT's
• 8:48
  Kaylee Hunt and Gabriel
• 8:49
  Velasquez-Neda.
• 8:50
  Welcome to the show, y'all.
• 8:51
  Thanks for having me.
• 8:52
  Thank you, Jerry.
• 8:53
  Kaylee, I want to start with you.
• 8:55
  You have been covering the Texas
• 8:56
  senate district five race.
• 8:58
  Can you just first off to tell us
• 8:59
  what part of town, what part is
• 9:01
  central Texas that covers?
• 9:03
  Sure, yeah.
• 9:04
  So Texas Senate District 5 is
• 9:06
  home to just over a million
• 9:08
  people and it stretches across
• 9:10
  11 counties, all the way from
• 9:12
  Bastrop and Williamson counties,
• 9:13
  which is right here near Austin,
• 9:16
  to Brazos County and College
• 9:17
  Station.
• 9:18
  Okay, pretty good swath there of
• 9:19
  Texas.
• 9:20
  Does that Senate seat already
• 9:22
  currently have an incumbent?
• 9:24
  It does, yes.
• 9:25
  Yeah, the seat's been held for
• 9:28
  over a decade now by Republican
• 9:30
  Charles Schwertner.
• 9:31
  He's an orthopedic surgeon from
• 9:33
  Georgetown.
• 9:34
  He's been representing the district
• 9:35
  since 2013.
• 9:37
  And this election cycle, he's drawn
• 9:39
  a challenge from Democrat Paul He's
• 9:42
  a retired pastor from College
• 9:43
  Station.
• 9:45
  Okay, so we know a little bit about
• 9:47
  Schwertner, but I wanna ask more.
• 9:49
  What is the platform that he is
• 9:50
  currently running on?
• 9:52
  Yeah. So, you know, when I was
• 9:53
  looking at this race, obviously
• 9:55
  there's lots going on in Texas
• 9:57
  politics nowadays,
• 9:59
  but much of
• 10:01
  the specific region with
• 10:03
  Texas State District
• 10:06
  Senate Five has
• 10:08
  to do with its economic growth.
• 10:09
  And a lot of that has come in the
• 10:11
  form of data centers, which are
• 10:13
  super controversial, as you
• 10:15
  know.
• 10:16
  And so, yeah, there's
• 10:18
  a lot of.
• 10:19
  Focus right now from Schwartner and
• 10:21
  his opponent, Thomason, on data
• 10:22
  center developments.
• 10:24
  Thomason is campaigning on
• 10:27
  no more data centers, whether or
• 10:29
  not that's, you know, possible
• 10:31
  right now, just given the current
• 10:33
  regulatory environment is
• 10:36
  a question there.
• 10:37
  But yeah, he would do away with
• 10:39
  these developments if given the
• 10:41
  opportunity.
• 10:43
  Shortner, he's the chairman of
• 10:44
  the Senate Business and Commerce
• 10:46
  Committee.
• 10:47
  And so he
• 10:49
  told me that he welcomes
• 10:51
  responsible economic growth, but did
• 10:52
  acknowledge that the rapid growth of
• 10:54
  data centers has put new demands on
• 10:56
  our power grid, water sources, and
• 10:58
  taxpayers.
• 10:58
  So he says he would like to
• 11:00
  pass some more legislation if
• 11:02
  reelected this upcoming
• 11:04
  election.
• 11:05
  As we just heard from Andrew talking
• 11:07
  about the Lieutenant Governor race,
• 11:08
  some positions and some seats in
• 11:10
  Texas have been strongholds for
• 11:11
  Republicans for many years,
• 11:13
  for many decades.
• 11:14
  Shortner, you said, has represented
• 11:15
  the seat for at least a decade.
• 11:18
  Is there an edge for either
• 11:19
  of these candidates in this Senate
• 11:21
  seat?
• 11:21
  Yeah, I would say so.
• 11:23
  District 5 has historically been
• 11:25
  solidly Republican.
