Download - Zocalo Magazine - March 2016

Tucson arTs and culTure / ZocaloMaGaZIne.coM / MarcH 2016 / no. 72

Zócalo

March 2016 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 5

On the Cover: “Connection” by Gavin Troy (acrylic, oil pastel on canvas, 60” x 40”) Read about Gavin on page 27.

PUBLISHER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR David Olsen

CONTRIBUTORS Craig Baker, Andrew Brown, Francisco Cantuú, Jefferson Carter, Sara Cline, Jim Lipson, Danny Martin, Troy Martin, Niccole Radhe, Amanda Reed, Herb Stratford, Jeff Weber.

LISTINGS Amanda Reed, [email protected]

PRODUCTION ARTISTS Troy Martin, David Olsen

AD SALES: Kenny Stewart, [email protected]

CONTACT US:[email protected]. Box 1171, Tucson, AZ 85702-1171520.955.ZMAG

SUBSCRIBE to Zocalo at www.zocalomagazine.com/subscriptions.

Zocalo is available free of charge at newsstands in Tucson, limited to one copy per reader. Zocalo may only be distributed by the magazine’s authorized independent contractors. No person may, without prior written permission of the publisher, take more than one copy of each issue. The entire contents of Zocalo Magazine are copyright © 2009-2016 by Media Zoúcalo, LLC. Reproduction of any material in this or any other issue is prohibited without written permission from the publisher. Zocalo is published 11 times per year.

07. Events12. Arts30. Borderland Ghost Towns34. Community39. Poetry41. Film44. Tunes46. Tucson Street Portraits47. Look Back49. Escape

March 2016

inside

Zócalo is an independent, locally owned and printedmagazine that reflects the heart and soul of Tucson.

6 ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com | March 2016

SIGHTLINES

135 South 6th Avenue | P: 520.624.7370 | T-S 11am - 5pm & By Appointment | EthertonGallery.com

MARCH 8 - JUNE 4, 2016 RECEPTION: 7-10 PM, MARCH 12, 2016

Jody Forster Daniel Leivick Dick Arentz


Zevents

MAR 3-6

marchph

oto:

cou

rtes

y of

Bar

rio

Sto

ries

Pro

ject

BARRio StoRieS

Staged outdoors on the grounds of the Tucson Convention Center, this theatrical spectacle brings to life oral histories of Tucson’s original Mexican American neighborhood demolished with the building of the convention center in the 1960s. Precious memories come to life as audience members take a theatrical tour of what used to be the bustling epicenter of commerce and public celebrations for Tucson’s Mexican-American community (some seating is available.) Four vignettes and performance installations encountered throughout the plaza culminate in an interactive post show pachanga – featuring folklorico and mariachi youth ensembles with inter-active art and audio booth for all ages. Barrio Stories takes place March 3-6, 2016, as part of Borderlands’ 30th anniversary season. Complete information at BarrioStories.org

thursday & Friday - March 3 & 4 @10amSaturday & Sunday - March 5 & 6 @ 11am

by award winning playwrights elaine Romero, Virginia Grise, and Martin Zimmerman. Directed by Marc David Pinate.


marchZevents

The Tucson Museum of Art’s Spring Artisans Market features more than 100 juried artisans of finely crafted pottery, glass, jewelry, textiles, fine art, and gift items. The Market will be held Friday through Sunday, March 18 – 20, 2016, from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM in the courtyards, lobby, and plaza of the Tucson Museum of Art at 140 N. Main Avenue, in historic downtown Tucson. Spring Artisans Market and the Museum are free and open to the public during all three days. The Market will include food vendors and live music by the Tucson Kitchen Musicians on Saturday and Sunday, March 19 and 20. There will also be an opportunity to view El Nacimiento, the beloved nativity scene, before it closes for its annual rest on March 20, until it reopens next fall. Housed in La Casa Cordova, the oldest extant adobe in downtown Tucson, El Nacimiento is a wonderland of miniature Mexican village scenes interwoven with scenes from the story of the nativity. “El Nacimiento is a Southwest treasure,” said Chief Curator and Curator of Contemporary and Modern Art and acting Curator of Latin American Art Dr. Julie Sasse. “We are honored to have one of the best known examples of this type of Mexican folk art in the U.S. that illustrates stories from the Bible through village scenes of daily life that incorporate the whole community.”

More information at TucsonMuseumofArt.org or at 520-624-2333.

MAR 18-2026th AnnuAl SPRinG ARtiSAnS MARket

At the tucSon MuSeuM oF ARt


FRi 04 - SAt 05SoutheRn ARiZonA ReSeARch, Science AnD enGineeR-inG FAiR Southern Arizona Research, Science and Engineering Fair invite everyone

to learn about and view over 2,000 research projects from kindergartners to high school

students. Free admission. 8 A.M. to 8 P.M. For more information visit azscitech.com.

Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave.

FRi 04 - Sun 06WilD WeSt SteAMPunk conVention & FeStiVAl 5 Visit a

world of science fiction, fantasy, technology, 19th century industrial steam powered ma-

chinery and now the wild west. Old Tucson Studio hosts America’s first and only Western-

Style Steampunk convention and festival filled with concerts, rides, workshops and more..

For more details on events and tickets visit WildWestCon.com. Old Tucson, 201 S. Kinney Rd.

SAt 05hookinG uP With SeconD city At the Fox Laugh out loud at the

comical sketches made famous from stars such as Tina Fey and Steve Carrell. A show

that has been making people laugh for 55 years. For more information and tickets visit

FoxTucson.com. Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St.

tucSon MuSeuM oF ARt: cRuSh Wine, FooD, ARt GAlA & FunDRAiSeR Splurge for a night at the CRUSH Gala benefiting the Tucson Muse-

um of Art. The event is cocktail attire and includes auctions, a three-course gourmet meal

and music performed by the George Howard Band. Reservations are $225 per person or

$1,800 for a table of eight. Begins at 5 P.M. For more information visit the TucsonMuseu-

mOfArt.orgTucson Museum of Art and Historic Block, 140 N. Main Ave.

Sun 06ARtS & cRAFtS FAiR At cAt MountAin StAtion Listen to live

bluegrass and nibble on snacks while shopping for arts and crafts from local artists.

Free admission. 9A.M. to 2 P.M. For more information visit CatMountainStation.com. Cat

Mountain Station, 2740 S. Kinney Rd.

Sun 06 – FRi 11AZ JAZZ Week The UA school of music hosts its 38th annual AZ Jazz Week with

performances and events such as the UA concert jazz band, Latin jazz and salsa night.

Admission per concert is $5-$10. For more information and tickets visit Music.Arizona.

edu/News-Events. Crowder Hall,1017 E. Olive Rd.

tue 08- SAt 12SPRinG PlAnt SAle 2016 Spring is in the air and the perfect time to

freshen up your lawn with indigenous plants from southern Arizona. The Desert Survivors

Nursery is having a sale on all their plants that attract native birds and insects. 8 A.M. till

5 P.M. Desert Survivors Nursery, 1020 W Starr Pass Blvd.

SAt 122nD SAtuRDAyS Join in on the fun of 2nd Saturdays Downtown. Music, vendors,

food, and performances. Admission is free. 5 P.M. to 10:30 P.M. For more information

visit 2ndSaturdaysDowntown.com. Congress Street, from Toole Ave. to Church Ave.

SAt 12 – Sun 13thunDeR & liGhtninG oVeR ARiZonA AiR ShoW & oPen houSe Experience aerial demonstrations performed by the United States Air Force

Air Demonstration Squadron. Free. 9a.m to 5p.m. Ariel demonstrations begin at 11 a.m.

For more information visit www.dm.af.mil/library/d-mthunderandlightning.asp. Davis-

Monthan Air Force Base, 3180 S. Craycroft Rd, Tucson, AZ 85707

Z events

140 North Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701 (520) 624-2333 · TucsonMuseumofArt.org

26th Annual SPRING ARTISANS MARKET

at the Tucson Museum of Art

The Largest Juried Fine Arts and Crafts Market in Southern ArizonaFRIDAY–SUNDAY, MARCH 18–20, 2016

10:00 AM–5:00 PM Free and open to the public in the

Museum’s courtyards, plaza, and lobbyTucson’s juried market for finely crafted pottery, glass, jewelry, textiles, fine art, and gift items featuring more than 100 of the best artisans across the Southwest. There will also be a host of delicious food trucks and vendors, and live music by the Tucson Kitchen Musicians on Saturday and Sunday.


