Words by: Carlos Cooper Photos by: Brynn Osborn
Corpus Christi, and thebrCoastal Bend at large, has been longing for something for several decades. It’sbrbeen yearning for investors, not of the financial sort, but communal andbrcultural. The Coastal Bend longs to grow, to become a burgeoning epicenter ofbrculture and activity. While some may look to cities like Austin as a model forbrwhat Corpus Christi “can” be, those that are from the area know the city hasbrits own unique energy, eccentricities, and identity.
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Enter Omar Arellano and SvanibrQuintanilla, better known as Comida Radio. Arellano and Quintanilla met whilebrworking as chefs at the now defunct downtown restaurant, Sushi Bar. Duringbrtheir time together, the two bonded over their mutual passions: food, art, andbrmusic. What initially began as an idea for a food blog, blossomed intobrsomething much more. Comida Radio has been operating as an all-encompassing artbrcollective since 2016. Comida is event driven, hosting art shows, dinners, photographybrsessions that raise money for charity, and much more. They also have a strongbrdigital presence, presenting mixtapes by local DJs and producers as well asbrlaunching their own podcast.
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The idea was tossed around bybrthe two founders in the Sushi Bar kitchen as early as 2012, but the visionbrwasn’t actualized until 2016. However, during that time, Arellano andbrQuintanilla weren’t sitting idly by. They were each engaging in the artbrcommunity in their own way, taking in influence and building a report withbrother artists to slowly build up to the Comida Radio launch.
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“I started getting invited tobrdo a photography show by Mayra Zamora at K Space,” says Arellano. “I gotbrinvited to participate more and more and eventually that made me want to do mybrown show. It initially started out as a show called For The Homies, which wasbrthe same idea as the food blog idea we had tossed around. We wanted to showcasebrlocal artists that were making art that hadn’t been seen.” Arellano describesbrhow that idea of showcasing hidden talent grew into an art show thatbrincorporated not just visual art, but music, food, and community, creating anbrenvironment in which Arellano and Quintanilla could curate an experience forbrpeople and help the community venture out of their usual comfort zone tobrexperience everything the Coastal Bend art scene has to offer.
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For Comida Radio, all of thebraforementioned accomplishments weren’t enough. The duo still felt there wasbrmore work to be done. “It was always instilled in my mind to give back. We havebrthis platform now and people are watching what we’re doing, so let’s help thembrsee they can also give back in the process,” Quintanilla explains.
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When Quintanilla approachedbrhis partner with the idea, Arellano immediately began to organize charity efforts.br“We can make giving back cool,” says Arellano. Since then, Comida Radio hasbrdonated over 50 pounds of art supplies to the Garcia Arts & EducationbrCenter and over 250 pounds of food to the Coastal Bend Food Bank.
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Comida Radio has bold visionsbrfor the future that includes more events, more charitable work, and expandingbrto more locations. Their next Comida Radio event is on April 20th at the Housebrof Rock. But for now, Comida has one message to instill in everyone who takesbrpart in what they do: “stay inspired, and don’t stop.”
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