No Telescope Necessary: Stars Shine Bright at the Inaugural Celestial Awards
Editor & Photographer: Nick Blevins
The historic Charline McCombs Empire Theatre’s gilded stage hosted the inaugural Celestial Awards, an elegant celebration of the many talents and contributions of Texan women across the media and entertainment industries. The ceremony was presented by Women In Film & Television San Antonio (WIFT SATX), an organization working to better platform and increase parity for women in media both in San Antonio and the greater South Texas region.
Host Nicholas Gonzalez, of The Good Doctor and La Brea fame, guided the audience through an evening full of music, singing, dancing, and some well-earned applause.
Opening the awards was a scene about Clara Bow’s experience with Wings, a 1927 film shot here in San Antonio, and the winner of the first Academy Award for Best Picture. The piece, performed with aplomb by the Joci Award performers, highlighted the shamefully-large discrepancy between men and women’s pay in Hollywood, and served as an energetic introduction.
The evening’s honors were further punctuated by the instrumental stylings of YOSA (Youth Orchestras of San Antonio) and the vibrant colors and dynamic moves of Fiesta Noche del Rio’s dancers, among many others.
Featuring awards like the “Carol” (for legendary excellence and women’s advocacy, named after trailblazing San Antonian multi-hyphenate Carol Burnett) and the “Lila” (for excellence in civic leadership, sharing its namesake with Lila Cockrell, the first woman elected mayor of San Antonio), it was an evening for honoring the women doing the hard work now, by channeling the women who did the hard work back then.
The night’s honorees are all heavy hitters. Jaselyn Blanchard-Pace, effervescent executive director of the Majestic Empire Foundation, was presented with the “Jocelyn” award, named after Jocelyn “Joci” Straus, for excellence in overall producing. RK Group founder Rosemary Kowalsky herself, who celebrated her 100th birthday in September, presented the “Rosemary” award to Diana Barrios Treviño of San Antonio Mexican food restaurant royalty Los Barrios for excellence in culinary arts and hospitality.
Chartered in November 2023, the official San Antonio chapter of WIFT celebrated its first birthday at the Celestial Awards, and is ready to hit the ground running. Interested individuals can look forward to lessons provided through the organization in the coming year, and plans are in place for an “Oscars party” in May 2025.
For more information on Women in Film & Television San Antonio, visit wiftsanantonio.org.