• 11:27
  In 2024, Trump won the district by
• 11:29
  nearly 28 points.
• 11:31
  So yeah, I think Schwertner is a
• 11:32
  long-time Republican incumbent, has
• 11:33
  the advantage here.
• 11:35
  However, I don't think we should
• 11:36
  count out the disapproval of
• 11:38
  folks looking to get
• 11:40
  more politically involved as a
• 11:41
  result of data centers.
• 11:43
  Okay, Gabriel, I'm gonna turn to
• 11:44
  you now. You are following Texas
• 11:46
  House race.
• 11:47
  So the other side of Texas
• 11:48
  legislators, the one we're talking
• 11:49
  about today is district 49.
• 11:52
  What part of Austin does that cover?
• 11:54
  Yeah, so honestly,
• 11:56
  it's drawn up a little weird, but
• 11:57
  it's central Texas, sorry,
• 11:59
  central Austin, so in between Mopac
• 12:02
  and I-35, and it stretches north
• 12:04
  as Anderson
• 12:06
  and Research Boulevard to
• 12:08
  pretty far south.
• 12:10
  Okay, a pretty good chunk of the
• 12:11
  central city there.
• 12:13
  Does this district currently have an
• 12:15
  incumbent?
• 12:16
  Actually, the person that currently
• 12:17
  holds a seat is Gina Hinojosa and
• 12:19
  she vacated it to run against
• 12:21
  Greg Abbott.
• 12:22
  So it's two brand new candidates
• 12:24
  that we have, Monserrat Garire
• 12:26
  and Arshia Papari.
• 12:28
  Okay, let's start with the
• 12:30
  latter candidate that you just
• 12:32
  mentioned there. Tell us a little
• 12:32
  bit about their platform.
• 12:34
  So, Monserrat has been in
• 12:36
  education for about 20 years.
• 12:39
  She has worked for the Department
• 12:41
  of Education and currently she's
• 12:42
  focusing on, I guess,
• 12:45
  getting legislation, or if she gets
• 12:47
  elected, I'm getting legislation
• 12:49
  to better fund public schools.
• 12:51
  And that's one of her main focuses.
• 12:53
  What about her opponent?
• 12:54
  What are they running on?
• 12:56
  Arshia is a 22
• 12:58
  year old senior undergraduate
• 13:00
  at the University of Texas at Austin
• 13:02
  and he is currently running for
• 13:04
  more student rights and
• 13:07
  freezing rents in Austin.
• 13:09
  Does it look like there is an edge
• 13:11
  amongst these candidates right
• 13:13
  now who are vying for the seat?
• 13:15
  Yeah, it doesn't look close,
• 13:17
  honestly. Monserrat has raised
• 13:19
  about 525,000
• 13:22
  last time I checked compared to,
• 13:24
  or she is 4,300.
• 13:26
  So I think it's kind of a runaway.
• 13:28
  And you mentioned that this seat was
• 13:30
  held by a Democrat prior to this?
• 13:31
  It's a democratic stronghold, so
• 13:33
  yeah, Gina Hinojosa is
• 13:35
  currently the elected
• 13:37
  representative.
• 13:38
  All right, that is KUT's Gabriel
• 13:40
  Velasquez-Neda and Kaylee Hunt,
• 13:42
  so we're gonna have a link to their
• 13:43
  stories on these races in
• 13:45
  today's podcast, Show Notes.
• 13:47
  Gabriel, Kaylee, thank you for your
• 13:48
  time. Thank you.
• 13:49
  All right thank you, Jay.
• 13:51
  And thank you out there for
• 13:53
  making Austin Signal part of
• 13:55
  your day. It has been a very, very
• 13:57
  busy start to the early voting
• 13:59
  season here in Austin.
• 14:01
  Specifically in Travis County, there
• 14:02
  have been more than 130,000
• 14:05
  ballots cast.
• 14:06
  Sets. About a pace of more
• 14:08
  than 40,000 people each
• 14:10
  day. And we have been seeing wait
• 14:12
  times here in Travis County
• 14:14
  exceeding 21, even 51
• 14:16
  minutes sometimes.
