The 14th Annual Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 6, is now the largest and longest running mariachi music festival of its kind in Texas. Experience the historical San Jose Mission, the famous San Antonio Riverwalk and the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium which serve as the back drop for competitive mariachi group and vocal competitions, productive mariachi workshops, a celebratory mariachi Mass and a concert featuring el mejor mariachi del mundo Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán.

For those of you new to the event, join us for a TEXAS-size mariachi celebration, featuring over 1,000 of the greatest mariachi musicians from both sides of the border. More than 15,000 people will gather over this week-long event to celebrate the beautiful culture of mariachi music. If you would like to purchase tickets for the Mariachi Vargas concert visit ticketmaster.com.

Aptly named, Good Bytes Café offers more than your average cup of Joe and WiFi access.  This progressive establishment strives to provide technological access to all members of the community as well as offer job training and placement opportunities.  Good Bytes Café is affiliated with and located adjacent to the downtown Goodwill store at 418 W. Commerce.  Goodwill Industries opened the café in hopes of creating a free internet café that is inviting to the general public and where wheelchairs could easily navigate around the facilities.  This goal was made possible thanks to a $125,000 grant from the local AT&T branch. 

 The program is specifically designed to afford technology resources to individuals with disabilities or barriers to work such as the latest in assistive technologies for individuals with hearing impairments, vision loss and physical restrictions.  Software that magnifies and reads aloud, easily manipulated joystick and optical-based mice, and a minuscule face-mounted controller that directs the cursor through head and nose movements are among some of the technologies offered at Good Bytes.  The café also has a "Learn While You Earn” food service training program that teaches valuable skills needed to increase employment viability.

In addition to its community enriching resources, the café also offers a simple, healthy and inexpensive menu.  Food items range from soups, salads, sandwiches and personal pizzas.  The restaurant proudly proclaims that if given notice, they will gladly accommodate specified dietary needs.            

One person's junk is another's treasure.  Honing in on the axiom, the recently launched Bublevine.com website provides an outlet for college students to "Buy Stuff.  Sell Stuff.” 

The college crowd is arguably the most nomadic of markets as they move from dorm room to dorm room, apartment to apartment, they face new sets of obstacles- how to fit a full sized sectional in a 10 square foot dorm space or where to obtain the perfect shelving unit to display a more than impressive shot glass collection.  The user friendly Bubblevine.com website is the answer to these queries and more!  Students can sell any item (while pocketing a little extra cash in the process) or browse through the postings to find everything from furniture to text books.  The site's classifieds format differentiates from the competition in its student-specific focus and the ability to refine searches regionally.

Bubblevine is the brainchild of recent Trinity University graduate and entrepreneur, Monica Yoo.  The initial launch is geared towards the San Antonio, Austin and Houston areas but will spread to colleges and universities nationwide as its popularity increases.  Simply visit the website and register using either a current or alumni university email or contact Monica to be registered mannually. 

With the mission of establishing high quality public education as a constitutional guarantee for the masses, the organization known as Our Education is waging a nationwide petition to gather support for its cause. Led by students who are driven and dedicated to spreading awareness about better education, the organization has a nationwide petition titled “A Million Voices, One Right” which serves as the vehicle for gathering unison support throughout their communities and schools. Students must be between the ages of (13-24) in order to participate in the grassroots campaign. Each group of students would need to be led by a Petition Drive Director who would build a team, and assemble a plan for marketing the petition in order to gather as many signatures as possible by student peers. For students who successfully lead a drive, their name and school will be added to Our Education’s wall of fame on their website. For more information on getting involved or signing the petition, please drop by their site for extended details. CM