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 By Mari Wadsworth FAMILY GATHERING: Anyone willing to admit their Tucson-transplant status can appreciate this town's idiosyncratic charm: How, for example, is an outsider supposed to intuit that a place on First Avenue might actually mean Euclid; or that Fifth Street jogs into Sixth heading east, and into Saint Mary's Road if you stray too far to the west? A visitor looking for Sentinel Peak, clearly marked on his map, might nonetheless meet a number of confused shrugs from residents, so much a part of the vernacular has its nickname "A" Mountain become. In more ways than one, you won't find your way into the heart of this city using only a road map.
Looking into the Westside: Untold Stories of the People (1900-1997) is a delightful read for newcomers and old-timers alike. The result of a seven-week summer ArtWORKS program administered by the Tucson/Pima Arts Council, the handsome 17-page booklet includes contemporary and historic photos, a pull-out map identifying barrios of the west side, and a personal and anecdotal overview of Tucson history, as told by Hispanic residents old and young, from the street corner to public office.
"The eight youth historians on this project began without much experience with computer, layouts or writing and research skills," the foreword reads, which makes their handsome final product all the more impressive. Created for the Westside Coalition, an umbrella organization for westside neighborhood associations, it not only identifies the various neighborhoods by name (ever heard of barrios Hollywood and Jollyville?), it places them into a geographic and intergenerational context that these talented young writers and artists bring to life. Join teenage authors Hector Heredia, Steven Encinas, Noemy Chavez, Alex Rodriguez, Gabriel Figueroa, Joaquin Islas, Ricky Martinez and Brandon Felix for their first public reading, with selections ranging from the importance of la familia to how each barrio got its name. Vice Mayor José Ibarra and the Southwest Folklore Center's Jim Griffith will also speak at the publication's celebration, which begins at 2 p.m. Saturday, January 24, at Borders Books and Music, 4235 N. Oracle Road. Call 292-1331 for information. At only $5, this slim volume makes a fine addition to any library, especially one likely to be perused by out-of-town guests or local history buffs. ROOT EN ROUTE: Tucson Poet Laureate William Pitt Root pairs beautiful words with beautiful images in a free lecture entitled All Finite Things Reveal Infinitude, a writerly perspective on Ansel Adams' Intimate Nature exhibit, now on display at the UA Center for Creative Photography. This 45-piece show of lesser-known works from the center's vast Adams archive contrasts the photographer's more famous majestic views with equally exquisite close-ups of the natural world's varied forms and textures: the anatomy of leaves, the structure of icicles, the play of sunlight on sand, and rain drops on leaves of grass.
Lecture begins at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 27, in the CCP auditorium,
south end of the pedestrian underpass on Speedway, east of Park
Avenue. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday,
and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Call 621-7968 for
more information.
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© 1995-97 Tucson Weekly . Info Booth |
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The key to the city is its historical anecdotes, both real and
folkloric; and perhaps the richest repository of these cultural
highlights is Tucson's predominantly Hispanic west side.
Highlights include a pictorial guide to religious art (including
the story behind the symbols of the ubiquitous Virgin of Guadalupe),
the definitive history of "A" Mountain, and (our favorite)
"Stories My Nana Told Me."