• 14:17
  So make a plan to vote.
• 14:18
  You can check out those wait times
• 14:20
  for yourself at votetravis.gov.
• 14:23
  We have more Austin Signal coming up
• 14:25
  for you. That's after this quick
• 14:27
  break.
• 14:31
  This is Austin Signal.
• 14:32
  Welcome back to the show.
• 14:33
  This week in 1971,
• 14:36
  a Texas blues legend took the stage
• 14:37
  two nights in a row at an iconic
• 14:39
  Austin music venue.
• 14:41
  Jason Mellard with the Center for
• 14:42
  Texas Music History at Texas State
• 14:44
  University brings us the story
• 14:46
  of Lightnin' Hopkins electrifying
• 14:48
  performances at the Armadillo
• 14:50
  World Headquarters.
• 14:51
  Thanks for watching.
• 14:52
  We'll see you next time.
• 14:57
  This week in Texas music history,
• 14:59
  Lightning strikes twice at the
• 15:00
  Armadillo.
• 15:01
  Lightning Hopkins, guitarist,
• 15:03
  vocalist, and arguably Texas'
• 15:05
  greatest blues performer, took the
• 15:07
  stage in Austin at the armadillo
• 15:08
  world headquarters for two nights,
• 15:10
  October 22nd and 23rd,
• 15:12
  1971.
• 15:14
  Hopkins was born in the early
• 15:15
  19-teens in Centerville and grew
• 15:17
  up there and in the East Texas
• 15:18
  communities of Leona and Crockett.
• 15:20
  By his own account, he was
• 15:22
  encouraged by the legendary Blind
• 15:23
  Lemon Jefferson while playing guitar
• 15:25
  at the age of eight.
• 15:26
  At a Baptist gathering in Buffalo,
• 15:28
  Texas, and by the age of 10 was
• 15:30
  performing alongside another blues
• 15:32
  pioneer, Texas Alexander.
• 15:34
  He recorded for dozens of labels in
• 15:36
  the early post-war era, including
• 15:37
  Aladdin and Prestige, and by 1950s
• 15:40
  made Houston his home.
• 15:47
  Come on, babe
• 15:50
  Whoa, come on,
• 15:53
  baby, let's shake this thing
• 15:58
  Hopkins' visit to the Armadillo was
• 16:00
  not his first performance for Austin
• 16:02
  Rock audiences.
• 16:03
  He played Austin's psychedelic
• 16:04
  ballroom, the Vulcan Gas Company, in
• 16:06
  December 1967 and again
• 16:08
  in February 1968,
• 16:10
  and made his first trip to the
• 16:11
  armadillo in November 1970,
• 16:13
  taking the stage just one week after
• 16:15
  fellow Houstonian ZZ Top made
• 16:17
  an early Austin appearance.
• 16:27
  This October 1971
• 16:29
  weekend stand included the then
• 16:31
  up-and-coming Taj Mahal on Friday
• 16:32
  night, while the local ensemble
• 16:34
  Greasy Wheels supported Hopkins on
• 16:36
  Saturday.
• 16:37
  Artist Jim Franklin's poster
• 16:39
  advertised the concert with his
• 16:40
  trademark visual shorthand for the
• 16:42
  artists. With the requisite
• 16:44
  armadillo frolicking around India's
• 16:46
  Taj Mahall, its snout pointed
• 16:48
  skyward, conducting a strike of
• 16:49
  lightning.
• 16:50
  Indeed, lightning struck Austin
• 16:52
  on the October weekend in 1971.
• 17:15
  That was Jason Mellard with the
• 17:17
  Center for Texas Music History at
• 17:19
  Texas State University.
• 17:23
  Well, toilet humor is probably
• 17:25
  not the first thing that comes to
• 17:26
  mind when thinking about girlhood.
• 17:29
  Probably.
