Silk Road Cultural Corridor studied
A section of Wurzbach Road eventually could be known as the Silk Road Cultural Corridor to highlight the area’s diversity.
Dahlia Thai Cuisine, Tandoor Palace Indian and Ali Babba International Food Market are a few of the options for diners and shoppers along the 4-mile stretch between Northwest Military Highway and Fredericksburg Road, close to the South Texas Medical District and USAA headquarters.
“One of the things that’s beautiful about my district is that it’s where the highest concentration of Asian, African and Middle Eastern families live,” said District 8 Councilman Manny Peláez.
He has proposed the Silk Road designation for that part of Wurzbach Road on the North Side, but he doesn’t take credit for the idea. Residents, organizations and even former city officials have talked about it since well before he was elected in 2017.
Former District 9 Councilwoman Elisa Chan — the first Asian American woman and the first immigrant to serve on City Council — long pushed for some kind of designation recognizing the large concentration of Asian and Asian Americans in that part of Bexar County, Peláez said. The Asian American Alliance of San Antonio and the Alamo Asian American Chamber of Commerce are also supporters.
Peláez credits Bilal Deiri, an owner of Pasha Mediterranean Grill, for coming up with the proposed corridor name.
All of the countries that are along what was the 4,000-mile Eurasian trade route known as the Silk Road are represented in the businesses that line Wurzbach.
“We believe that designating this stretch of road as a Silk Road Cultural Corridor will honor the
hardworking members of our community and bring attention to the positive impact our cultural organizations and businesses have had on the area,” Asian American Alliance President Aparna Vohra told City Council's governance committee Friday.
The committee, chaired by Mayor Ron Nirenberg, agreed to pass Peláez's proposal on to the community, health, environment and culture committee to hash out further details before the plan goes to the full council for approval.
City staff are encouraging an organization in the area, such as a nonprofit or neighborhood association, to seek a state cultural district designation from the Texas Commission on the Arts.
“What's important about getting a state designation is that opens up funding sources,” said Krystal Jones, director of the Department of Arts and Culture.
Organizations within a cultural district's boundaries can apply for state grants to help pay for building improvements, public art installations and programming, such as festivals or events.
“The dream here, for me and for the families who I represent in District 8, is that eventually one day this will become a corridor with it's own Fiesta event,” as well as other cultural events throughout the year, Peláez told his committee colleagues.
San Antonio has four statedesignated cultural districts: King William Cultural Arts District, Zona Cultural, Old Spanish Trail Cultural Corridor and El Mero Weso.
The city does not have currently a local cultural district designation, though that's something council members could decide to create as this proposal works it way through the committee system, Jones said. Staff also have identified existing city programs and funding that could help the corridor attract visitors, she added.
“For me, the No. 1 goal is to celebrate this community,” Peláez said. “Whether we get federal or state funding or not, what this community has clearly articulated is that they're hungry to be recognized in the same way that a lot of other groups and communities have been recognized. It's their turn.”
Nirenberg expressed support for a local designation.
“As a resident of San Antonio, but also an Asian American resident of the city, it is gratifying to see the community recognized and celebrated,” Nirenberg, whose mother is Filipino, said after the meeting. “This effort is another demonstration of why San Antonio is a city of the world, not just another city in Texas.”