Cover Story
Poetry of Resistance
The first time the Tucson Weekly talked with Chicano poet and teacher Francisco Alarcón he was on fire—a poet-warrior inspired by what took place on April 20, 2010, when nine Latino students chained themselves to the Arizona State Capitol’s main doors in protest of SB 1070, the state’s racial-profiling “papers please” law.
Get Excited About This Year’s Park Place Chalk Art Festival
Help the Park Place Chalk Art Festival celebrate its fifth anniversary by contributing your own creativity. On April 9 and 10, Park Place Mall will be transformed into a colorful display of sidewalk art by artists of all ages. Attendees and professional artists alike will have the chance to create chalk art inspired by nature, outer…
Casa Video Top 10
Your options for this weekend: go to a presidential rally (or two!), get to know your garden and/or listen to some tunes. And when that’s all over (or you remind yourself that some weekends are meant to be spent at home), grab a movie and some popcorn and make what our stock photo website calls a…
Lin Manuel Miranda Freestyled About Feminism While Emma Watson Beatboxed, Because the World is Beautiful
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’)); And here's a SHORT clip of Emma Watson beatboxing while I freestyle about #HeForShe, if you only have 3 minutes. This was so fun. Posted by Lin-Manuel Miranda on Thursday, March…
Cinema Clips: The Brothers Grimsby
Sacha Baron Cohen delivers his first bona fide bomb with The Brothers Grimsby, a tired action comedy with no comedic nuance to speak of. In the past, Cohen has thrived with his mockumentary format, or simply in the service of a good comedic director (most notably, Adam McKay on Talladega Nights). Now, he’s penned a…
Trump Earns an F for Plagiarism. If This Was College, Someone Would Say, “Get Him Out of Here!”
On the list of political offenses, this one doesn’t rank very high, but hey, I’m an old English teacher, and “Thou Shalt Not Copy” is one of the commandments in my code of classroom conduct. The same commandment applies in the worlds of journalism and publishing. Ben Carson published an op ed on February 26…
St. Patrick’s Day Events
Tomorrow is the big day— St. Patrick’s Day! The day to celebrate Irish heritage (honorary or not,) learn a jig, eat good food, and drink good beer! Wondering where to celebrate? Don’t worry. There are plenty of options for bar hoppers and families alike. Bar FestivalsThe Hotel Congress 311 E. Congress St. $3 at door…
Crunching University High Enrollment Numbers
In my last post, some comments about University High led me to look at how the school’s total enrollment numbers have changed over the years, and that led me to look at changes in the school’s ethnic balance. The TUSD website is a statistics-rich environment with detailed numbers about enrollment and attendance starting with the 1996-97…
SXSW Diary, Day 1: Technical Difficulties, Please Stand By
When you’re working on something on the scale of SXSW, there will be the occasional technical difficulty—and so it was at the SXSW Music Opening Party at Maggie’s May, where all the tangles of wires and machinery malfunctioned and a visibly furious Har Mar Superstar tried to get it all straightened out, to no avail.…
Music Keeps Irish Season Going Even After St. Patrick’s Day
Cherish the Ladies, an all-woman Irish music band, rolls into town Friday, March 18, the day after St. Patrick’s. “The show is spectacular,” crows Joanie Madden, the Ladies’ founder and its prizewinning flute and tin whistle player. “We’ve been getting standing ovations everywhere,” The traveling extravaganza of Irish music, song and dance will fill the…
Pima Offering Creative Writing Weekend Workshop
Tucsonans inspired by last weekend’s Festival of Books, listen up: Pima Community College is hosting a creative writing weekend this Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday. From the press release: What differentiates the impulse to write poetry from the impulse to write prose? Can that seed go either way? These questions and other innovative ways of…
Cinema Clips: Creative Control
Virtual reality becomes a dangerous thing in director, co-writer and star Benjamin Dickinson’s craftily shot and cleverly scripted latest. Dickinson plays David, an advertising executive with a beautiful yoga instructor girlfriend named Juliette (Nora Zehetner) and a tendency to get a little too wrapped up in his work. His latest client, a virtual reality company…
The Coronet’s Erika Bostick and Whiskey del Bac Join Forces on a Cocktail Paired Dinner
Tucson’s very own craft whiskey distiller, Hamilton Distillers, and The Coronet’s Ericka Bostick are teaming up to serve up a special dinner that celebrates Whiskey del Bac. The event, which begins at 5 p.m. on Monday, March 21, will feature four dishes from Bostick paired with three cocktails. Some highlights from the night’s planned menu…
Marijuana Industry Could Fuel $44 Billion into US Economy by 2020
If more states get on board with legalizing recreational and medical marijuana, the weed industry could have an impact of up to $44 billion in the U.S. economy by 2020, according to a report by the Marijuana Business Daily. In 2016, the industry is estimated to contribute between $14 and $17 billion. Four years form…
Cactus Jack Needs a Home
Hi I’m Cactus Jack! I’m a 6 year old little boy looking for a home! I was found as a stray and am happy to be off the streets! I love people and am very friendly! I get along well with my kennel mate and know how to sit for treats. If you’re looking for…
Into the Mild: Misadventure in Mozambique
