Aerial photographer and videographer James Glinski sent the Weekly “Song for Rosemont,” a music video that’s a paean to the beauty of the Rosemont Valley. The mile-wide Rosemont pit mine would be blasted into this pristine wilderness; its waste tailings would be piled as high as small mountains on public lands, blocking the views.
Glinski is the author/photographer of the classic book Above Tucson, Then & Now, from 1995, which paired his own aerial photos of the Tucson valley with images that A.E. “Gene” Magee took from the 1930s to the 1950s.
“In writing that book, I was visually bombarded in what we had and what we lost,” Glinski writes to the Weekly. “Thinking on the Green Valley mines, I remember in 1967, then a teenager, heading to Nogales and being revolted the first time I saw those tailings ….and now I am numb to them. Imagine what our experience would be like if there were no mines there, no mountains of tailings, driving through a green river valley from Tucson to Nogales and beyond. What a great ,scenic, historic corridor to live near and travel through….visually lost…
“The proposed Rosemont mine would sacrifice even more, for less. I believe we need to better understand this project, value what we have there, and in the process begin to reform antiquated mining laws.”
“The song came from this sense of loss…still with time to preserve what is there. I hope the song conveys that and, with the video, shows the beauty there and what we stand to lose….and to educate and motivate people to defend our public lands.”
Guy Gabriels sings lead vocals, Ruben Ruiz plays the guitar break, and Glinski plays instruments and sings, and did the engineering. Rosemont activist Keith Willmarth wrote commentary on the 1872 Mining Law. Videotaping began on Christmas Day.
This article appears in Feb 13-19, 2014.
We should all go back to the 1800’s, cut all electricity off, trade vehicles for horses, and not use any form of copper then.
Kudos to Jim Glinski for caring enough to craft this musical SOS.
The video shows the beauty that is the Rosemont area and conveys the feelings of someone that loves it. Maybe the Rosemont will happen….maybe not, but this video shows that people care and want their voice to be heard. Thank you Jim for showing people what is at stake!