On covering Texas. All of it.

Introducing the March 2017 issue. No Images? [Click here]( [MSC OPAS Presents Jersey Boys]( [Texas Monthly]( From the Editor's Desk | March 2017 Evaluating a magazine by any single issue is a fraught exercise. There aren’t enough pages to fully capture a place as grand and nuanced as Texas. But in the case of this issue, I’m inclined to note how well the stories span the state, beginning with our cover package. In a way that few people can, our tireless wandering scribe Jordan Breal [reveals hidden gems]( twinkling beyond the big-city lights. We do our fair share of touting the noteworthy hotels, eateries, and shops in our metropolises—and they deserve that attention. But it’s also the case that all across Texas you can find places to eat, stay, drink, and be entertained that are just as modern and sophisticated, so long as you know where to look. (As an aside, anyone inclined to go out and explore using this guide may find [a few hidden gems of their own](.) In our profile of up-and-coming country music singer Aaron Watson, we visit his hometown of Amarillo, where he formed the work ethic that has since carried him to the top of the Billboard charts and, now, to the release of his thirteenth album. Watson’s [story]( is a distinctly Texan one—that of an aspiring singer who went to Nashville and was told he didn’t have what it takes. So he came back home and proved the naysayers wrong. All the while, he has remained humble, grateful, and devoted to his fans. Our indefatigable Michael Hall [files a dispatch]( from San Antonio in what may be the waning days of Obamacare. We [report]( on people forced to leave their homes around Lake Diversion, outside Wichita Falls. We [talk]( with Javier Palomarez, the Dallas-based president of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, about his (late) embrace of President Trump. And to make sure we are covering both the geographic and the chronological range of Texas, the great Stephen Harrigan shares with us [an excerpt from his forthcoming book]( about the history of Texas, beginning with a scene from when the Spaniards, starving and desperate, arrived on the shores of what is now our beloved state. While we can never canvass the entirety of Texas with every issue, we are committed to telling the whole state’s story, and in the pages that follow I think you’ll see that we made a worthy show of it. Happy reading, Tim Taliaffero FEATURED [Sights Unseen]( From a high-end winery in Coleman and an art deco hotel in Big Spring to a bookstore in Alpine and an art museum in Canadian, some of the best places to eat, stay, and shop are in our small towns. You’ve just got to get out and find them. [MSC OPAS Presents Jersey Boys]( MORE FROM THIS ISSUE [The Underdog's on Top]( The big Nashville labels turned him away, and the radio stations refused to play him at first. But now, with a number one album and the most loyal fan base around, Aaron Watson has become a country music sensation. [Working With the Donald]( Last year, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce president Javier Palomarez was one of Trump’s harshest critics. Today, he’s informally advising the new president. [Sopaipillas]( Full of hot air, in a good way. [Snake!]( In West Texas, we’ve learned to live with our slithery neighbors. Not that we have a choice. [They Came From the Sky]( In this exclusive excerpt from Stephen Harrigan’s forthcoming history of Texas, the first Spanish conquistadors arrive on our shores, starving, haggard, and in no mood for conquest. [MSC OPAS Presents Jersey Boys]( Texas Monthly PO Box 1569 Austin, TX 78767 Texas Monthly has sent you this alert because you signed up to receive it either online at texasmonthly.com, at the website of one of our business partners, or when you filled out a reader response card. You may cancel your subscription to this and other Texas Monthly newsletters at any time. Please see our Privacy Policy. [Like]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](