Articulations
The passing of Austin arts patron and poet Juan Ochoa.
By Robert Faires, Fri., July 7, 2000
In Memoriam
A man who dearly loved the painters, musicians, and dancers among us, who worked for them and with them, and who himself painted, made music, and danced with words silently slipped away quietly from this life late last week. Juan Ochoa was riding home from dinner with a friend last Friday night, June 30, when he suffered a serious heart attack. The friend pulled over and summoned EMS, but by the time they arrived, Ochoa had fallen into a coma from which he never regained consciousness. He died that night. He was 51. Though Ochoa made his living as a pharmacist, managing the Pharmacy Department for the city of Austin's health clinics, and though he was passionately dedicated to health issues, serving on boards for Seton East, Brackenridge Hospital, and the Federal Qualified Health Clinics, he also had an artist's soul. That was evident in the time and energy he devoted to the support of various local arts organizations, including La Peña, Teatro Humanidad, and Ballet Austin in its days as Austin Ballet Theatre, all companies for which he served as a board member. It was evident in his volunteer efforts for the City of Austin Cultural Contracts Program, helping to create a new Media discipline to assist video and film organizations in obtaining funding and serving as chair for the Media panel. It was evident in his ongoing attendance at art exhibition openings, film screenings, and other cultural events. And it was certainly evident in his poetry, which he read at Resistencia, Cafe Mundi, and Gaby & Mo's, among other venues. In one of his last poems, inspired by a trip to Macchu Picchu, he wrote that "I cry for those who cannot accept their destiny and my heart opens to to the poets, the painters, the musicians, and the dancers because they are the voices, the eyes, and the rhythm of our people." Local writer and occasional Chronicle contributor Mary Jane Garza was a friend of Ochoa's and had even received an invitation from the poet to join him and some friends for dinner Saturday evening. Much of their friendship developed in the last year, according to Garza, and she says, "What I found that I loved the most about him was not only his visible and contagious support for the arts, but his poetic talent. He had started organizing poetry readings with a loosely formed group of other poets called Voces Del Pueblo. Juan usually had a new poem he had just written that he recited at every reading, often reflecting a current event or personal situation. Some were interactive and humorous, such as Ella; some were touching, like his piece written at Macchu Picchu." Ochoa was buried in his hometown of Laredo on Wednesday, July 5. A memorial service will be held in Austin Saturday, July 8, 10am, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, 1206 E. Ninth. A reception will follow at the church hall. Memorial gifts may be made to the Austin Film Society or any Austin arts organization.
Congratulations
It seems only fitting to match the announcement of a death with the announcement of a birth. Belated congratulations to two former Austinites, Holly Hepp-Galván and Robert René Galván, on the birth of their daughter Gina Renée Galván on May 22, 9:56pm, in Glen Cove, NY. Holly, formerly of the Zachary Scott Theatre Center Performing Arts School, is now managing director of Urban Stages in New York. Robert, a conductor and poet, is currently doing freelance work.