WA:k PoW WoW Join the Tohono O’odham Nation and other America Indian

tribes for Tucson’s largest gathering of Native American arts, crafts, dancing and food.

Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for children. Parking is $3. For event times and more

information visit the Facebook page www.facebook.com/wakpowwow. Mission San Xavier

del Bac, 1950 W. San Xavier Rd.

8th AnnuAl tucSon FeStiVAl oF BookS The perfect event for

book-lovers with over 350 authors participating in presentations, a literary circus poetry

venue, food and of course lots of books. Free. The event is from 9:30 A.M. till 5:30 P.M.

University of Arizona Mall,1209 E. University Blvd.

Sun 13JeFF DunhAM: PeRFectly unBAlAnceD Laugh all night while

watching the comic/ventriloquist live. Tickets are $46.50. The show begins at 3 P.M.For

tickets and more information visit TucsonArena.com/events. Tucson Convention Center

Arena, 260 S. Church Ave.

29th AnnuAl St. PAtRick’S DAy PARADe & FeStiVAl Enjoy

Live irish music dancers, food and games while liearning about the history and Culture of

Ireland. The festival begins at 10 A.M. and the parade begins at 11 A.M. Or compete in

the festivals 7th Annual Green Isle Mile. For more information visit TucsonStPatricksDay.

com. Downtown, Armory Park.

Sun 13 – Sun 20tucSon WinteR chAMBeR MuSic FeStiVAl Arizona Friends of

Chamber Music present its 23rd annual Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival. Featur-

ing the Pacifica Quartet, Cynthia Phelps, Martin Beaver, Bernadette Harvey and many

more. Tickets begin at $10. For tickets, times and more information visit ArizonaCham-

berMusic.org. Leo Rich Theatre, 260 S. Church Ave.

Mon 14 – Sun 20tucSon conquiStADoReS clASSic Watch the PGA Tour players com-

pete against one another at the Omni Tucson National Resort. General Admission is $29.

For tickets and more information visit ConquistadoresClassic.com. Omni Tucson Nation

al Resort, 2727 W. Club Dr.

thu 17 – Sun 20the hiGh chAPARRAl Reunion Experience the reunion of the cast and

crew from NBC’s 1960s Western series, The High Chaparral, at its filming location. Fans

can visit the Chaparral ranch house and meet the stars of the show. For the entrance fee

pricing and more information visit TheHighChaparralReunion.com. Old Tucson, 201 S.

Kinney Rd.

FRi 18 – Sun 20SPRinG ARtiSAnS MARket Admire the unique work of more than 100

artists and crafters selling their pieces. Enjoy live music and food. Free admission. 10

A.M. to 5 P.M. For more information visit www.tucsonmuseumofart.org/events/artisans-

market1. Tucson Museum of Art, 140 N. Main Ave.

30th AnnuAl tucSon Bicycle clASSic The three-day USA cycling

race features time trials, road races and a circuit race. For admission pricing and more

information visit TucsonBicycleClassic.com. The Riverpark Inn, 350 S. Freeway.

FRi 25 – Sun 27eASteR eGG hunt At ReiD PARk Zoo Join in the fun of an Easter egg

hunt that includes lice animal encounter, crafts and even an appearance from the Easter

Bunny. After finding Easter eggs spend the day at the Zoo. $9 per adult and $8 per child,

tickets should be bought in advance online. 8 A.M. to 9 A.M. For tickets and more infor-

mation visit reidparkzoo.org/events/public/easter-egghunt-2016. Reid Park Zoo,1100 S.

Randolph Way.

Zevents

st. ndrew’sepiscopal church

545 s 5th ave, tucson, az 85701 520.622.8318 • www.standrewstucson.azdiocese.org

You Are Always Welcome Here

Join us for Holy WeekPalm Sunday- March 20 Traditional procession at 8 & 10am

Maundy Thursday- March 24Seder meal at 5:30pm; foot washing and mass at 7pm

Good Friday- March 25Stations of the Cross at 12pm; Tenebrae at 7pm

Holy Saturday- March 26Brahms Requiem at 7pm

Easter Sunday- March 27 Easter Vigil at 5:30am; Easter Eucharist at 10am

Pilates PlusThe Belly Studio

Private Sessions & Group Classes520.339.0344｜2520 E 6th St.｜www.BellyStudio.net


photo by Ed Flores

Artifact dancers claire hancock, Julian Johnson, cindy cantos, Bill Patterson, Alissa Dill.

artsZ


by Herb Stratford

Artifact Dance Goes Back in Time for The Grand ParlorTUCSON’S DANCE WORLD has been blessed with a number of remarkable groups over the past 30 years. We’ve seen companies who have delivered traditional, timeless works like clockwork, as well as groups who have pushed the performance envelope with their content and audience experience. In the art world today, both locally and nationally, collaboration is the key to engaging and entrancing an audience, and the Tucson-based Artifact Dance Project is clearly both an innovator and practitioner par none. The group’s March performance at the Tucson Scottish Rite Cathedral is entitled “The Grand Parlor,” and it has all of Artifact’s signature elements on display in a smorgasbord for the senses.

According to Artifact’s Managing Director and Co-Artistic Director Ashley Bowman, the performance is envisioned as an “Americana Vaudeville” evening of years past. The wide variety of acts, includes modern dance, tap, a contortionist, a little clown work and even homage to Noah’s ark. As with all Artifact Dance performances, music is a key element to the experience. Ben Nisbet has again created the sonic portion of the evening, which will be performed live during the evening. Works include classical standards such as; Saint Saen’s Danse Macabre and Rossini’s Barber of Seville overture along with works by Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Schubert and Gershwin. Musicians for the evening include; Derek Granger, Ken Marrs, Mary Turcotte and Samantha Bounkeua. A ringmaster, Artifact Dance company member dancer Cindy Cantos, will guide the intimate audience on their journey through the evening’s 14 vignettes, which will also feature a short intermission. The show is both family friendly and adult friendly with cocktails available to complete the cabaret experience for those of appropriate age.

Of special note is the location for the “Parlor” performances, in the Tucson Scottish Rite Cathedral’s Grand Parlor. The building, listed on the National Register of Places, recently celebrated its 100th anniversary and is a local landmark that would have hosted events such as this in the past. The local Masonic Order still uses the facility for functions, but recently it has been used more and more by the community for special events, largely due to its vintage character and downtown location. Several of last year’s Tucson Fashion Week runway shows made use of the space very effectively, and the Artifact’s Grand Parlor performances will again transform the space into a unique location for arts performances. With such a wide variety of components to the show, it’s hard for Bowman to pick a favorite section. One has to imagine that the entire presentation of a modern dance company’s interpretation of the American Vaudeville performance style in a century-old building, will be something to remember for a long time. This is sure to be one of the performing arts seasons highlights. n

The Grand Parlor, by Artifact Dance Project takes place March 18-19-20 at the Tucson Scottish Rite Cathedral, located at 160 S. Scott Ave. Tickets are $25 or $20 for students and are available in advance or at the door.

photo by Ed Flores

Artifact dancer Alissa Dill.

arts Z

A Fusion of Afro-Cuban musicand Contemporary JazzAlbert-George Schram, conductor

Saturday, March 12, 8pm • Sunday, March 13, 2pmA fascinating journey through the music of Latin America and the U.S. From the sultry melancholy of Astor Piazzola and the burning Afro-Cuban jazz of Tito Puente, to the rhythmic playfulness of jazz great Dave Brubeck and the pop strains of The Beatles, Mambo Kings will be your guide on a Latin jazz tour of the Pan American experience.

