City Week

Global Education for Young People

This Friday, 140 students from around the globe will perform at UA's Centennial Hall as they bid farewell to Tucson.

The Up With People show, performed by students in the global exchange program for young adults, promises to be an energizing performance. The goal of the show is to expose audiences to the richness of other cultures though a series of songs and dances.

Up With People, which began in the mid-'60s, is a six-month-long educational program designed to give students firsthand exposure to social, political and economic issues in communities around the world.

Christy Dickhans, a spokesperson for Up With People, said students travel around the globe, going to a new town each week. "In each community, students stay with host families, do volunteer work and get immersed in local issues," Dickhans said. "At the end of each week, they perform for the community, and all the proceeds go to local charities."

The performances are also an opportunity for UWP's diverse student body to share a little information about their own cultures.

"The idea of the performance is to highlight local organizations that are doing good work, as well as highlight different cultures," Dickhans said.

However, this show has added importance, because UWP, now based out of Denver, used to be headquartered in Tucson. UWP has visited 3,600 communities in 38 countries and has included more than 20,000 students from 79 countries--and it all began in Tucson some 40 years ago.

"It's sort of like coming home," Dickhans said.

Entrance to the Up With People show costs $26 for adults, or $15 for children and students. For ticket information, visit uapresents.org. To learn more about Up With People, visit upwithpeople.org. --S.S.

Last Man Out

For 20 years, William Rodriguez worked as a janitor in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. It is believed that he was the last man to ever leave it.

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Rodriguez arrived to work late and was in the subbasement, where the janitor's headquarters were located, when he felt an explosion shake the building. Moments later, he says, co-worker Felipe David, who had been severely burned by flames from the elevator shaft, ran up to him, screaming, "explosion, explosion."

Rodriguez says he then felt the building shutter a second time as the first of two planes that struck the World Trade Center that day hit the building. After helping David out of the building, Rodriguez re-entered three times, saving 15 people's lives. He narrowly escaped the collapsing building by diving underneath a fire truck.

Since that day, Rodriguez has been traveling the world, sharing his harrowing personal story of Sept. 11. Rodriguez was invited to speak by the Tucson chapter of 911 Truth, an organization dedicated to raising public awareness about inaccuracies in the official Sept. 11 report. The group advocates for a criminal investigation that is consistent with all evidence and the laws of physics.

Karen Woerner, a spokesperson for the Tucson chapter of 911 Truth, said Rodriguez's story is a firsthand account that attests to a growing suspicion by some that bombs had been planted in the Twin Towers.

"Rodriquez, however, doesn't make any claims," Woerner said. "He simply tells his story and leaves it up to the public to analyze."

For more information, visit 911truthtucson.org. There is a $5 suggested donation for the event. --S.S.

Artistic Calling

Zoë Boutique's new exhibit, Girls, Girls, Girls, offers for sale mixed-media works, paintings, illustrations and photography from local artists--more specifically, eight of Tucson's best female artists.

Lissa Marinaro, owner of the clothing boutique, is an artist herself; she engages friends and art lovers with a new exhibit every other month.

"At first, I put out a call to artists," Marinaro says about the start of the exhibits at Zo'. "Some artists in this exhibit have shown in the store before, and others (I heard about) by word of mouth."

Marinaro, a painter, says she abandoned her art when she took over the boutique, but she later felt the need to get back into painting; her works are included in the exhibit.

"I just love art," Marinaro says. "It's something I have to do."

Other artists contributing to Girls, Girls Girls! are Elizabeth Albert, Lisa Kanouse, Ivy and Noelle Knipe, Kristy Lynn, Shannon Smith and Monica Weinheimer.

"It's great, because each woman contributed something different. Noelle studied fashion in Florence, and her work reflects the sketches she would do there," Marinaro says. "Shannon is a new parent, and her work reflects family."

Marinaro says that attendees will have the chance to meet each artist at the opening reception and take home a piece of the exhibit, if they desire.

"It will be a fun, relaxed event," Marinaro says.

The opening reception will include a DJ, and the exhibit will run until Sept. 29. For more information, call 740-1201 or visit zoestyle.com. --L.H.

Fiddlin' Master

In her upcoming solo performance, fiddler Sharon Goldwasser plans to introduce music fans to her newly refined knowledge of Irish music.

A member of Tucson's Round the House Irish band, Goldwasser strengthened her understanding and techniques on the fiddle with master fiddler Randal Bays. Goldwasser was able to enjoy an intensive week of private tutorials with Bays in Washington state, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts and a mini-grant from the Tucson Pima Arts Council.

"(Bays) is a fantastic teacher. He is respected in Ireland," Goldwasser says. "In our 1-on-1 instruction, we listened to recordings, discussed techniques and talked about musicians I should listen to."

Goldwasser says that the program allowed her to focus her skills and prepared her for the solo performance. Goldwasser says Bays encouraged her to set up the concert.

"He really took me under his wing," Goldwasser says.

The performance is all-instrumental and will include different types of Irish songs like jigs, reels and airs--many of which she learned from Bays.

"Every tune has a story to tell," Goldwasser says. "There are few opportunities in Irish music in Tucson to get a concert that focuses on one instrument."

Goldwasser says she sets up workshops in Tucson for local musicians through nonprofit organizations like the Tucson Friends of Traditional Music. She hopes to promote and support the understanding of traditional music within the community.

"I have a chance to share stories of music," Goldwasser says.

The performance is free, but a donation to benefit the Tucson Friends of Traditional Music and the San Pedro Chapel is requested. For more information, call 298-3014. --L.H.