Tucson to host second Pueblos del Maíz festival

Maíz has deep roots in the Sonoran Desert, and Tucson is celebrating its cultural and agricultural significance for the second year in a row.

The Tucson City of Gastronomy nonprofit is throwing the second Pueblos del Maíz (PDM), a bilingual, international festival celebrating the gastronomies, histories and food cultures of maíz (corn) in Southern Arizona. The celebration will run from Thursday, May 4, to Sunday, May 7, in Downtown Tucson, extending to Mission Garden and Kennedy Park.

During the month of May, the festival rolls through Tucson; San Antonio, Texas; and Mérida and Puebla in Mexico. The four North American cities belong to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Creative Cities and Délice Networks.

Over the course of the festival, the cities showcase maíz through local eateries, interactive art installations, live performances and educational activities. They also exchange chefs, host a traveling photo exhibit, share cooking demonstration live streams and each create a special maíz beer under the PDM label — the Tucson edition will be concocted by Borderlands Brewing Co.

“We feel privileged and honored to be able to bring this kind of festival to our community here in Tucson, because of the cultural significance that maíz has not just on Latino culture, Mexican culture, but also our indigenous community and other cultures,” said Tucson PDM Director Melissa Dominguez.

“Maíz is so important in so many of our food ways, it’s really meaningful for us to be able to bring this to the community and celebrate our cultures and our food in this way.”

Tucson’s 2023 festival is expanded with grants from the Arizona Office of Tourism and city of Tucson and from Pima County’s American Rescue Plan funding for tourism recovery.

All the proceeds raised at PDM will benefit the Tucson City of Gastronomy and its pursuits in the local food system and economy.

Thursday, May 4

Kicking off the festivities, PDM will open with the Popol Vuh and the Maya Art of Storytelling exhibit from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Tucson Museum of Art.

The installation is also a crossover event with the opening of the museum’s monthly “First Thursday” free art exhibit. While exploring the story of the Popol Vuh, a sacred Mayan document, Dominguez said the exhibit is “serendipitously also celebrating maíz.” 

Chicano contemporary artist Justin Favela will be present to share insights to his creative practice and his relationships with the Popol Vuh story and the work of Carlos Mérida.

Following that, attendees can enjoy his Family Fiesta, a public celebration and performance featuring the Favela family’s traditions, live music and art activities.

Opening day celebrations will continue with the Noche de Maíz Dinner, hosted by the Tucson City of Gastronomy and Gastronomic Union of Tucson. The event is from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Carriage House, and costs $200 for those age 21 and older.

Renowned chefs Janos Wilder and Gary Hickey will welcome three visiting chefs from the three other UNESCO PDM co-host cities, who will work together to present hors d’oeuvres and a paired course highlighting the wide range of uses for maíz.

Friday, May 5

The second day of the festival features the Maíz Showcase, a bocadito (small plates) dinner experience from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Tucson Museum of Art.

For $75 a ticket, attendees will get to enjoy 10 plates and explore the museum’s exhibit.

Several of Tucson’s finest chefs, restaurateurs and food artisans will be presenting their cuisine, including Wendy Garcia from Tumerico & La Chaiteria, Analy Guzman from El Antojo Poblano and Juan Alamanza from El Taco Rustico, amongst others.

“We’re also going to have a visiting scientist from Mexico, Dr. Cesar Ojeda Linares — he’s going to do a lecture right at 6 before the dinner about the history of fermented beverages in Mexico,” Dominguez said. “So that’ll be a really fun evening.”

Saturday, May 6

Educational and family-friendly activities with presentations and demonstrations will be held at Mission Garden. This year, the agricultural museum will focus on nixtamalization, a corn preparation process, during a workshop from 8 a.m. to noon.

Later that day, festivalgoers can attend one of the biggest highlights of the festival: the Maíz Fiesta. The celebration will be held from 4 to 10 p.m. at Kennedy Park.

“We’re super excited to offer this as a free event to our community and it’s going to be so fun. So we’re going to have food demonstrations, visiting chefs…,” Dominguez said. “We will have a youth stage and a family friendly area, Pima County Public Library’s going to be giving away books, the Pima County Reach Health Department will be there, and we’re going to have a stage with mariachi performing.”

Live music will be provided by Los Apson, Gertie & the T.O. Boyz, Los Hermanos Cuatro and Mariapaula Mazon.

The Galeria Mitotera is collaborating with artists in the community, so festivalgoers can visit vendors and live art installations showcasing Yaqui, Chicano and other creatives. They can also explore cuisine from a collection of local food vendors, including Nopalinda, La Indita, Ensenada Street Tacos, Oaxarico, Pico de Gallo and PhatBois BBQ.

Sunday, May 7

To close out the festival, the Rialto Theatre will host a concert featuring La Sonora Dinamita con Vilma Diaz. Doors open at 7 p.m., with the show beginning the following hour. Tickets cost $30 to $50.

Later, there will be an afterparty at the bar with music by DJ Mizskoden.

Overall, Dominguez and the festival team are looking forward to hosting PDM in the heart of Tucson.

“Kennedy Park has such a rich history of having amazing festivals that really stopped a couple years ago. And, so, as people have been hearing about (PDM), they get so excited and they’re like, ‘We’re so happy that the fiestas are coming back to Kennedy Park,’” Dominguez said.

“It’s really a community space, and that’s what it was built for and that’s what it used to be used for, so we’re excited to be able to do that.”

When creating the festival, which attracted around 2,500 attendees last year, the PDM team aimed to create an accessible, equitable environment where one would feel comfortable, accepted and enjoy spending time with others. They made an effort to include a variety of events catering to different parts of the Tucson community.

They also emphasized the importance of cultural relevance, respect and unity.

Dominguez hopes that those who attend the festival are inspired by its display of maíz.

“I would hope that people leave with a sense of pride, a sense of excitement and a sense of reconnection with why maíz is so important in our community, in our culture and here in the Sonoran Desert in our Borderlands,” Dominguez said. “That’s what I would love for people to take away, and to come back next year and be excited for us to do it again.”  

Second Pueblos del Maíz

From Thursday, May 4, to Thursday, May 7, in Downtown Tucson, Mission Garden and Kennedy Park. For more information about the festival’s events, to purchase tickets or RSVP, visit pueblosdelmaiz.com/tucson

This article appears in May 4-10, 2023.