FESTIVA: 'Twilight,' Catherine Hardwicke, Cafe Tacvba!

This week, Festiva's got a comprehensive look at Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke and her history here in McAllen. Also, don't miss our profiles of Latin rockers Café Tacvba and our Hometown Hollywood of the week, Liz Ramos.

>>> COVER STORY <<<

INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE DIRECTOR She had only a few minutes to spare before she went back to work in the mixing booth, putting the finishing touches on what is likely to be her biggest project to date. But no pressure. Not that Twilight director and McAllen native Catherine Hardwicke is any stranger to pressure. Just about a year and 10 months ago, she scrapped the first draft of the vampire flick's script and started from scratch. Click here to read more

THE METAMORPHOSIS OF CATHERINE HARDWICKE  From a pile of dirt, she used to make mountains. From bouts of summertime boredom, she used to make new games. And from humble South Texas beginnings, Catherine Hardwicke made a Hollywood career. But how a McAllen girl whose father was a farmer and mother was schoolteacher went on to become an acclaimed director is a question that even Hardwicke herself has trouble answering. Her family and friends, however, have their theories. Read more

TWILIGHT: THE MOVIE REVIEW You can almost feel the anticipation in the air for Twilight. Fans have devoured the novels by Stephenie Meyer with a blood lust. They also have burned up the Internet with good and bad comments. Now the speculation can end. The fans can see what director Catherine Hardwicke has done to their beloved book. Read more *AVAILABLE AT 12:01 A.M. FRIDAY

>>> MULTIMEDIA <<<

FESTIVA TV: THE MORNING AFTER Check out the madness at the premiere of Twilight at Hollywood USA. Watch the video

CATHERINE'S YEARBOOK PHOTOS View tons of pictures featuring the Twilight director as a teenager at McAllen High School. View the gallery

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW Download the audio recording of Sandra Gonzalez' telephone interview with Catherine Hardwicke. Hear it now

>>> CONTESTS <<<

JUST PLAIN TROUBLE Win free tickets to see the rocking band that's kicking off Cine El Rey's 2008-09 South of the City Limits series. Enter the contest

>>> FILM & TV <<<

HOMETOWN HOLLYWOOD: LIZ RAMOS She was just a junior at McAllen High School at the time, but Ramos showed enough potential even then to get singled out in a crowd. Now, she can say she's danced with Brad Pitt. Read more   

>>> MUSIC <<<

FESTIVA'S INFINITE PLAYLIST: TRACK 7 The newest song in our series of free MP3 downloads from local musicians is "Anyway You Want It" by neo-hip hop artists the Broken Poetz. Download the song

CAFE TACVBA quartet from a sprawling Mexico City suburb will play Saturday night at the McAllen Convention Center. For Tacvba fans, the show comes about a year after the band's last stop in McAllen. They played last year during the first week of December at the Las Palmas Event Center Read more

KNOW YOUR ROCK STAR Meet Isaac Gonzalez, the 17-year-old drummer of the Brownsville band Grace of Terror. Read more.

FESTIVA CD REVIEW: KERLI - 'LOVE IS DEAD'  Kerli is an anomaly of sorts. The white-blonde singer with an airy voice grew up in post-Soviet Estonia (yes, it's a real place and not made up for the movie Encino Man). She claims she didn't really have any musical influences, except Bjork, which incidentally, she does sound like, but there are other artists who spring to mind when you hear the tracks from her first full-length album Love Is Dead. Read more

FESTIVA CD REVIEW: STYK FIGA - 'AREA 51' "Area 51" marks the solo debut of Jeremy "Styk Phiga" Adams. The Chicago-born rapper moved to the Valley a few years ago, and he first hit the hip hop scene making beats and rhyming with Dem ATM Boyz. Read more

>>> NIGHTLIFE <<<

HOT SPOTS: KAMA SUTRA Nothing stays in the spot for long. Kama Sutra is the most recent club to try. Located next to the Hop Tung Chinese restaurant and across 10th Street from Buffalo Wild Wings, the place opened in September. It opened in the spot where Pure and Suite 701 failed. Where Light Lounge died. Where Plush bombed. Where, well you get the idea. Read more

HOT SPOTS: SNAP SHOTS Were you out partying this week? We might have a picture of you. View the gallery

>>> HEALTH & FITNESS <<<

BIG MUSCLES AREN'T JUST FOR BOYS The 28-year-old woman has figured fitness out. She dropped 40 lbs, went from a size 12 to a size four and motivated herself to exercise. Veronica Villarreal of McAllen competes in women's figure competitions. Unlike body building, judges look for lean muscle rather than mass, evaluating women on athleticism rather than muscle size.