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Irene Chavez | Founder & Author
Irene Chavez is a San Antonio–based playwright, poet, and actor whose work explores community, history, and civic engagement.
In 2017, the City of San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture, with support from Gemini Ink, selected her poem “Esperanza” for 30 Poems for the Tricentennial. Her work has also been published in St. Mary’s University’s Pecan Review and in the Voice de la Luna: Quarterly Literature and Arts Magazine.
A recent fellow of Artists At Work (AAW)—THE OFFICE performing arts + film’s workforce resilience program supporting communities through artistic civic engagement—she wrote Las Comadres de Morales Street, inspired by her work with the nonprofit, Seniors in Play created by legendary actor, Tony Plana. The play was selected by Teatro Audaz for a staged reading in the Nuestras Historias series and then the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center’s Teatro Salon. The play was produced by the Guadalupe to six sold out shows in March 2025 to positive reviews.
Her short plays, including 2nd Date, were featured in Jump-Start Theater’s Screaming into the Void Theatre Festival (2023, 2024) and Teatro Audaz (2025) Festival Audaz. Her play Las Cochinas Christmas, which she wrote and directed, was presented in theTeatro Salon at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Theatre; she also co-wrote The Prey, later adapted into a short film. As an actor, she has appeared at Jump-Start Theater and the Guadalupe Theater in productions including Chato’s Bridge and Petra’s Pecado.
Irene has a long history of community activism and previously worked with the United Farm Workers in California. She is a graduate of St. Mary’s University, where she earned a B.A. in Speech Communication and an MBA. She currently serves on the Jump Start Theatre Board of Directors.
Stage of Her Own: Irene Chavez performs at Teatro's AAW Celebration Showcase.
"Our stories are the only inheritance that cannot be taken from us. When we speak our truth, we aren’t just honoring our past—we are building a sanctuary for those who come after us, ensuring they always know the way home." — Irene Chavez Galvan
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Mrs. Sanchez | Founder & Author
Born and raised in the heart of San Antonio’s deep Westside, Mrs. Sanchez is a storyteller whose life has been forged by service, heritage, and the culinary arts. A U.S. Army Veteran, she served as a Paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division during the Iraq War, eventually returning home to complete her military service in the Texas National Guard.
Her transition from the battlefield to the kitchen was marked by the same discipline and rigor, earning her a Culinary Arts degree from Le Cordon Bleu Austin. Today, she bridges the gap between the soil and the page through ZacaTejas and SALA Press.
Her debut manuscript, Tale of a Matriarchy, is already garnering academic and artistic acclaim. An anthology of the work was selected for the LACC Creative Writing Anthology 2026, and the manuscript has been adapted into a play for a table reading at the historic Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. Through her writing and her menus, she ensures the voices and flavors of the Westside are preserved for generations to come.