Mozambique and I got off to a bad start. After less than 24 hours at my new job in coastal Mozambique, I decided it was time to leave. My new boss had changed his mind or been misleading about a couple of key things, then wouldn’t be available for several days to answer questions. I…
Let’s Watch Margaret Regan, Luis Alberto Urrea and Teresa Duncan at the Tucson Festival of Books
In case you didn’t make it to the Tucson Festival of Books yesterday—or you decided to attend a different panel—CSPAN has posted the panel author and featuring longtime Tucson Weekly contributor Margaret Regan (The Death of Josseline, Detained and Deported), Luis Alberto Urrea (The Devil’s Highway, The Hummingbird’s Daughter) and attorney Theresa Duncan (who represents…
4 Places to Get Your Irish Food Fix This St. Patrick’s Day
Green beer is weird and gross, so let’s all vow this St. Patrick’s Day (Thursday, March 17) to give the stuff up and go for something more delicious and less dyed to celebrate the occasion. Hotel Congress’ Cup Café (311 E. Congress St.), for instance, is offering three specials for the day, including house-cured corned…
Holy Rolling Empire Returns with a Free Show Thursday
Holy Rolling Empire, which spent several years as of Tucson’s biggest drawing rock bands, is reuniting for a free show Thursday. Though Holy Rolling Empire never officially broke up, the band has performed sparingly since singer Orin Shochat moved to Los Angeles in 2012 and hasn’t played a show at all in about 18 months.…
Zona Politics: Will Trump Win AZ? Will Rosemont Get Built? What’s Happening at the AZ Legislature? And More!
March 13th, 2016 from Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel on Vimeo. This week on Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel: Lea Marquez Peterson, president and CEO of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Pima County Democratic Party Chair Jo Holt stop by the set to talk about how the presidential primary races are shaping up…
Republican Lawmakers Make It a Felony for Get-Out-The-Vote Groups To Assist Voters
You’ll now be committing a crime if you drop off your neighbor’s early ballot at the polling place in this year’s elections. Gov. Doug Ducey yesterday signed HB 2013, which makes it a felony for a person to turn in a ballot other than their own, with some exceptions for family members or roommates. Republicans…
Pie + Beer = Get Yourself to Pueblo Vida’s Pi Day Celebration on Monday
You don’t have to be a mathlete to know that Pi Day is best celebrated with pie and that adding beer into the equation makes it even better. On Monday, March 14 (3/14, yeah?), Pueblo Vida Brewing Company will be celebrating everyone’s favorite irrational number with a pie and beer pairing. For Pi Day, the…
I Hope Judge Bury Made a Good Deseg Decision, But I Have My Doubts
The latest turn in the dance and duel between TUSD and the decades-old desegregation case is, U.S. District Judge David Bury ruled against three out of four of the district’s proposed changes. The background on the changes is so complicated and convoluted, I’m not going to go through the details. Alexis Huicochea describes the decisions in her article…
Three Day Music ‘Bender’ at The Loudhouse
Join local bar The Loudhouse Bar and Grill (915 W Prince Rd.) in a three-day celebration of rock n’ roll in Tucson on March 17, 18 and 19. “Having been in bands and having so many friends who are in bands, I know how tough it is for local music to get a venue to…
The Politics of Parks and Rec
Check out this thoughtful video on the politics of the situation comedy, Parks and Recreation. In addition to being one of my all-time favorite shows, Parks and Rec showcases a loving and respectful friendship between two people on completely opposite sides of the political spectrum. I think we could all try to be a little…
Casa Video Top 10
Obviously, this is a literary weekend in Tucson—but balance is good, and there’s nothing wrong with wrapping up a day of author talks, poetry and book shopping with a night of visual storytelling. Here’s your weekly Casa Video Top 10—Look, so many Oscar winners! 1. Creed 2. Spotlight 3. Room 4. The Good Dinosaur…
Find Tucson Weekly People at the Festival of Books
Mari laid it out in this week’s Editor’s Note, but in case you missed that, here’s a day-by-day guide to where you can run into TW folks at this weekend’s Tucson Festival of Books: Saturday Arts contributor and former editor, Margaret Regan will be on the panel Women Journalists on the Border moderated by UA School…
Wildcat Baseball Ticket Giveaway
It’s baseball season at the UA and you know what that means? We’re giving away tickets to the games! For this weekend, you can win four tickets to one of three matches against Sacramento State: – Friday, March 11 at 6 p.m. – Saturday, March 12 at 2 p.m. – Sunday, March 13 at 1…
Congressman Gosar Claims Oak Flat Has Never Been a Sacred Site, Wants to Kick Out Apache Stronghold Protesters
Republican Congressman Paul Gosar is going nuclear at news that Oak Flat will remain listed in the National Register of Historic Places, despite attempts by himself and U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat who alleges to stand by Native Americans, to withdraw the site from historic consideration. The pair argued listing Oak Flat as a…
Study Finds Over 100,000 Tucsonans Could Be Living in Areas Without Access to Nutritional Food—Help Do Something About It
While there’s much to celebrate in the gastronomic world of Tucson lately, there’s also a lot of work to do and that doesn’t just mean giving money to your new favorite restaurant. After all, many of those pioneering autonomous organizations that helped win the city of Tucson its recent acclaim grew from a genuine need…
The Heart is in the Classroom
Margaret Burkholder is a talented juggler.
