Push Pens photos by Troy Wise Photography

Push Pens offer hip-hop with a Texas twist
QSanAntonio.com, April 9, 2011

Using a unique blend of theater, spoken word, and original hip-hop music, a trio of local performers known as the Push Pens will take to the stage at the Jump-Start Performance Co. on April 21 in a hip-hop opera dubbed "Push Pens: Last Call for Truth."

The Push Pens collaborative is made up of Dino Foxx, Manuel "Cros" Esquivel and Billy Munoz. "We are all San Antonio-based performers, we are also arts educators, visual artists, poets, musicians and actors," says Fox. "We are a unique grouping of three performance artists, two straight and one queer identified, who bring hip-hop music a dose of something a little different."

There is also a visual art component to the Push Pens called the Yarn Dawgz who, as "knit graffiti artists," knit cozies out of yarn and cover architectural structures around town. The group recently covered parking meter poles at the Pearl Brewry.

Fox explains that the three men bond on stage with banging beats and tales of "growing beyond our challenging childhoods filled with alcohol abuse, domestic violence and father issues. 'The Last Call for Truth' brings the Texas Xicano experience to the forefront by depicting the true stories of three young men from the West and South sides of San Antonio."

"Push Pens: Last Call for Truth," at The Sterling Houston Theater at Jump-Start in the Blue Star Arts Complex, April 21-23, 28-30, 2011. Tickets are $12- $15 -- to purchase go to Jump-Start.org or call (210) 227-5867. For photos and more info on the group's history you can "like" The Push Pens and Yarn Dawgz on Facebook.com.