Robert Rodriguez is a filmmaker who happens to have a band. The distinction matters on June 12, when he brings Chingon to the Aztec Theatre for a 30th anniversary event that’s equal parts cinema and concert: a full screening of From Dusk Till Dawn, a director Q&A, and then Rodriguez and company live on stage. Doors at 6 PM, show at 7.
About Chingon
Chingon is Rodriguez’s Tex-Mex blues-rock ensemble — formed around 2002–2003 during production of Once Upon a Time in Mexico, built around members of Del Castillo with Rodriguez handling guitar. Their debut record, Mexican Spaghetti Western, arrived in 2004. If you know the band at all, you probably know “Malauena Salerosa,” the track that landed on the Kill Bill Vol. 2 soundtrack (Rodriguez scored that film for Tarantino). They’ve also composed and performed the complete score for Machete and contributed to Planet Terror. Rodriguez’s music and his filmmaking have always been tangled together in ways that feel less like a vanity side project and more like a consistent creative worldview.
The film being celebrated makes that point concrete. From Dusk Till Dawn was directed by Rodriguez from a Tarantino screenplay, released in January 1996. The cast includes George Clooney and Tarantino himself as brothers on the run, alongside Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Cheech Marin, Salma Hayek, and Danny Trejo. It earned over $51 million against a $19 million budget. Roger Ebert called it “a skillful meat-and-potatoes action extravaganza” — a quote that has aged considerably better than most Ebert one-liners.
The Aztec Theatre
The Aztec is a natural fit for this particular event, and not just because it books this kind of hybrid show well. Rodriguez has said he watched films there as a child — Star Wars, Jaws — and the theater is celebrating its own 100th anniversary in 2026. Opened in 1926, closed in 1989, and restored and reopened as a music venue in 2009, the Aztec holds 1,477 patrons across floor, mezzanine, and balcony levels. Rodriguez screened Desperado there last fall and has been direct about wanting to make it a regular thing. Calling this a homecoming show is barely a cliché when the director grew up in that building watching someone else’s movies before going off and making his own.
Tickets & Details
VIP upgrades are available — including a meet-and-greet with photos alongside screen-used props from the film: Clooney’s jackhammer and Lewis’ crossbow. Fast Lane Access and VIP Club Access are also on offer. All ages; everyone requires a ticket regardless of age. Get tickets through Ticketmaster. For more shows in San Antonio, browse the full calendar.