• 17:30
  Well, an Austin artist combines the
• 17:32
  two in a one-person show called
• 17:34
  Girl, Girl, Girls.
• 17:36
  KUT's Caroline McConnico went to see
• 17:38
  the performance last week with her
• 17:39
  mother. She doesn't exactly
• 17:42
  recommend doing that.
• 17:44
  It all starts in a McDonald's
• 17:45
  bathroom.
• 17:46
  A troubling incident with a toilet
• 17:48
  occurs.
• 17:49
  Then something unexpected emerges.
• 17:52
  A girl.
• 17:58
  Now, girl. Girl is here.
• 17:59
  And so begins Girl Girl
• 18:01
  Girl, the newest creation
• 18:03
  from Andy Flores, who calls
• 18:05
  herself an embarrassment artist.
• 18:07
  She wanted the show to explore
• 18:09
  girlhood, identity,
• 18:11
  and fast food.
• 18:12
  Would you like fries with that?
• 18:15
  Would you, like fries, with that
• 18:16
  would you like?
• 18:18
  The main character in the show is
• 18:20
  girl.
• 18:21
  She enters the world without a
• 18:22
  mother figure.
• 18:23
  Flores uses her unconventional birth
• 18:25
  to show just how weird being a
• 18:27
  woman is.
• 18:29
  She's a girl who is born from
• 18:31
  a poop and that
• 18:33
  feels like a stupid enough
• 18:35
  framework for me to have some really
• 18:37
  interesting conversations through
• 18:39
  the story.
• 18:42
  The audience at Stage Austin giggles
• 18:43
  as girl rolls around in the dark
• 18:44
  theater.
• 18:45
  She is surrounded by fake french
• 18:47
  fries and toilet paper.
• 18:50
  She's learning to walk.
• 18:53
  Flores wears a nude bodysuit
• 18:55
  covered in metallic droppings.
• 18:57
  She has an elongated nose and
• 18:59
  clown-like makeup.
• 19:01
  An unruly black wig is perched
• 19:03
  on her head.
• 19:05
  Flores got the idea for the show
• 19:06
  after spending time with her baby
• 19:08
  cousin.
• 19:09
  She worries about saying the wrong
• 19:10
  thing around her.
• 19:11
  She wanted to show audiences what it
• 19:13
  feels like to figure out who you are
• 19:15
  by constantly falling down.
• 19:16
  And this is
• 19:17
  the first time where I wanted to
• 19:19
  have a character that is, you
• 19:21
  know, not trying to
• 19:23
  represent directly so much of
• 19:25
  what's going on in my intimate
• 19:27
  life.
• 19:28
  In the show, Girl begins navigating
• 19:30
  her unfamiliar surroundings.
• 19:32
  She meets a character called the
• 19:33
  mansplainer.
• 19:35
  He represents the unsolicited advice
• 19:37
  and authority women face.
• 19:39
  I'll teach you everything,
• 19:41
  everything I know about
• 19:43
  girl.
• 19:44
  Girlness.
• 19:45
  Girlina vibes.
• 19:46
  Don't you want girlina vibes?
• 19:49
  Flores wanted both characters to be
• 19:51
  relatable.
• 19:51
  And I do hope that there is some
• 19:53
  strength that the audience walks
• 19:54
  away from the show with
• 19:57
  and maybe some acceptance.
• 19:59
  And they should also
• 20:01
  expect a lot of poop
• 20:03
  jokes.
• 20:04
  Girl Girl runs through Saturday at
• 20:06
  Stage Austin.
• 20:08
  My recommendation?
• 20:09
  Maybe don't bring your mom.
• 20:13
  For KUT's Art Beat, I'm Caroline
• 20:15
  McConico in Austin.
• 20:29
  Alrighty, it's Thursday, the weekend
• 20:31
  is almost here,
• 20:32
  and here to tell us more is KUT's
• 20:34
  art beat editor, Stephanie Federico,
• 20:36
  giving us a look at some of the
• 20:38
  experiences happening around the
• 20:39
  city. Hello Stephanie, welcome back.