See and hear more at www.mambokingdom.com

The Music of Led Zeppelin: A Rock SymphonyFriday, March 25, 8pmSome of the greatest songs in rock and roll, an incredible light show and the Tucson Symphony Orchestra! Led Zeppelin’s sheer blast and power, riff for riff, with new musical colors added by the full TSO. Classics like “Whole Lotta Love” “Immigrant Song,” “Dancin’ Days” and the iconic “Stairway to Heaven” plus “Kashmir,” “All My Love” and more favorites that featured orchestral instrumentation. Come ready to be amazed and dazed but not confused!

Andrew Grams, conductorAnya Matanovic, sopranoEric Neuville, tenorCharles Wesley Evans, baritoneTSO Chorus, Bruce Chamberlain, directorTucson Arizona Boys ChorusOrff: Carmina Burana

Friday, March 18, 8pmSunday, March 20, 2pm

PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS TODAY! | 520.882.8585 | TUCSONSYMPHONY.ORG

Friday, March 18, 5:30pmBorderlands Brewing Companycall 620-9159 for more details.

at Tucson Music Hall


artsZ

Zodiac heads, Gold Monkey, by Ai Weiwei


Ai Weiwei’s Dazzling Political & Cultural Zodiac Hits the TMA

THE ART WORLD has been in love for some time with Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, thanks to a fabulous 2012 documentary (Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry), his stunning “bird’s nest” Olympic stadium design and countless exhibitions around the globe, such as the recent installation at Alcatraz prison. Weiwei is not just the latest flavor in the art world, he is a genuine genre-busting genius who frankly has few, if any peers in contemporary art. Weiwei is somewhat less appreciated for his brilliant takes on culture, history, appropriation, world politics and the interplay of each of these things with each other. His Circle of Animals/ Zodiac Heads: Gold at the Tucson Museum of Art, is both beautiful and a profound statement about so much more than beauty.

On display in the lower reaches of the main galleries at the museum, the work is a semi-circle composed of 12 oversized animal heads made of gold-gilded bronze set on wooden pedestals. The work, from 2010, depicts the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, which includes; a snake, dragon, bear, horse, dog and others. While the sculptures are exquisite to look at, with lifelike details including human characteristics in some of the heads, it is really the back-story that makes this a powerful piece of artwork.

The series, his first major public sculpture project, has been on tour in two formats; bronze, and in gold, since 2011. While the work will also appear in Phoenix later this year, Tucsonans get to see it first as it will be on display through June 26. Previous stops of the tour read like a who’s who of destinations including; the Tuileries Garden at the Louvre, the Hirshorn in DC, the LA County Museum, Cleveland Museum, The Adler Planetarium in Chicago and also stops in London and Brazil.

The original heads in the piece were part of the famed water clock fountain at the imperial retreat in Beijing, China and were designed by the Italian Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione. The palace, elaborate gardens and fountain were destroyed in 1860 by British troops during the second Opium war, and looted as an act of revenge by Lord Elgin who also looted the Acropolis in Athens. Just seven of the twelve heads survived, and when they surface outside of the country at auction, they are a sore point as many Chinese believe they belong in China and not in the west. Weiwei thinks otherwise, and his interpretation of the work, as an oversized commentary, includes his own versions of the five lost heads, and his work speaks to questions of power, cultural appropriation, art and world history.

Ironically, Weiwei’s outspoken criticism of his home country, which gets him in trouble on a regular basis, is a direct result of the Chinese government’s treatment of his family that started when he was just a small child. His father, a renowned poet, was exiled for decades and as soon as Weiwei was able to travel to the west, he did. He landed in New York City at the perfect moment of time to hone his artistic and activist skills, arriving on the international art scene in 1999. He then found even more international acclaim due to his work on the Olympic stadium in 2008 with the Swiss architects Herzog and De Meruon. But

things went south in 2008 when Weiwei created an artwork criticizing the government after the devastating earthquake that caused the collapse of 7,000 schools. This led to his being beaten by the police and his eventual incarnation for trumped up tax evasion charges. Weiwei was eventually freed and allowed to leave China and currently resides in Berlin, Germany where he teaches and continues to create work that is both beautiful and thought provoking.

Two of the missing original five heads in the series, the dragon and ram, were recreated and re-visioned by Weiwei based upon period research of similar artwork during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasty (1644-1911). The other three “new” heads of the rooster, dog and snake, were made after real life observation of the animals and have a slightly modern feel to them, which brings the work into a contemporary frame of mind. In addition the scale, and elaborate presentation in gold turns the original, smaller water fountain nature of the historic work on its end. Weiwei has taken something that was originally opulent and quite frankly multi-ethnic,

with its European design and Asian history, and made it grossly obese and garish for the modern global world.

This is an important and thoughtful work of art by one of the world’s most important living artists that really needs to be seen in person. Do yourself a favor and spend some time with the installation, as it is presented in a way that you can walk around each head and really examine them, but also keep in mind the tortured history that they represent and the role artists take in communicating messages across time. n

Ai Weiwei: Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads: Gold is on display at the Tucson Museum of Art, located at 140 North Main Ave. through June 26. TucsonMuseumofArt.org

by Herb Stratford

arts Z


BUZZ ISAACSON 520.323.5151

145 S. 6TH AVENUEICONIC DOWNTOWN BUILDING


ARiZonA hiStoRy MuSeuM Above and Beyond: Arizona and the Medal of

Honor is on view through May. Hours: Mon & Fri 9am-6pm; Tues-Thurs 9am-4pm; Sat &

Sun 11am-4pm. 949 E. 2nd Street. 520-628-5774. ArizonaHistoricalSociety.org

ARiZonA StAte MuSeuM First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare is

on view Feb 15th to Mar 15th. Intimacy of Faith, featuring retables and ex-votos from the

Gloria Fraser Giffords and the Giffords family on view through May 2016. Hours: Mon-Sat

10am-5pm. 520-621-6302. 1013 E. University Blvd. StateMuseum.Arizona.Edu

BAkeR + heSSelDenZ Fine ARt Skulls: Photographs by Francois Robert

and Cedric Delsaux: Dark Lens are open until Mar 26th. Hours: Tues-Fri 11am-4pm, Sat

10am-2pm or by appointment. 100 E. 6th St. 520-760-0037. BakerHesseldenz.com

centeR FoR cReAtiVe PhotoGRAPhy The Lives of Pictures: Forty

Years of Collecting at the Center for Creative Photography is on view to May 14th. Hours:

Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat-Sun 1-4pm. 1030 N. Olive Rd. 520-621-7968. CreativePhotog-

raphy.org

contReRAS GAlleRy Father and Son Art Show with Frank Rose and Owen

Rose is on view from Mar 5th to 26th with an opening reception on Mar 5th from 6-9pm.

Hours: Weds-Sat 10am-4pm. 110 E. 6th St. 520-398-6557. ContrerasHouseFineArt.

com

DAViS DoMinGueZ GAlleRy Paintings by Mike Stack, paintings and col-

lage by David Pennington and sculpture by David Mazza is on view from Mar 4th to

Mar 23rd. Hours: Tues-Fri 11am-5pm; Sat 11am-4pm. 154 E. 6th St. 520-629-9759.

DavisDominguez.com

DeGRAZiA GAlleRy in the Sun DeGrazia After Dark featuring nocturnal

paintings by Ted DeGrazia and The Way of the Cross are on view to Aug 24th. In the

Little Gallery Priya Lin, Charcoal and Petals is on view Mar 6th to 18th and Carol Signore,

Gourds is on view Mar 20th to Apr 1st. Hours: 10am-4pm daily. 6300 N. Swan Rd. 520-

299-9191. DeGrazia.org

DeSeRt ARtiSAnS GAlleRy Color Crush featuring Sharon Bertrand, Le

Craven, Nancy Cressler, Tad Lamb, Judith Probst and Dikki Van Helsland continue to

May 1st. Trunk Show: Le Craven is on Mar 5th from 10am to 1pm. Hours: Mon-Sat

10am-5pm; Sun 10am-1:30pm. 6536 E. Tanque Verde Rd. 520-722-4412. DesertArti-

sansGallery.com

DRAWinG StuDio The Colored Pencil Way: Works in colored pencil by Leslie

Hawes is on view Mar 5th to Apr 3rd with an opening reception on Mar 5th from 6-9pm.

