A Space for Community to Flourish
Words Janine Stankus
It’s 5 p.m. and it’s “bird happy hour” at 1102 East Cesar Chavez, according to Selena Souders. They’re squawking and flitting between Cedar Elms, Pecans, Red Buds, and Pindo Palms — perhaps sensing the coming rain. Selena has assembled her potted plants outside to receive the sky’s bounty. “ I think [plants] are like people,” she says, scanning floras that have survived recent weather shifts. “We thrive, and we have to find a balance, but there’s nothing like rain water!”
Selena, an Austin native, is the owner of Big Red Sun, a landscape and garden design studio with Austin roots that span three decades. She established her business in 1994 in the childhood home and political headquarters of Richard Moya, the first Mexican-American elected to public office in Austin and Travis County. Built in 1936, the craftsman-style house has been on Preservation Austin’s annual home tour and remains true to its original footprint, thanks to its current keeper.
Richard and Selena connected in the ’90s through friends and campaigners: Joe Pinelli, Ken Wendler, and his wife Cathy Bonner. Richard had inherited the home and turned it into a campaign hub, complete with an active printing press. At the time, they were working towards Anne Richards’ ultimately successful gubernatorial bid. “It was an exciting time in politics for women and Latinos, and we became very tied into this neighborhood for years,” Selena recalls.
Selena was already a budding landscape artist, and Richard loved the idea of beautifying the property. “Especially with Anne Richards coming into the picture…she was so iconic,” Selena remembers. “So, we just started making it friendly. It looked a lot like [it does now], except for a fence. And people would just walk through the house, and it felt really good. It was a very special thing to be a part of,” Selena recalls fondly.
In 1997, as Richard was stepping back from politics, he decided to sell the property to Selena and her then-partner. “I think he felt excited that he could turn it over to two people who would take care of it and welcome his family here,” Selena says. It was the perfect place for Big Red Sun to blossom.
“This is all riverbed alluvial soil,” Selena points out. “It’s rich in nutrients and easy to dig in. So we said, ‘let’s do this.’ And everything’s flourished for years…we’ve been pretty lucky.” They eventually acquired the neighboring lot and transformed the whole property into a beautifully landscaped open event space, complete with a barn-inspired steel structure with a small kitchen for receptions.
While Selena now splits her time between her Venice, California, and Austin locations, 1102 East Cesar Chavez remains a perennial home base in a shifting neighborhood that she’s invested in. Big Red Sun took on the landscaping project at the nearby library when it was built. And she recalls a time when holding events like “Head East” to lure music and art-seekers to what was, then, a new frontier. “ We pulled a lot of people’s interest over here,” Selena says. “There’s a lot of people [here] who really cared, and still do.”
Staying Power
From severe droughts to “snowpocalypse,” Selena has seen the local vegetation suffer the impact of a changing climate. Her advice is to be adaptable and not get too attached to something you buy off the shelf. In terms of landscape, some of the plants that have been most resilient locally are roses, wildflowers, vines, and prickly pears.
A Local Legacy
Richard Moya was a beloved Austin figure who paved the way for other Latinos in public office. A founding member of the Mexican American Democrats of Texas, he held numerous public positions throughout his tenure, including Chief Investigator of the Travis County Legal Aid Society, Travis County Commissioner, and Anne Richards’ Chief of Staff. Richard Moya Park and Richard Moya East Side Bus Plaza are local monuments to his legacy.
Contact:
1102 E Cesar Chavez St.
bigredsun.com
1102east.com