A Path to Follow: North
When most people think of Tucson, they don’t think of metal. Well, maybe literally they think of copper or iron, but not sludge or doom. Recently, though, that seems like it could change.
The Skinny
Sen. McCain is concerned about Trump, but would still support him for president
Meaningful Marijuana
And a welcome to our new MMJ writer, Mary Jane Doe.
T Q&A
Frank Powers is the founder of the downtown cooperative Comic-Con inspired store, Constant Con.
Pleasure Activist
Let’s talk Strap-ons, pegging and benefits of buckling in.
Second Chances: Saguaro Corners
It seems like no matter which direction you’re headed in Tucson, you are met with a breathtaking view of one of the surrounding mountain ranges.
The Growlers @ 191 Toole
If you missed the chance to see the self-proclaimed “beach goth” originals when they were in town last year, be sure to hit up The Growlers’ show.
Poetic Politics
Tucson poets Enrique Garcia Naranjo, Odilia Galvan Rodriguez and our own managing editor Mari Herreras will honor the activist work of Francisco X. Alarcon.
Plant Love
Plant lovers, unite. Native Seeds (3061 N. Campbell Ave.) will host their annual spring plant sale.
Remember Harper Lee
Because To Kill a Mockingbird is important.
Understand the Indigenous
La Alianza Indigena Sin Fronteras (The Indigenous Alliance Without Borders) will host an Indigenous Knowledge Gathering at the Tucson Global Justice Center.
Tucson Salvage
Oh my.
Return of the Holy People
On a warm Saturday in late February, Elsie Bia was outdoors in Sonoita, hard at work at her loom.
Book of the Bard
It may not be the Gutenberg Bible, but to those who are dedicated fans of English literature and theater, the book in residence here now at the Arizona State Museum holds a similar kind of import and even majesty
Editor’s Note
TW loves TFOB.
Big Screen Needed
While Son of Saul took home home the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2016 Oscars, Columbia’s submittal, Ciro Guerra’s also nominated Embrace of the Serpent, was perhaps Saul’s most worthy competitor.
Dust Devil
If we as a nation elect a man who would be king, we can expect a few changes.
New Frontiers: XIXA
XIXA’s studio on north Stone Avenue stands in stark contrast to the dirt lots and auto shops that surround it.
Police Dispatch
An elderly man going through marriage troubles made an emotional scene in an upscale shopping center by spitting chewed-up bread at a sushi counter.
B-Sides: Afrika Bambataa
It’s no doubt that, while never quite commercially successful, Bronx-born DJ Afrika Bambataa helped mold the sounds that founded hip hop.
Police Dispatch
A couple terminating their relationship was so determined to have the other party arrested that their bickering resulted in a full investigation—basically regarding who overturned a bowl of cereal during a fight.
B-Sides: Rocket form the Crypt
For another bit of musical nostalgia, but of a completely different variety, bop on over to Club Congress (311 E. Congress St.) on March 13. San Diego-based, definitely not ska luminaries Rocket from the Crypt are back in action after more than a decade of hiatus.
Authors Aplenty
Tucson novelist Jennifer Lee Carrell tells us about this year’s Tucson Festival of Books.
B-Sides: Futuristic
While Tucson’s hip-hop scene continues to rise, our neighbors to the north have their own ace in the hole in rapper transplant Futuristic.