Free colored pencil demonstration on Mar 12th from 1-4pm. 2760 N. Tucson Blvd. 520-

620-0947. TheDrawingStudiotds.org

etheRton GAlleRy Sightlines featuring works by Dick Arentz, Jody Forster

and Daniel Leivick runs Mar 8th to Jun 4th with an opening reception on Mar 12th from

7-10pm. Hours: Tues-Sat 11am-5pm. 135 S. 6th Ave. 520-624-7370. EthertonGallery.

com

iRonWooD GAlleRy Society of Animal Artists: Art and the Animal a flagship

exhibition of The Society of Animal Artists is on view to Apr 3rd. Hours: Daily 10am-4pm.

2021 N. Kinney Rd. 520-883-3024. DesertMuseum.org

JoSePh GRoSS GAlleRy Wynne Neilly: Female to “Male” is on view Jan 21st

to Apr 8th. Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-5pm. 1031 N. Olive Rd. 520-626-4215. CFA.arizona.

edu/galleries

MADARAS GAlleRy Annual Spring Open House and First-Ever All Artist Show is

on Mar 4th from 4-7pm. 3001 E. Skyline Dr. 520-615-3001. Madaras.com

MeRci GAlleRy Paris Illuminated by Amanda Rockafellow is on view until Mar

30th. 630 E. 9th St. 520-623-2114. MerciGallery.com

art galleries & exhibitsZ


art galleries & exhibits Z

Mini tiMe MAchine Feel Big Live Small is on view to Apr 17th and Miniature

Military Figures by Joe Seibold will be on view through the end of 2016. Hours: Tues-Sat

9am-4pm and Sun 12-4pm. 4455 E. Camp Lowell Dr. 520-881-0606. TheMiniTimeMa-

chine.org

Moen MASon GAlleRy See website for details. Hours: Thurs-Sun 12-5pm.

222 E. 6th St. 520-262-3806. MoenMasonGallery.com

MuSeuM oF conteMPoRARy ARt Max Estenger, 1991-2016 and Nicole

Miller, Every Word Said: History Lessons from Athens and Tucson and For All, Selections

From the Arts for All Archive are all on view through May 29th. $5 MOCA members, $15

non-members. Hours: Weds-Sun 12-5pm. 265 S. Church Ave. 520-624-5019. MOCA-

Tucson.org

PhilABAuM GlASS GAlleRy & StuDio California Dreamin’ featuring

works by Mark Abildgaard, Bob & Laurie Kliss, Nick Nourot and Rick Satava is on view to

May 28th. Hours: Tues-Sat 10am-5pm. 711 S. 6th Ave. 520-884-7404. PhilabaumGlass.

com

PoRteR hAll GAlleRy Nina Duckett & Lisa Kanouse is on view Mar 1st to

31st with an opening reception Mar 10th from 5-7pm. Hours: Daily 8:30am-4:30pm.

2150 N. Alvernon Way. 520-326-9686. TucsonBotanical.org

SettleRS WeSt GAlleRy See website for details. Hours: Tues-Sat 10am-

5pm. 6420 N. Campbell Ave. 520-299-2607. SettlersWest.com.

SoutheRn ARiZonA WAteRcoloR GuilD Fiesta Sonora Show and

March Workshop Wall Gallery Exhibit are on view Mar 8th to Apr 3rd with an opening

reception on Mar 17th from 5-7pm. Hours: Tues-Sun 11am-4pm. Williams Centre 5420

East Broadway Blvd #240. 520-299-7294. SouthernAzWatercolorGuild.com

tucSon MuSeuM oF ARt Ai Weiwei: Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads: Gold

is on view to June 26th. Into the Night: Modern and Contemporary Art and the Nocturne

Tradition is on view to July 10th. Continuing exhibitions include: Big Skies/Hidden Stories:

Ellen Wagener Pastels; Waterflow: Under the Colorado River Photographs by Kathleen

Velo; String Theory: Contemporary Art and the Fiber Legacy. El Nacimiento closes on Mar

20th. Hours: Tues-Wed & Fri-Sat 10am-5pm; Thurs 10am-8pm; Sun 12-5pm. 140 N.

Main Ave. 520-624-2333. TucsonMuseumofArt.org

tucSon PAStel Society Southwest Inspiration is on view until Mar 13th and

Mesch, Clark and Rothschild Show, Tucson Way of Thinking is on view until Apr 28th. E.

River Rd. 520-615-5365. TucsonPastelSociety.org

uA MuSeuM oF ARt Modern Myth, showcasing 19th and 20th century repre-

sentations of mythological stories from the museum’s permanent collection is open until

May 1st. Continuing exhibitions include: Blake Little: Photographs From the Gay Rodeo

on view to Mar 6th and Fires of Change is on view to April 3rd. Hours: Tues-Fri 9am-5pm;

Sat-Sun 12-4pm. 1031 N. Olive Rd. 520-621-7567. ArtMuseum.Arizona.Edu

uA PoetRy centeR Everything’s Saying: With My Hands I Hear My Eyes, New

Works by Crane Giamo is on view until Apr 23rd. Hours: Mon & Thurs 9am-8pm; Tues,

Weds, Fri 9am-5pm. 1508 E. Helen St. 520-626-3765. Poetry.Arizona.Edu

Wee GAlleRy “Big Art” Titus Castanza is on view Mar 5th – 27th with an opening

reception on Mar 5th from 6-11pm. Hours: Thurs-Sat 11am-6pm; Sun 11am-5pm. 439

N. 6th Ave, Suite #171. 520-360-6024. GalleryWee.com

WilDe MeyeR GAlleRy Prime Time is on view from Mar 3rd to Apr 2nd with

an opening reception on Mar 3rd from 5-7pm. Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-5:30pm; Thurs

10am-7pm; Sat 10am-6pm; Sun 12-5pm. 3001 E. Skyline Dr. 520-615-5222, Wilde-

Meyer.com

WoMAnkRAFt ARt GAlleRy Art from the Heart is on view until Mar 26th.

Hours: Weds-Sat 1-5pm. 388 S. Stone Ave. 520-629-9976. WomanKraft.org

Right to left: untitleD, oil on linen by Mike Stack; teMPoRARy ARt (detail), collage by David Pennington; AhMkiq, mild and stainless steel by David Mazza, all showing at Davis Dominguez Gallery.


ARt.iF.Act The Grand Parlor, March 18-20, Scottish Rite Cathedral, 160 South Scott

Ave., ArtIfActDanceProject.com

ARiZonA FRienDS oF chAMBeR MuSic Winter Chamber Music Fes-

tival, March 13-20, TCC Leo Rich Theatre, 260 S. Church Ave. 577-3769, ArizonaCh-

amberMusic.org

ARiZonA oPeRA Don Giovanni, March 5 & 6, TCC Music Hall, 293-4336, AZOp-

era.com

ARiZonA theAtRe coMPAny Of Mice and Men, March 5-26, Temple of

Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave. 884-8210, ArizonaTheatre.org

BAllet tucSon Spring Concert - Dance and Dessert 2016, March 18-19-20,

Stevie Eller Dance Theatre, University of Arizona, 1737 E. University Blvd. 903-1445,

BalletTucson.org

BeRGeR PeRFoRMinG ARtS centeR Old Blind Dogs, March 26, 1200

W. Speedway Blvd. BergerCenter.com

BlAck cheRRy BuRleSque March 4, Surly Wench Pub, 424 N. 4th Ave.

