It’s been a few days since I saw Girl in a Coma at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco but my head is still spinning from that crazy night. After getting out of my design class I raced to meet up with my homegirls Katynka and Robynn and we headed to Bottom of the Hill. This was my third time seeing Girl in a Coma and I was as starstruck as ever with being able to hang out with them after their show.
Um, *Swoon* Nina was super nice as always.
Jenn Alva continues to grow as an amazing artist. I already have a Girl in a Coma shirt designed by her but this one takes the cake. Jenn’s drawing of herself as a vampire, Phanie lifting off her own head, and Nina as their screaming victim made me smile from ear to ear. Katynka saved me by loaning me the $2.00 I needed to buy the shirt. Everyone in the band signed it for me and now I just have to find a way to frame it.
I was also super excited to run into Meligrosa and the Calitexican. I’ve followed their blogs and flickr pages for years and it was a thrill to experience the concert with them. These two awesome, energetic ladies made my night. We hopped up and down at the show like old friends. We have a purikura date planned for this weekend and I’m looking forward to seeing the results!
I was also a nerd and busted out my flip cam during the show and shot some video of Girl in a Coma doing their thing. Below are some highlights.
That’s it for now. I was so happy to see Girl in a Coma with old friends and new ones. The very first time I saw them was in 2008 at MACLA in San Jose. There were just a handful of people (including Guillermo Gomez-Pena) at that show so it felt good to finally see them play to sweaty throngs of people.
Born and raised on the mean streets of San Francisco's Mission District, Rio Yanez is a multimedia artist, photojournalist, and gallery curator. He has a degree in photography and media from the prestigious California Institute of the Arts (Calarts).
In addition to being an artist, Yanez also dons a Mexican Wrestling mask and assumes the identity of El Rio. As El Rio he fights in the name of equality for Latinos and against foes who want his casket closed. El Rio has appeared in video, photographic, and comic book projects as an avenger who "Never kills for the thrill but cuts for the cause."
The life of Rio Yanez has been largely shaped by his experiences as the only child of two semi-famous Latino artists and growing up and finding love in the Mission District. Other Wonder Years style moments in his life have included being robbed at gunpoint inside a McDonalds, getting drunk for the first time under the tutelage of artist Chynna Clugston-Major, the first time he kissed the love of his life, and winning a freestyle rap battle in a crowded Detroit nightclub (okay, maybe not that last one). His favorite artists are Jaime Hernandez, Nikki S. Lee, Shizu Saldamando, Pierre et Gilles, and Daino.
Having dodged more bullets than Neo in The Matrix, much of Yanez' work is a meditation on the urban Latino experience . His latest project is a series of photographs entitled Ghetto-Lomography. The images document the cause and effect of gentrification in the Mission District with a Lomo Fisheye camera.
Yanez has exhibited at Galeria de la Raza, the Mission Cultural Center, and the Richmond Health Center. His most recent curatorial project was Color Exchange a collaborative exhibit featuring contemporary artists from California and Tokyo's Tama Art College. He currently works at the South of Market Cultural Center and is on the photo staff of the bilingual newspaper El Tecolote.
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