Bands like Colonia and Los de Esta Noche. The cumbia and conjunto alongside the punk rock and electronic music. MC: For me what’s always been most interesting about Hi-Tones is the way it seems rooted in San Antonio culture and politics. I hold both those spots in very high regard. The concepts are there, but I don’t think we could ever be compared to those two spots. The latest article compared us to the old Tacoland. Every now and then, a newspaper will compare Saluté and Hi-Tones. MC: Did you have a model for what you wanted to do?ĭCD: At that time all I knew was that I wanted to open a bar and have live music and art. I always told myself that if I ever had the chance, I would open a bar. At these places and others, he introduced me to a lot of cool events, a lot of amazing art and music, and a lot of amazing people. As a teenager he took me to Tacoland, Saluté, and Bar America. He basically became a father figure to me.

At a very young age Manny was a big influence on my life. As a teenager I did a lot of art, especially photography, and I was a writer for El Placazo Community Newspaper. When I was young I met Manny Castillo, who founded San Anto Cultural Arts. I got my degree in Mexican-American Studies with a concentration in Sociology. I went to Edgewood School District and ended up going to UTSA. Michael Cepek: Tell me a bit about where you’re from, what you studied, and how you decided to open Hi-Tones.ĭaniel Constante Delgado: I was born and raised on the west side of San Antonio. Later the same night, I met Danny at Hi-Tones for a concert that was representative of the bar and its clientele: a mixture of punk rock, cumbia, and soul an ethnically diverse crowd straight and gay people a few tough guys a bunch of cool kids and a twenty- and thirty-something feel with a few old timers thrown in - including a couple who appeared to have a decade or two on me.

He shared his thoughts on the many issues facing Tobin Hill and the central city, including the looming issues of gentrification and revitalization. I sat down with Danny over a Topo Chico (him) and an Alamo Golden Ale (me) to see what he’s up to. Local restaurant and music venue entrepreneur Danny Constante Delgado. He works hard to make sure that his businesses add something new to the city while honoring and protecting its culture and remaining within the economic reach of most San Antonians. Also in the works for Danny are more bars and restaurants in Southtown and other parts of the city. This spring, he will open a third bar and venue, Phantom Room, just south of Hi-Tones as well as a vegetarian restaurant and bar, La Botánica, across the street from Faust. Two years after he opened it, he and his partners opened another bar, Faust Tavern, at the other end of the Strip. Perhaps most familiar as the nickname of Ritchie Valens, it was also a slang term common in areas like San Antonio’s west side for a person who was well dressed and high class or, alternately, someone who spoke in a high, assertive voice.ĭaniel “Danny” Constante Delgado, a San Antonio native, is the driving force behind Hi-Tones. It wasn’t just the bright blue paint job, it was the name: Hi-Tones. Right away, people realized the bar was something different. “The Strip”), a long-time entertainment district north of downtown and just a few blocks from the Pearl Brewery. Mary’s Street at the far end of the somewhat legendary St. In August of 2011, a new bar and venue opened on the corner of E. I moved to Tobin Hill shortly after arriving to San Antonio in 2007.

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