• 20:41
  Hey Jerry, nice to be here.
• 20:42
  It's great to have you in the
• 20:43
  studio. For the listeners at home,
• 20:45
  we're putting mood lighting in when
• 20:47
  we do the Artbeats segment, so it's
• 20:49
  quickly becoming one of my favorite
• 20:50
  chances to talk with you.
• 20:53
  And we are approaching
• 20:55
  All Hallows Eve, so we have
• 20:57
  a sorta little special Artbeat
• 20:59
  section that we're talking about
• 21:00
  today. So let's jump right in.
• 21:02
  Tell me a little bit about horror
• 21:04
  de cámara.
• 21:05
  Yeah, that means chamber horror.
• 21:07
  It's happening over at the KMFA's
• 21:09
  Dralyn Mason Studio.
• 21:10
  It is this Golden Hornet
• 21:13
  MXTX cross-border series,
• 21:15
  which pairs Mexican and Texas
• 21:18
  artists together.
• 21:19
  And there'll be music there from
• 21:21
  three composers, Jimena Contreras,
• 21:23
  Felipe Perez Santiago, and
• 21:25
  Graham Reynolds.
• 21:27
  And the music draws from Mexican
• 21:29
  folk monsters,
• 21:33
  the And that's on Friday.
• 21:35
  It starts at 630 and then there's a
• 21:37
  discussion afterwards with the
• 21:38
  composers should be cool
• 21:40
  Yeah it should be cool and we have
• 21:42
  lots of things in this list that are
• 21:43
  happening this weekend only or next
• 21:45
  weekend only but luckily the next
• 21:46
  thing we're going to talk about, it
• 21:48
  starts tomorrow but it's going to
• 21:50
  last a few more weeks after that,
• 21:51
  it's a new art exhibition.
• 21:53
  Who is it by and what's it about?
• 21:55
  Yeah, it's over at Dorff.
• 21:56
  The opening reception is tomorrow
• 21:57
  night, right? It goes through
• 21:59
  January, as you said.
• 22:00
  It's a solo exhibit by an Austin
• 22:02
  artist named Guadalupe
• 22:04
  Najar, who is now actually
• 22:06
  based in Smithville, but grew up in
• 22:08
  East Austin.
• 22:09
  And it's called Buried in the Yard.
• 22:11
  And in it, she reimagines the yards
• 22:13
  of her childhood home in East
• 22:15
  Boston. And she saw as it gentrified
• 22:17
  over the years and how the
• 22:19
  neighborhood changed.
• 22:20
  And she works with some
• 22:22
  unconventional material, some found
• 22:24
  objects.
• 22:25
  Ceramics, painting,
• 22:27
  and some landscaping materials to
• 22:29
  create these yards,
• 22:32
  and imagines the toolsheds and
• 22:34
  the gardens of immigrants and
• 22:36
  working class families and how it
• 22:37
  has changed over the years.
• 22:39
  And one thing from the website that
• 22:41
  I'd like to share is it
• 22:43
  says, Najar considers what is lost
• 22:45
  when the places that hold family
• 22:47
  histories disappear and how
• 22:49
  memory can persist in the bodies,
• 22:51
  objects, stories, and fantasies of
• 22:53
  those who remain.
• 22:54
  So it sounds.
• 22:55
  Yeah, it sounds a little painful,
• 22:57
  but a little beautiful as well.
• 22:59
  Okay, not tomorrow, because today is
• 23:01
  Thursday.
• 23:02
  Saturday, there is one of the
• 23:04
  city's favorite events happening.
• 23:06
  It's also one of your favorites, and
• 23:07
  that is...
• 23:08
  I love it.
• 23:09
  Mexicartas Viva la Vida festival and
• 23:12
  parade.
• 23:13
  It's the 43rd annual parade this
• 23:15
  year.
