Robert Rodriguez is coming back to the Aztec Theatre — and at this point it feels less like a tour stop and more like a residency. June 12 brought him in for a From Dusk Till Dawn 30th anniversary concert. July 11 brings him back for a Spy Kids 25th. Two anniversaries, same venue, same summer. That’s either very efficient touring or the Aztec has quietly become Rodriguez’s preferred stage in his own Texas backyard.
The July 11 show is a hybrid: a full screening of Spy Kids (2001) followed by a live performance by Chingon, the tex-mex bluesrock band Rodriguez formed in 2003 to score Once Upon a Time in Mexico. The group features members of Del Castillo, a Latin rock outfit with deep Texas credibility, alongside Rodriguez on guitar. If you’ve encountered the Kill Bill Vol. 2 soundtrack or the score for Machete, you already know the territory — a sound that blends surf guitar, corrido rhythm, and garage rock into something distinctly Texas without becoming a caricature of it.
Spy Kids holds up as a genuine achievement: a family action film starring Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa PenaVega, and Daryl Sabara that actually worked, launched careers, and shifted how people categorized Rodriguez as a filmmaker. The film received the Star of Texas award at the 2026 Texas Film Awards, and the anniversary tour — Austin in May, San Antonio in July, Los Angeles later that month — signals that Rodriguez is treating this milestone as a real retrospective, not just a nostalgia circuit stamped onto available calendar dates.
The Aztec Theatre is the right room for this format. A 1,477-capacity theater in downtown San Antonio, it handles a film screening in ways a standing-room club cannot — the transition from audience watching a movie to audience watching a live band works better when the room is built for fixed-seat attention. VIP add-ons are available, including Fast Lane Access and VIP Club Access for those who want more out of the evening.
Showtime is 3:00 PM on Saturday, July 11. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster and at the Aztec Theatre box office.