SAN ANTONIO – When it came to San Antonio’s annual Night in Old San Antonio, or NIOSA, many Fiesta-goers knew J.J. Gonzales simply as “Mr. Chicken.”
For 30 years, he served up chicken on a stick at Froggy Bottoms in La Villita.
It was hardly a surprise not to see him there, as he loved spreading joy to crowds or sharing his thoughts with local news stations.
That same care for others is what people said they loved most about him when tributes and memories poured onto social media after his family announced he died Sunday of kidney cancer.
Although the grief is overwhelming, his wife, Cyndi Gonzales, and daughter Sommer said the outpouring of support — and the impact he had on others — is helping them through a difficult time.
“We had to share him with San Antonio, which we didn’t mind because we saw how he lit up the city,” Cyndi Gonzales said.
While the community embraced Gonzales as a Fiesta icon, to his family, he was a loving husband, best friend, and father.
‘He was always present’
In an interview with KSAT inside La Villita, where he sold his signature chicken on a stick, Cyndi and Sommer shared stories and memories of his excitement for educating first-timers at NIOSA and his passion for running the booth.
Beyond the Fiesta fun, they said, he was always there for others — every day, under any circumstance.
“Anything he did, he gave 100 percent,” Sommer Gonzales said. “Being a husband, being a co-worker — anything. As he would tell me: if you’re going to do it, do it 110 percent.”
Whether he was attending an event for his daughters, Sommer and Isabella, or coaching his volleyball club, the San Antonio Chiefs, Gonzales always made time to help anyone who needed it.
And while the family understands that many may remember him for Fiesta or his famous chicken on a stick, they hope the community holds onto something deeper: his light.
“I want him to be remembered as the light that will never be dimmed,” Cyndi Gonzales said.
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