• 23:16
  And if you haven't been, I highly
• 23:17
  recommend it. It is part of the Dia
• 23:19
  de los Muertos celebration, the Day
• 23:21
  of the Dead.
• 23:22
  And it blends indigenous and
• 23:24
  Catholic religious beliefs and
• 23:25
  cultural rituals to honor the dead.
• 23:27
  And there will be a parade, there
• 23:29
  will some music, there's going to be
• 23:31
  a lowrider exhibition,
• 23:33
  some local artists, some vendors,
• 23:36
  and food.
• 23:36
  Did I say food?
• 23:37
  You didn't, you did, but that is
• 23:39
  an important part of any
• 23:40
  celebration.
• 23:41
  And the parade begins at noon and
• 23:43
  then activity is run through six
• 23:45
  o'clock and just
• 23:47
  a little
• 23:48
  The parade's a little special to you
• 23:50
  this year, huh?
• 23:50
  It's a little special to me because
• 23:52
  I really love this parade.
• 23:54
  But there is an artist
• 23:56
  who's known as Wolfbat,
• 23:58
  who he's based in Virginia
• 24:00
  right now, but he came to Mexicarta
• 24:02
  this week and he has a little
• 24:03
  residency here.
• 24:05
  And he had a mask making
• 24:07
  workshop. He makes these really
• 24:09
  cool, big paper mache masks
• 24:11
  that he
• 24:12
  covers with like these bold
• 24:14
  mythological prints and...
• 24:16
  His work has been featured in the
• 24:18
  parade before, but he was here
• 24:20
  and he ran this workshop as free
• 24:23
  mask making workshop.
• 24:24
  So I went to it and in
• 24:25
  exchange for some lessons in making
• 24:27
  this mask, I have to be in the
• 24:29
  parades. So you will see
• 24:31
  me even though you won't see me
• 24:33
  because I will be under
• 24:34
  a mask.
• 24:35
  Alright, cool.
• 24:36
  Well, we look forward to not seeing
• 24:38
  you out there in the downtown.
• 24:40
  Tell us about your last event.
• 24:42
  It's got some rhythm to it.
• 24:43
  Yeah.
• 24:44
  This is also Halloween adjacent.
• 24:47
  It's called Undead,
• 24:49
  Haunted House of Dances.
• 24:50
  And this is running through
• 24:52
  next Saturday, Halloween, at
• 24:54
  Eastside Performing Arts.
• 24:55
  And this is a dance performance
• 24:57
  for adults only.
• 24:58
  Apparently it's immersive Halloween
• 25:00
  show presented by Ventana Ballet,
• 25:04
  this contemporary dance.
• 25:05
  It is going to feature some local
• 25:07
  professional theater and dance
• 25:08
  artists.
• 25:10
  Kind of a modern retelling of
• 25:11
  Dracula.
• 25:12
  Featuring some classic Halloween
• 25:14
  horror and zombies,
• 25:16
  but also apparently some comedy.
• 25:18
  So it should be funny, but also
• 25:20
  weird. I don't know.
• 25:21
  It looks cool.
• 25:22
  Funny and weird, that's enough of a
• 25:24
  reason for you to go check it out.
• 25:26
  For sure. Lots of stuff happening
• 25:27
  this weekend and next, so
• 25:29
  keep an eye out and an ear out for
• 25:31
  what's going on around you.
• 25:32
  That is the Artbeat Editor here at
• 25:34
  KUT, Stephanie Federico.
• 25:36
  Stephanie, thank you a ton.
• 25:37
  Thanks Jerry.
• 25:38
  And thank you out there for making
• 25:40
  Austin Signal part of your day.
• 25:42
  There's more from our show at
• 25:44
  Kut.org slash
• 25:46
  Signal. The Signal team is Karoline
• 25:48
  Pfeil, Alexandra Hart,
• 25:50
  Kristen Cabrera.
• 25:51
  And I'm your host, Jerry Quijano.
• 25:53
  We'll be back at the same time
• 25:54
  tomorrow.
• 25:55
  Talk to you then.