882-0009, TucsonBurlesque.com

Bro

ad-b

illed

illlu

stra

tion

byG

eorg

e W

est

hummingbirdmarket.comMade in Tucson

• The Magic Garden• Santa Rita Lodge• Tohono Chul• Tucson Estates Hardware • Vista Feed & Supply• Western Nation Parks Assoc• The • The Wild Bird Store• Wild Birds Unlimited

• Ace Hardware• Civano Nursery• Green Things• Harlow Gardens• Mesquite Valley Growers• OK Feed & Supply• • Old Town Artisans • Picture Rocks Hardware

available in tucson at:

The Finest Hummingbird Nectarhummingbirdmarket.com

uA Presents habib koite and Acoustic Africa, March 24.

photo: Kálm

ándy D P

écs

designer jewelry & art

553 N. 4th AVE. (520) 390-2602Spring SaleEvon Perez R

performancesZ


BoRDeRlAnDS theAteR Barrio Stories, March 3-6, TCC Plaza

BRoADWAy in tucSon 42nd Street, March 30 – April 3, UA Centennial Hall.

903-2929, BroadwayInTucson.com

cARniVAl oF illuSion March 26, Lodge on the Desert, 306 N. Alvernon Way,

Tucson, AZ 85711, CarnivalOfIllusion.com 615-5299

Fox theAtRe Joe Satriani, March 2, Keb’ ‘Mo, March 3, Peter Frampton, March 9,

David Crosby, March 25, Alan Parsons Live Project, March 27,17 W. Congress St. 624-

1515, FoxTucsonTheatre.org

the GASliGht theAtRe The Cisco Kid, Through March 27, Rise of the Sheik,

March 31 – June 5, 7010 E. Broadway Blvd. 886-9428, TheGaslightTheatre.com

inViSiBle theAtRe Ethel Merman’s Broadway, March 5 & 6, at the Berger

Center for the Performing Arts, 1200 W. Speedway Blvd. Let’s Live a Little, March 10-13,

at IT 1400 North 1st Ave. , 882-9721, InvisibleTheatre.com

liVe theAtRe WoRkShoP 5317 The True Stories of the So-Called Big Bad

Wolves, Through March 13, E. Speedway Blvd. 327-4242, LiveTheatreWorkshop.org

not BuRnt out JuSt unScReWeD Every Friday and Saturday at

7:30pm, 3244 E Speedway Blvd 861-2986, UnscrewedComedy.com

oDySSey StoRytellinG SeRieS Strange, March 3, 7:00pm, The Screen-

ing Room, 127 East Congress, 730-4112, OdysseyStorytelling.com

Pcc theAtRe ARtS Crazy For You, Through March 6, 2202 W. Anklam Rd.

206-6670, Pima.edu/cfa

the RoGue theAtRe Miss Julie, through March 13, 738 N. 5th Ave. 551-

2053, TheRogueTheatre.org

SeA oF GlASS DeGrazia Spanish Guitar Band, March 5, The Crystal Trio, March

11, Makana, March 16, Temanos Quartet, March 26, 330 East 7th St.

SoutheRn ARiZonA tRAnSPoRtAtion MuSeuM Silver Spike

Festival, March 19, Downtown Depot, 414 North Toole Ave.

tucSon SyMPhony oRcheStRA Mendelssohn’s Reformation, March 5

& 6, Catalina Foothills High School Auditorium, Mambo Kings, March 12 & 13, Carmina

Burana, March 18 & 20, Music of Led Zeppelin, March 25, TCC’s Music Hall, 260 S.

Church Ave. 882-8585, TucsonSymphony.org

uA’S ARiZonA RePeRtoRy theAtRe The Tempest, March 6 – April 3,

Tornabene Theatre, 1025 N. Olive Rd. 621-1162, web.cfa.arizona.edu/theatre

uA PReSentS Dublin Guitar Quartet, March 2, PilobolusDance Theatre, March 6,

Igudesman & Joo, March 23, Acoustic Africa, March 24, Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage,

March 28, Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. 621-3341, UAPresents.org

performances Z

odyssey Storytelling Series presents “Strange” curated by Simon Donovan,thursday, March 3.

THE

CornerstoneOF OUR COMMUNITY

ApplyNowAZ.com520.809.90005210 E. Williams Circle, Suite 700 | Tucson, Arizona 85711 | BRANCH NMLS 1409545 | AZ BK 0908763Not a commitment to lend. Borrower must meet qualification criteria. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Cornerstone exists to make a positive difference in your life. We’re dedicated

to serving our community with honest mortgage guidance and trusted service.

We also give back a portion of our revenue from every loan closed to

the Arizona Charities Foundation, which supports local causes such

as Arizona Cancer Kids and Special Kids-Special Needs. When

you choose trusted, local mortgage services at competitive rates

and fees committed to the goal of closing on time, every time,

and can bring joy to the life of a child in need, everyone wins!

AT CORNERSTONE, WE’RE SIMPLY ENERGIZED BY HELPING OTHERS. LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN HELP YOU.

Courtney WalkerSenior Loan Officer | NMLS 172991

Steve lemmonsSenior Loan Officer | NMLS 270866

Steve WalkerBranch Manager/Loan Officer

NMLS 825604

Olivia CulverLoan Officer | NMLS 1240126

artsZ

Gavin troy in his studio


FOR TUCSON ARTIST Gavin Troy, the act of creating art isn’t so far removed from skateboarding, which was—and still remains—his first love. “It parallels skateboarding in a lot of ways,” says the 48 year-old Troy. “The best part of skateboarding was always entering into the unknown, or creating something from nothing, and I think that’s still happening in my work now,” he says.

Troy grew up skateboarding with his friends throughout junior high and high school in Tempe, Arizona, during a sort of revival period for the sport which was sparked by the invention of urethane wheels in the 1970s. The increasingly maneuverable boards gave skaters the ability to carve and expanded the arsenal of tricks one could perform on a board. Still, at least in Phoenix, Troy says it still wasn’t what he’d call a popular pastime. “There was kind of a wave there for a little bit in the vertical skate scene,” says Troy, “but it hadn’t really hit the mainstream yet.” As a result of this minor boom, private skate parks opened up across the US in the late 70s. The ride was short-lived, though, as most of these parks closed in the very early 80s for liability and insurance reasons, leaving skaters to find their own means of expression. When the parks closed, Troy and his pals went guerilla with their efforts.

“It was very underground,” says Troy, “very DIY, though we didn’t have that term yet. But it was all about making things on your own—we just made do with what we could find.” Troy says that he and his friends began skating in empty pools and building their own ramps with the help of blue prints provided by skate zines like Thrasher. And they got good at it. Good enough, anyway, for Troy to receive his first sponsorships from Gullwing Trucks and G&S skateboards during his senior year of high school.

From there, Troy began making rounds on the competition circuit as a sponsored amateur. But sidelined by a broken ankle while attending Mesa Community College, he turned his attention to other passions. He started his own zine at that time, began printing t-shirts, and signed on as a contributing photographer with Transworld Magazine, all of which he says helped him to fund his travels around the southwest. Then, another shift in the skateboarding industry several years later finally pushed Troy out of the professional skating arena altogether. “Vert skating kind of died,” explains Troy, “and a whole new generation came up; kind of a new street generation.”

Troy says he tried to keep up with the trends and adjust his style of skating to fit the constantly-changing industry mold but ultimately felt like the pressure to perform was taking the fun out of the sport for him. “I kind of went underground from that scene and just started skating as a soul sport for myself,” he says. He let his sponsorships lapse, quit competing, and made his transition to art by attending ASU, where he ultimately received a degree in mixed media. Intimidated by the department’s focus on realism, it wasn’t until nearly the end of his college career that he first picked up a paintbrush. And, says Troy, it was about another year after graduation that he “just let go” and he says “the work just started coming out after that.”

He calls his preferred method “stream-of-consciousness painting,” and says that, often times, it’s like he is “being shown something” as opposed to trying to create a particular image. “There are times where I may have a specific thing in my mind,” says Troy, “but then things shift and show me something new while I’m working on a piece.” Thus, he says it can be difficult to ‘turn it on’ at will and for that reason prefers more of a freeform approach while working in his studio, often jumping between multiple projects during the course of a single day.

“It’s a very timeless experience to come into this space and just kind of let go; to work on things and just see what starts to happen,” says Troy, adding that “it’s the same as if I was skating and taking a run in a pool or something—you’re getting creative with the line as your riding in a bowl, and the same kind of things can happen here in the studio, either on the canvas or on wood, or just moving around in the studio and working on different things.”

