Celebrate and Share

At her westside flower shop, a converted white house with pink bars
on the windows and doors, 70-year-old Josefina Lizárraga tells
an old joke.

Two Mexican men cross paths while visiting their mother’s graves on
All Souls Day. One, an educated man, has a store-bought bouquet; the
other, a humble peasant, has food to leave on the grave. Each of the
items was selected according to the traditions of the men’s
families.

“When is your mother coming out to eat the food?” the wealthy man
asks the peasant, poking fun.

The humble peasant glances at him and then his bouquet. “When yours
comes out to smell her flowers,” the peasant responds.

To Lizárraga, it’s an anecdote that sums up the differences
we have—even if we come from similar backgrounds or
ethnicities.

Lizárraga knows that her culture is diverse and that, to
many, it can seem strange. Originally from Nayarit, Mexico, she has
been a florist in Tucson for 44 years. For 25 of those years, she has
taught Tucsonans how to make paper flowers at Tucson Meet Yourself.

She teaches people how to make a wide variety of flowers. The
children love making the ones out of toilet paper. It’s just funny to
them, she says. She prefers making marigolds, because they are commonly
used in the celebrations of All Souls Day. She sees the
fast-approaching holiday, Nov. 2, as a way to educate people about her
culture.

In her shop, flowers made from paper sit alongside real, fresh
flowers. She picks up the different types and explains that every group
has different ways of making them. She shows off a wreath she is
working on. The skulls mixed in with the orange and white paper flowers
already have the names of dead relatives scrawled across the
foreheads.

“In Mexico, we are too comfortable with death,” Lizárraga
says. “We are always preparing for it.”

When it comes to the diversity of Tucson, though, Mexican culture is
just one of many, many different traditions.

Mia Hansen, president of the Cultural Exchange Council, which puts
on Tucson Meet Yourself, says this year’s event is set to be the
largest and most diverse in the 36 years of its existence. Organizers
have added more representative groups than ever before, and each is
bringing along a piece of their folk lives. Though there will be plenty
of music and food (so much that many Tucsonans call the event Tucson
Eat Yourself), be careful: Folk life entails much more than just food
and folk music.

“Low-riders for example—that’s considered a folk culture,”
says Julie Ray, the folk-art director of the festival.

The list of demonstrations includes everything from Chinese
calligraphy to aerosol art to, yes, a low-rider show.

Tucson Meet Yourself has also partnered up with the Tucson Culinary
Foundation to present “Tucson After Dark: Cultural Cocktails From
Around the World,” at the Fox Tucson Theatre on Friday, Oct. 9, from 8
p.m. to midnight. For $35, you can sip on drinks like Singapore slings
or Pimm’s Cups (from England). The event is a benefit for Tucson Meet
Yourself.

Tucson Meet Yourself is considered by many to be the Southwest’s
premier folk-life event. It’s also worth noting that Tucson is one of
four cities under consideration to host the National Folk Festival
(which would be part of Tucson Meet Yourself) sometime in
2011-2013.

The demonstrations at Tucson Meet Yourself allow different cultures
to celebrate and share. Tucson’s diversity is incredible, Hansen
says.

“We feel it makes Tucson a better place to live, point-blank,”
Hansen says about Tucson Meet Yourself. “It’s an open book of who we
are.”

Tucson Meet Yourself takes place from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday,
Oct. 9, and Saturday, Oct. 10; and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 11,
at downtown’s El Presidio Park, Jácome Library Plaza and the
Pima County Courthouse courtyard. Admission is free. For more
information or to purchase tickets for Tucson After Dark, visit
tucsonmeetyourself.org.

This article appears in Oct 8-14, 2009.