As a fifth-generation San Antonian, I was raised on the ‘lore of this city’s past through the point of view of my ancestors, who settled here in the 1800s from Spain, Italy and Mexico. I was taught that I could, and therefore had a responsibility to, help shape its future—with big dreams, a whole lot of heart, and very hard work with others, we could make anything happen here that we wanted to see for our city. This belief has been proven true time and again, both throughout my family’s history and in my own career, as I’ve been fortunate to experience the distinct joy and fulfillment of collaborating with many change agents who share great passion for our city and its growth.
My Tio, journalist and historian Henry Guerra, guiding Queen Elizabeth II on a tour of the Alamo when she visited San Antonio in 1991.
San Antonio’s vibrant, one-of-a-kind cultural tapestry has been my lifelong inspiration, driving my work and passion to help foster creative industry here as we imagine what can be expanded and elevated within our current artistic and commercial landscape.
Our team has created VOS to celebrate San Antonio both locally and globally—not through buzzy headlines or shallow clickbait, but by sharing and bearing our soul—the depth of our stories and the different perspectives of the people who make living here special. I hear often that those of us who have left for other cities (including each member of our founding team), hoped to find what we felt was missing here, yet over time realized San Antonio had something intangible and undeniable all along. We just had to be brave enough to come back, roll up our sleeves, and build our vision for the future.
Model at La Villita on the San Antonio River Walk. Photography by Jana Cantua.
In the spirit of the pioneers from all backgrounds and homelands who have been drawn to establish and grow their lives and businesses here over the past 300 years, VOS aims to provide a sense of place for those who feel San Antonio’s pulse of opportunity, yet respectfully challenge its conventions toward achieving unrealized potential. VOS is a hub and a home for anyone who looks below the surface, who thinks deeply, dreams big, believes in “better” and chooses to invest their talents and efforts here. San Antonio’s distinctly unique visionary voices, in unison with passion and conviction, have the power to inspire the world in echoing what our city has always been and can be, both for ourselves and for those who know us from afar.
Grace Kelly enjoying a river boat ride while visiting San Antonio during Hemisfair, 1968.
This merely marks the start of something new to shine light on what’s always been true. VOS—short for Voice of San Antonio and an aural play on the Spanish word for ‘voice,’ voz—is a vision inspired by our city’s history and driven by the dreams of its future. With the launch of this community project, we are not creating a news outlet. Instead, our team has set out to curate and champion a collection of stories, ideas, and creations from the thinkers, dreamers, and doers who choose to call San Antonio home. We’re welcoming those whose points of view embody the potential so many of us hope to see for our city.
This platform is for the voices whose stories will encourage conversations that push us all forward, together. We are creating a legacy of creativity, innovation, and shared purpose—something we can pass on to the next generation of voices who will continue to shape our home.
Welcome, and we hope to read your San Antonio story in our pages very soon.