Transforming Today's World Magazine - JAN 2014 Special Edition Vol 5 Issue 3 | Page 68

Little did Anthony know, he was beginning a personal
journey that would define his own destiny, eventually
manifesting THE LARGEST HISPANIC JAZZ FESTIVAL
IN AMERICAN HISTORY!! This was a man with a
purpose now! Anthony had already become an award
winning and well-known floral designer, receiving too
many accolades to mention in one article. But now he
would begin a journey of self-discovery that would bless
the lives of thousands of people through Jazz music.
During one summer festival, a group of 20 children from
Mexico visited the event and had the time of their lives.
Anthony was touched by their participation, but had no
idea these precious children were visiting America in a
last-ditch effort to save their lives from terminal Cancer!
The next day Anthony was contacted by the famed Ronald
McDonald House and was informed of the children’s
amazing response to the music.

“Amazingly, The Jazz Festival had flowered into
a restorative event that touched the hearts of
20 suffering children by providing
an experiential escape through the
power of Jazz music!”
“Anthony was always a great man of faith
with a deep belief in God.”
Anthony was always a great man of faith with a deep
belief in God. As the evening wore on, he became acutely
aware he was experiencing a significant change internally
on that rainy night in S.A. Somehow God had gotten him
to a place that would change his life forever. “I asked for
God’s intervention as I walked through the park. As I sat
in the club that night and watched people having such a
good time, I wondered if it was possible for an individual
to put on a Jazz Festival. As soon as I got home, I began
writing down ideas and called an attorney friend the
next day. I asked him to investigate the possibility of an
individual, not an organization, producing a free jazz
festival. I just couldn’t take my mind off of this idea! I
thought I was crazy-going through all these catastrophic
events- and I was thinking about a Jazz festival?! It took
me three years and the deep effect of 20 little children to
realize my vision. God always answers you, but He may
not answer you in the way you THINK He will!”

66

Anthony was so touched by the response, he started a
program to sponsor 25 needy children at each event every
year. This led him to raise donations for Any Baby Can,
forgoing his own salary as he spear-headed the Jazz festival
into San Antonio history! Amazingly, The Jazz Festival
had flowered into a restorative event that touched the
hearts of 20 suffering children by providing an experiential
escape through the power of Jazz music! Coming fullcircle, Anthony realized HIS response to the music had
provided an avenue to touch thousands of people by
producing a free music and art event for the general
public in San Antonio. The mu sic and atmosphere he
experienced that fateful rainy night in S.A. wound up
defining Anthony’s purpose in life. In addition to
hosting twenty five children from all walks of life each
year, Anthony donates a portion of the festival proceeds
to many different organizations and charities.

“There are many mysteries in life for all of
us, but Anthony Tobias had a destiny to fulfill
that would bless the City of San Antonio with
the largest Hispanic Jazz Festival in america!”