New Taco Land plans rolling out

"[The stage will be kept] either in the same place where it was or it might be moved to the [outdoor] corner where the road meets the river," Sirianni said. "We'll feel it out, but live music will be a part of [the new Taco Land]. Which part, we're still trying to figure it out."

"Yes, music is going to be there, but in the same way Ram [Ayala] had music — no scheduled events necessarily in the beginning," said Chavira. "I don't think it's going to be an every weekend kind of thing, but we will have some nice limited musical engagements going on, small performances for sure. And if it becomes a popular spot for live music, yeah, we can do it more often. I would love that. I'd like to see what is it that San Antonio wants out of it, too. We want to give [the people] the opportunity to come and help us shape what this is going to be.

We're a team that's more than willing to listen. We want this place to thrive."

Adelman said he's "all for whatever people want, but we're dealing with a noise factor now, so we'll see."

When I suggest that perhaps the team is steering toward "unplugged punk shows," Adelman responds: "Exactly!"

Most of the original building (including the front wall, original sign, and, hopefully, the art) will be kept, and Adelman said the commission contacted his team after the May 2 meeting and will be visiting Taco Land sometime this week.

Eddie Cruz, son of Ram Ayala, is supportive of the plans to re-open his father's joint, but with reservations. "If it does exactly what my dad did — which was give back to the people, offering new bands to play and get exposed, not worrying about how people are dressed or how they look, and having a pool team (my dad loved playing pool) — then the venue should be just fine," Cruz told the Current. "If not, then it will just turn into another venue selling overpriced entrance fees, beer, and food just like its surrounding tourist traps." (Initial plans for the new Taco Land include no entrance fees.)

Adelman and Card are already playing with possible new names for Taco Land.

"[Card] calls it 'Taco Land Plus,' but I prefer 'Taco Land Outdoors,'" Adelman said.

"I would vote for either of those two," Sirianni said, "but I also like 'Taco Land 2: the Survival of Ram.'"

"Of course I would [support the re-opening]," Cruz said. "It might not be the same, but it is an honor to my father." •

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