San Jose actor receives Emerging Artist award
‘I’m leaning harder into it and making it work for me,’ says 37-year-old
With his long, bushy head of hair and a radiant smile, Tasi Alabastro is difficult to miss when he appears on stages around the Bay Area. And he has received accolades, but you might wonder if they’re the kind appreciated by a 37-year- old actor who has been honing his craft for years.
Alabastro, who has lived in San Jose since 2006, received the Emerging Artist award from SVCreates in 2018. On Wednesday, he was one of four recipients of the Leigh Weimers Emerging Artists Award, joining illustrator Isabel Bowen, muralist Harumo Sato and musician Victor Ruiz in receiving a $5,000 grant from the Rotary Club of San Jose.
The “emerging” label doesn’t bother Alabastro at all, though; he actually embraces it.
“I believe for myself that the word ’emerging’ is just part of my core,” he told me following Wednesday’s award presentation at the Hammer Theatre Center in downtown San Jose. “I’m leaning harder into it and making it work for me. Life as an artist has been much easier knowing that. I’ll just pick up a new skill because I’m emerging.”
Those new skills include creating digital content and working with other artists — especially those who aren’t in the theatrical arts — to share what he has learned. One of those new projects is a proposed web series called “Somewhere Street.”
“‘Somewhere Street’ at its base is weaving stories of people who are artists — individuals who want to make stuff whether they’re an adult, a middle school student or whatever — with someone who is confident and mature in their craft,” Alabastro said. “I want to see where their stories connect regardless of where they are in their socioeconomic circles.”
Oh, yes, and there will be food involved. Alabastro said the project was heavily inspired by the late Anthony Bourdain, whom he watched evolve as both a journalist and a citizen of the world through his TV shows. “I come from a tiny island,” said Alabastro, who was born in American Samoa. “How do I make an impact like that while also lifting other people up to be able do the same thing?”
Now that sounds like the emergence of a good idea.
LUNA’S NEW SPOT ALMOST READY »
Owners Jo Lerma Lopez and John Lopez hosted a preview party of the new Luna Mexican Kitchen location at the Pruneyard in Campbell on Wednesday night. The evening soiree was attended by dozens of VIPs, including NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott and his wife, Karen Lott; Campbell City Councilman Paul Resnikoff; former San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales; San Jose City Councilwoman Magdalena Carrasco, Mezcal restaurant
owner Adolfo Gomez and Assemblyman Ash Kalra.
The crowd was delighted to enjoy some of chef Julio Juarez‘s menu items, including bacon-wrapped shrimp, a variety of tacos and housemade pozole, served with handmade corn tortillas. The new restaurant, which replaced longtime Pruneyard eatery El Burro, includes a full bar — with the clear favorite of the evening being the Escencias de Mexico, a frothy tequila cocktail with a smoky chocolate flavor thanks to the addition of cacao and mole bitters.
The restaurant is awaiting an occupancy permit for its patio but is expected to open to the public before the end of the month. KFJC TURNS 60 » Foothill College radio station KFJC (89.7 FM) started broadcasting on Oct. 20, 1959, and will celebrate its 60th anniversary with a pair of events this month. There will be an open house at the Los Altos Hills station on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. and an anniversary surf music show at Foothill, featuring the Glasgow Tiki Shakers, the Berzerkers, the Insect Surfers, Pollo Del Mar and the Mermen. A $20 donation at the door, benefiting the station is suggested if you want to attend the concert live. ( It’s also being broadcast on KFJC, of course.)
The station gained a fun rep in the Bay Area for its unorthodox programming and events, including overseas broadcasts (including Japan in 2008 and Berlin last year), April Fools’ Day shows and a Dead Kennedys concert in the Foothill Gym. Maybe the most memorable stunt was the “Maximum Louie Louie” marathon in 1983, which showcased 823 versions of the classic party song for more than 63 hours. Songwriter Richard Berry even performed it live on the air, and the Wall Street Journal wrote about it.