And, oddly enough, this mindset reveals itself in his work, which presents with a mixture of amoebic geometric patterns that express a careful-yet-erratic balance between smooth curves and sharp angles, alongside images of landscapes or village scenes that ride that line which separates the ethereal from the concrete. He shapes wood into abstract three-dimensional collages, uses bright sunset-hued acrylics to craft scenes of warped barrios and mountains, and harkens back to his original passion by shaping and painting one-of-a-kind skateboards by hand. And though he keeps a steady stream of work moving out of his studio space, his minimal approach to marketing means that this process makes up only a small portion of his income, which he supplements by

teaching private students and running classes at the Tucson Museum of Art.

Troy says that, after moving to Tucson to immerse himself in the art scene in 1998, he considered going back to school for a graduate degree at the UA, but he felt as though the payoff for his investment would be less than what has come to him simply by following his bliss. A chance encounter with his neighbor, permaculture expert Brad Lancaster, led to Troy’s first job in town working with local high school students to paint a mural in a community garden. “Moving here was like graduate school for me in a lot of ways,” he says, adding that he feels like he has more-or-less earned a Master’s in “survival of the artist in a community” just by living from day-to-day on an artist’s income since then.

Much like his attitude toward skateboarding, Troy’s definition of success has never been one measured solely by financial gain, though he admits that he’s ramped up production since the birth of his son in 2011. Aside from keeping an eye on providing

for that particular new addition to his life, Troy’s fixation on art has always been more about his own personal dialog with his subconscious. “This work is super healing for me because it’s showing me something that I can experience in a physical way, but it’s coming from a source that’s within myself,” says Troy.

He says the greatest reward he’s experienced as an artist is hearing from people that his work has connected to them in some way similar to how it affects him; to know that his work is helping to brighten a public space, a living room, or even just one person’s attitude is enough to motivate him to keep producing. “Painting could be a selfish act or it could be a selfless act, and so I just try to make it more about not being here and just letting it come through as much as I can, and then sharing that with other people.” And in that respect—though he tends to adopt something of a role of the outsider quietly looking in—Troy is no doubt one of the most successful artists living and working in Tucson today. n

You can find Gavin Troy’s artwork in the Citizens Art Studios (by appointment only or during scheduled Open Studio Tours), at 44 W 6th St; at Sky Bar; Solar Culture; or at etsy.com/shop/gavintroy. And look for an exhibit of his work in the Hotel Congress lobby in June.

Soul Sk8er & CreatorBy Craig Baker

arts Z

troy skating a backyard ramp around 1987.


exchange tomorrowbuy * sell*trade

exchangeexchangeexchangeexchangeexchangeexchangeexchangeexchangeexchange tomorrowtomorrowtomorrowtomorrowtomorrowtomorrowtomorrowtomorrowtomorrowtomorrowtomorrowtomorrowtomorrowtomorrowtomorrowtomorrowtomorrowtomorrowtomorrowtomorrowbuy*sell*trade

exchange tomorrowbuy * sell*trade

Near UA: 2001 E. Speedway • 795-0508Eastside: 6212 E. Speedway • 885-8392Buff alo Outlet in Nogales, AZ: 441 N. Grand Av. • 520-287-9241Buff aloExchange.com

Shop Eat Play Stay

2740 S. Kinney Road. Tucson, AZ 520-578-4272 CatMountainStation.com

Enjoy the Unique Tucson Lifestyle in a Vintage Ranch Setting.

Cat Mountain LodgeThe Courtyard

Coyote Pause CafeBuffalo Trading Post


Z borderlandghosttowns


isitors to Pearce can be kept abreast of local happenings by thumbing through a copy of the monthly Ghost Town Trail News, available for fifty cents at nearby gas stations and the town’s few remaining retailers—the Pearce Mercantile, Old Pearce Pottery, the Goat Milk Soap Shop, The Prickly Pear Emporium. The newspaper’s editors

are not named—it has no website, no official masthead—just a P.O. Box and an email address. Nevertheless, the paper’s existence serves as a reminder that Pearce and the adjacent communities that make up Cochise County’s “ghost town trail” still bear signs of life.

The pages of the Ghost Town Trail News are filled with small stories, letters, and advertisements that gesture quietly at the nature of life in this once prosperous region: a shade canopy is erected over a community playground, a youth pastor discovers a smoldering brush fire, Betty Curtis and Melanie Pope host a Ladies’ Champagne Luncheon, sandhill cranes gather once again across the Sulphur Springs Valley. The most striking feature of the News, however, is the obituaries page, where the community continues to memorialize its dead after nearly a century of decline.

“Mina Lourella (Hurley) Derrick was called home on December 24th, 2014 to reunite with her husband, sons, parents, siblings, and grandchildren. Mina was pre-deceased in 1987 by her husband, Britton Forrest Derrick. She was also pre-deceased by her sons…two granddaughters…her parents…three brothers…three sisters…” It is hard to read of Mina’s passing and not imagine her resilience, her ability to endure what seems like a lifetime of loss played out upon a landscape of abandonment.

Can a place be considered a ghost town if it possesses a functioning newspaper, if it still has the means to commemorate its dead? According to Philip Varney, author of Arizona Ghost Towns and Mining Camps, a ghost town can be defined as having two characteristics: “The population has decreased markedly, and the initial reason for its settlement (such as a mine or a railroad) no longer keeps people in the community.” Varney asserts that ghost towns are not just ruined places of complete desertion, as we most commonly think of them, but also communities that still boast residents or even places that show “genuine signs of vitality.”

The Pearce Mercantile, a two-story adobe building erected on Main Street in 1894, still stands as the town’s most recognizable landmark and occasional

gathering place despite being mostly closed to business for many years. The “Old Store,” as it is better known, was the subject of a letter from the editor published over a year ago, in the December 2014 edition of the News. “The weekend following Thanksgiving” writes the anonymous editor, “was over the top…Folks from all over came in to find a treasure, memory, gift to take home. Music played in the background and the old store truly was a store once again.” The editor paints the picture of a place suddenly and unexpectedly come to life, a scene of such genuine vitality that it causes them to be overwhelmed by emotion. “There were times,” the editor admits, “when I had to look away as something that pulled at my heart went toward the front door.”

It is said that the miner Jimmie Pearce, the town’s namesake founder, first came to the Sulphur Springs Valley in the late 1800s to find peace in the great outdoors, to escape the grim bustle of Tombstone in twilight of its boom

years. He did not come to strike gold, did not hope to re-enter the mining business by establishing the Commonwealth Mine, did not plan to erect a town that would swell to more than 1,500 residents. It seems appropriate, then, that Pearce has again become a quiet place. Perhaps there is something in this pocket of Cochise County that will always resist a sustained flourishing of population. But there is also an essential trait shared by all those who settle here that will forever push back against the prospect of

being forgotten.At the edge of Pearce, the town cemetery contains a diverse assortment of

grave sites, from unadorned headstones and wooden crosses to plots ringed by live agave and rose quartz. Inscriptions are in both English and Spanish, and headstones offer up small reminders of the irrepressible spirit of community residents. Angelita L. Mendoza, reads one headstone, 21 May 1924–13 Aug. 1925, Pearce Arizona. Next to it, an identical headstone with the following inscription: Maria del Carmen R. Mendoza, hija de Andres Mendoza y Rita Mendoza, nació en Elfrida Arizona el 16 de Julio 1928, dejó de existir el 7 de Septiembre de 1928. It is almost as if the Mendoza family, having already been abandoned by their first born, could not suffer further desertion without comment, as if they are somehow imploring us to acknowledge their loss nearly a century after its occurrence: Maria del Carmen was born, they will have us know, and then, two months later, ceased to exist. n

V

Zborderlandghosttowns

PEARCEThis is the latest installment of Borderland Ghost Towns, an ongoing series which

pairs architectural illustration by Danny Martin with short essays by Francisco Cantú

by Francisco Cantú / illustrations by Danny Martin

Funded by Silver City Lodger’s Tax

VisitSilverCity.org

Many enjoy it. Some brave it.

