Keeping the dream alive with Franky Castle’s eccentric life.
Southern California local, Francisco “Franky” Castle, is passionate about the arts. I met Castle at Riverside’s monthly art walk. He was willing to sit down with me and tell his story. Castle was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, and left for the states at the age of three. His parents were...
In the heart of small town Iowa, where the cornfields stretch to the horizon, emerges an artist whose melodies resonate far beyond the boundaries of the Midwest. Naethan Apollo takes the stage, weaving together the rhythmic cadence of hip-hop with the fantastical tales inspired by roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). His recent concept album, "Tales from Cazilor,"...
In October 2022, student and artist, Litzy Cruz filled the walls of the Phyllis Gill Gallary with expressive multimedia pieces. For 13 days Cruz found a home for her artwork at the UCR Arts building. The exhibition titled “HELLBNDER” gave Cruz a newfound confirmation of her identity — an artist.
Litzy Cruz is a twenty-year-old artist from Hemet, California. Cruz...
Elidé Sanchez is a proud Chicana artist who operates within the Inland Empire. All of her art pieces are constructed from her cultural roots. Elidé tries to implement fragments of inspiration from music or world cultures and channels real-life hardships into her creative process. She uses oil, acrylic and spray paint to visualize the highs and lows of her...
Enrique Escobedo is the proud owner of an art gallery in downtown Riverside. I had the privilege of interviewing Escobedo at his gallery. He calls the gallery, A Blve Rose. The odd spelling of the word blue resembles an ancient hieroglyph. He wanted the gallery's namesake to look like an iconic symbol that encompasses the magic of artistic expression....
As the leaders of creating a more eclectic, happening music scene in Downtown Riverside, the Penrose Record Room, hosted a live, in-store performance with the funk & soul band, The Charities on Saturday, Feb. 10. The band originally hails from Hermosa Beach, California, with its members currently being dispersed throughout various groovy coastal cities. It was an afternoon of...
Deladeso, aka Richie Velazquez, is a multimedia wizard based in Riverside, California. Deladeso is an artist, musician, show host and many more roles in the entertainment realm. I spoke with Deladeso in his immersive art studio, Oofalandia. The art space looks like it came out of a Saturday morning cartoon with his visually striking art pieces at every corner....
“Where does love start and where does it end?” Cynthia Huerta asks these questions in her most recent art show “Las Secuelas del Amor Propio” (The Aftermath of Self-Love) featuring over 100 works that she created from 2020 to 2024. The exhibition is displayed in the Division 9 Gallery in Downtown Riverside, the same venue as her first solo...
Beginning at the age of 14, Vero Sanchez Gomez began their artistic endeavors within the Santa Barbara Arts Alliance, a program assisting at-risk youths within their neighborhoods to explore art. After becoming a mentor in the program, Vero delved into the world of Chicano history and cultura which she currently can express through Chicano Student Programs (CSP) at UCR.
The...
Korean pop group Stray Kids has gained incredible popularity in the past year, and they continue to follow the K-pop industry’s tradition of having Japanese releases to cater to their large Japanese fanbases. “GIANT” was announced on Sep. 30 on Stray Kids’ Japan account on X with a mysterious image labeled “KING GIANT.”
The album itself was released on Nov....