Continental Divide Trail


i

Z community

t’s no secret that Tucson has long struggled with how to get a handle on the issue of local homelessness. An estimated 2110 people in Tucson were suffering from homelessness in 2014, as determined by a manual count performed by the Mayor and a crew of volunteers. In 2013, that number was closer to 5800 and, this year, the Mayor says his count was down to about 574. Mayor Rothschild says, for reference, that the annual “Gem Show is often the high mark for (homeless activity),” but that the show, which ended last

month, was “relatively quiet” this year. It’s unclear, though, what role the “Homeless Ordinance,” enacted earlier this year, played in those figures or the level of related activity during the show.

by Craig Baker

Could Tucson Really Solve Its Homeless

‘Problem’?


Zcommunity

Critics of the annual count point out that it is taken in the peak of winter, when many homeless individuals tend to hunker down for warmth. Others say that, since many people living on the streets or in the deserts surrounding Pima County make a habit of keeping themselves scarce, those numbers are inherently flawed. And since the city and county seem to have been systematically sweeping local parks and encampments clear of homeless persons as of late, it may simply be the case that those left just prefer to stay out of the way.

The current struggle to manage the destitute masses all began in October 2011 when the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement found a home in Tucson. After being forced from several parks, protestors finally settled in Veinte de Agosto Park downtown in October 2013. Residents began setting up so-called “Dream Pods”—wooden boxes intended as makeshift homeless shelters—on the sidewalks in January 2014, and those were removed by the city in March due to public health concerns. There was talk of a ban on “urban camping,” then a Ninth Circuit appeal in favor of the campers and, ultimately, Veinte de Agosto—dubbed “Safe Park”—was closed outright in June. That same month, the city also allowed a 90-day contract with local church, City Central Assembly, to lapse, resulting in the closure of an associated low-demand shelter, which sent an additional five-dozen men back out on the streets.

Of course, the interface between homeless individuals and local authorities didn’t end there. In fact, the problem more-or-less moved about two-and-a-half miles east to Jacome Plaza—the area in front of the Main Branch of the Pima County Library. Business owners complained about the continued aggregation of the un-housed and, come December 2015, an ordinance was passed by the Mayor and Council which limited the belongings of a person living on the streets to four cubic feet, restricted them to spending nights on sidewalks whilst maintaining five feet of open space, and required groups or individuals to apply for a permit to feed more than ten people in public. That same month, Pima County also began closing down homeless encampments in the surrounding deserts. By January, more than twenty such camps had been closed, some of which had existed for ten years or more.

Pastor Tom Hill is the founder of the unconventional Workship (a combination of “Work” and “worship”) Church. Sort of a “homeless” organization itself, the church has no physical location, accepts no monetary donations, and has held its weekly services every Sunday since 2000 at the historic Z Mansion downtown. With minimal preaching and no sermon to speak of, Hill and his congregants feed somewhere on the order of 300 people-in-need at each event. There is also a clothing bank, an onsite health clinic and, of course, loud music in the background. Really, the scene has more the air of a party than that of a soup kitchen.

Hill says it was clear early on the way things would go down. “We knew going in to all the discussions they were going to pass (the ordinance),” says Hill, “…so all of the lead-up to it was theater.” Still, he says he holds no ill-will toward the Council, saying that he understands that City Council was under an obligation to “make the downtown business guys happy.” And though it sidelined works from fellow-charities like the Soup Patrol, with whom Hill has worked in the past, Hill says that those organizations have simply found ways to “circumvent” the new requirements whilst working within the law. Soup Patrol, he says, now operates their mission to feed the needy on a piece of private property not far from their original go-to location, though he refuses to discuss exactly where for fear that it might be targeted for closure. Similarly, Hill says that a Catholic diocese on Fort Lowell agreed to open a shelter of its own in response to the closing of the CCA last June.

And, with regard to those restrictions that affect the homeless population directly—the ones limiting property and access to places to rest—it seems that the people sleeping on the street are simply forced to get creative. “I try to stay out-of-sight, out-of-mind,” says Donald Myers (name changed), who says he fell into homelessness after a divorce coincided with the 2008 recession and

the loss of his job. Myers has found a bed at a transitional men’s shelter for the time being, though while on the street he says people “basically go around those laws.”

As an alcoholic, Myers says that it can be difficult to live up to the expectations of most shelters. Though he’s managed to stay clean while waiting for subsidized housing, the place that is currently housing him has a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol use, as well as a breathalyzer. For chemical dependents and those suffering from mental illness, low-demand shelters are often the only option aside from the street, and typically such shelters will only offer beds for a few days at a time on a first-come, first-served basis. Others turn from assistance because very few shelters admit couples or tolerate pets, for instance.

Vice Mayor Karen Urlich was one of just two who voted against the ordinance, citing difficulty of enforcement and a potential effect on the $8-10 million Tucson organizations receive each year in federal funding specifically to combat homelessness. “I think it will be subject to some review,” Urlich says of the legislation, “and I think court challenges could result, and that’s the last place that any of us want to be.” An evaluation of alignment with Department of Justice mandates which forbid the criminalization of homeless, as well as other factors like the Mayor’s annual count, are factored-in when the $4.5 billion total is divvied-up amongst organizations nationwide. Mayor Rothschild insists that there is no apparent threat to Tucson’s annual allocation of funding as a result of the new legislation, citing an extensive review of associated case law by city attorney, Mike Rankin.

Still, Urlich says that the question of how best to address homelessness in Tucson probably shouldn’t have been turned over to legislators in the first place. Ulrich says that, long before legislating on an issue, “we always want to make sure we’re looking at the whole situation and engaging with partners to try and solve the problem.”

Urlich is an advocate of a “Housing First” methodology—a practice which prioritizes placing homeless individuals into housing quickly, then dealing with their individual issues afterward on a case-by-case basis. “Housing really ought to be the first focus and the first offering,” says Urlich, “because it really helps people, once they’re secure in some kind of decent housing, to then engage in progressing in other areas of their lives, whether it’s mental illness or substance addiction. It’s really tough to grapple with those kinds of challenges in general for anybody. And if you couple those challenges with struggling to survive on the street, it’s virtually impossible.”

Urlich says that support for the “Housing First” approach has recently spread to federal agencies like the U.S. Department for Housing and Urban Development and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, both of which contribute to that available $4.5 billion pool of federal funding. She points out that data increasingly shows that placing chronically homeless individuals directly into housing not only helps them in the short-term, but it also tends to relieve some of the burden of cost from taxpayers. Case studies from places like Utah, Toronto, New York, and the UK exist which appear to support these claims.

And it’s not exactly like we’re dealing with a shortage of resources here in the Old Pueblo. A 2015 “State of Homelessness” report published by the National Alliance to End Homelessness suggests that only about 83 percent of the transitional housing beds available in the state of Arizona were occupied during 2014. And a report published by the Tucson Pima Collaboration to end Homelessness last September proclaimed that “Based on existing data, homelessness as it exists across the [Continuum of Care in Pima County] is an entirely solvable issue if resources are used properly”; that analysis cited 150-plus spaces in both Permanent Supportive Housing and Rapid ReHousing which were left vacant. It may be time for Tucsonans to start thinking seriously about reprioritizing and re-housing, then, when it comes to the local homeless population. And Rapidly.


by J O H N S T E I N B E C KWINNER OF THE NEW YORK DRAMA CRITICS' CIRCLE AWARD FOR BEST PLAY

P E R F O R M I N G A T T H E

TEMPLE OF MUSIC AND ART330 SOUTH SCOTT AVENUE, TUCSON, ARIZONA 85701

A R I Z O N A T H E A T R E . O R GB O X O F F I C E : 5 2 0 - 6 2 2 - 2 8 2 3

03 /05 /16–03 /26 /16

Jonathan Wainwright and Scott Greer in Of Mice and Men. Photo: Michael Brosilow.

“TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY!” – PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER / “A PULLS-NO-PUNCHES AMERICAN CLASSIC.” – NBC

ICE CREAM

F A C T O R Y

520.396.3691278 E CONGRESS ST.

PLAYGROUNDTUCSON.COMHUBDOWNTOWN.COM HUBICECREAM.COM

THEORIGINAL

THEPROVOCATIVE

THECOOL

520.207.8201266 E CONGRESS ST.

520.622.0255245 E CONGRESS ST


Zpoetry

Jane Miller has lived in tucson for over twenty-five years, teaching in the university of Arizona's creative Writing Program. She currently is Visiting Professor at the Michener center in Austin, missing the trails, tacos, and temperature of the Sonoran region. her most recent poetry collection is Thunderbird, copper canyon Press, 2013.

MiAMi heARt

by Jane Miller

In a long text, on live TV, in an amphitheater, in the soil,after the post-moderns, after it is still provenyou can get a kiss out of a pretty girl, after the meta-ritual lectures, after the flock to further awareness bends “south,”and Heinz switches to plastic squeeze bottles, as one flies into St. Louis listening to Lorca’s “Luna, luna, luna…,”beyond Anacin time, after, God help us, the dishwasher is emptied again,and Miss America, Miss Mississippi, reveals she has entered 100 pageantssince age six, Packers’ ball, first down after a fumble,the corn detassled, the assembly of enthusiasms awakened, and we meet in a car by the river, not not kissing, considering making love, visiting Jerusalem, the awful daily knowledge we have to die in a hospital on the sixth floor, in a lecture, on live TV,or in an amphitheater at half-time, at one’s parents’ condo, over pasta,in a strange relative’s arms, in debt, along the coast, staringat a lighthouse, the heart bumping, bumping the old pebble up the old spine,a squirrel scared up a sycamore by an infant,along this stench of humility, along that highway of come,charge card in hand, I shall give my time freely and the more I dissemble, the more I resembleand the more I order, the more I reveal I hide,the better, the faster I sleep the more I rememberto go elsewhere,a movie, excuse me, now I must whispernot to disturb the patrons, now I must drive, now park, tramp to the edge of the world,roughness, ferocity, cannibalism,bite, chew, transmogrify,inside the lungs the little revolutionaries, between the thighs the reflexit’s too this, it’s too that, it’s not enough,similarly, and more particularly, it’s raw twice over,it’s the imagination draining its husks, left-handed,because comparison is motive, which is whyone writes with one’s desire. (reprinted with permission from American Odalisque, Copper Canyon Press, 1987)

Tucson ClassicBecause Tucson today is a veritable hotbed of working poets, we sometimesforget our city’s remarkable poetic heritage. Occasionally, to pay tribute to thisheritage, Zócalo Poetry will feature a previously published poem (below), one we consider a Tucson Classic.

leARninG hoW it’S Done At the Bocce cluB

Saturday mornings at the Sons of Italywe watched them in action--grandfathers, uncles, and their Canadian friends from the textile mills. Legs wobbling, pipes or cigarettes dangling from their lips, they never spilled their beer,swore a lot—in skillful Italian,clumsy English, intimate French--glancing at us without looking our way,pretending they didn’t mean the words.

But we knew everything they didmeant something, though we didn’t know what, so we went ongaping at them as if they were movie stars

and mimicked them all week after schoolin the gravel lot behind the cotton mill--wobbling up to an imaginary line, swearing in three languages—safe from frowning spinster teachers,

giggling huddled girls: sure of ourselves as we would never be again.

--Bob Longoni

Bob longoni was a faculty member at both the university of Arizona, where he also directed the Poetry center in 1969-70, and Pima community col-lege, from which he retired in 1993. he has since published two collec-tions and continues to be an active part of the poetry scene in the Phoenix area, where he now lives.

Jane Miller

Bob longoni

photo: Cybele K

nowles

Zócalo invites poets with Tucson connections to submit up to three original, previously un-published (including online) poems, any style, 40 line limit per poem. Our only criterion is excellence. No digital submissions, please. Simultaneous submissions ok if you notify ASAP of acceptance elsewhere. Please include the following contact information on each page of your manuscript: mailing address, phone number, and email address. Ms won’t be returned. Notification of acceptance or rejection by email. Zócalo has first North American rights; author may re-publish with acknowledgment to Zócalo. Payment is a one year subscription. Address submissions to Zócalo, Poetry, P.O. Box 1171, Tucson, AZ 85702. The poetry editor is Jefferson Carter.


the Wave

embrace of the Serpent

filmZ


Brilliant, Unique and Psychedelic Film Funby Herb Stratford

March 4Who says only American’s know how to make good disaster films? The Wave from Norway, is a very entertaining drama that follows one family’s experience after a massive rock slide sets off a tsunami that separates them and devastates the town they live in. Based on a real-life potential disaster, the film is taught, at times beautiful, and honestly pretty entertaining. It's in Norwegian, with English subtitles.

March 11The Columbian film Embrace of the Serpent is remarkable for a number of reasons one being that it is that country’s first-ever Academy Award nominee, but also for its stunning black and white cinematography. The film focuses on Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman who is the last survivor of his people, and the two scientists he helps guide through the jungle over the course of 40 years. The story is inspired by the real-life journals of two different explorers who traveled through the Colombian Amazon in 1909 & 1940 in search of the sacred and difficult-to-find Yakruna plant. This film is astounding, beautiful and powerful.

March 18Orson Welles’ classic 1965 black and white masterpiece Chimes at Midnight has been re-released and is giving film and Shakespeare fans another chance to see what the cinema master does to the tale of Falstaff. Written and directed by Welles, who plays Falstaff as well and gets a connecting story between Henry IV and other well-known literary characters. This was the last film directed by Welles and is worth a look, as it has rarely been on screen since its short release in 1967.

March 19Now that the Loft has the ability to screen 70mm prints, Tucsonans are getting treated to a terrific slate of films that would otherwise not be seen in this nearly “lost” format on a regular basis. On tap in March is the classic 1969 Western The Wild Bunch from director Sam Peckinpah. The violent and genre-bending film was quite controversial in its day, and is a fascinating piece to watch given the resurgence of the western thanks to directors like Quentin Tarantino who pay homage to it in their own work. There’s just one show at 7pm, so don’t miss it. n

Zfilm

This month at the Loft Cinema, an eclectic mix of films include; a nearly lost cinema classic, an Academy Award nominee, a Norwegian disaster flick and a 70mm classic western. But there’s also a great mix of campy classics like Big Trouble in Little China, Galaxy Quest, The Dark Crystal and Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan. Also of note is a special screening of the powerful documentary Citizen Four. Visit LoftCinema.com for the full schedule of films.


Printin� Co.Good Printin� Since 1942


Schedules accurate as of press

time. Visit the web sites or call for

current/detailed information.

2ND SaTUrDaYS DOWNTOWN Congress Street,

2ndSaturdaysDowntown.com

Sat 12: Please see web site for

details.

BOONDOcKS LOUNGE 3306 N. 1st Ave. 690-0991,

BoondocksLounge.com

Wed 2: Nancy & The Scarlet

Lettermen

Fri 4: The Garcia Brothers

Sat 5: Johnny Ain’t Right

Sun 6: Heather Hardy & Lil’ Mama

Band

Mon 7: The Bryan Dean Trio

Wed 9: Kathy Davis

Thu 10: Titan Valley Warheads

Fri 11: Frank & Friends


Fri 18: Irish Dance Party

Sat 19: Heather Hardy & L’il Mama

Sun 20: The Last Call Girls


Thu 24: Titan Valley Warheads

Fri 25: Anna Warr & Giant Blue

Sat 26: The Coolers

Sun 27: Po, The Band Cd Release

Party, Undercover And Special

Friends All Star Jam


BOrDErLaNDS BrEWING119 E. Toole Ave. 261-8773,

BorderlandsBrewing.com

Fri 4: Ezekiel Morphis

caFE PaSSE415 N. 4th Ave. 624-4411,

CafePasse.com

Thursdays: Jazz with Glen Gross &

Friends

chES LOUNGE350 N. 4th Ave. 623-2088,

ChesLounge.com

For information please visit the web

site.

cLUB cONGrESS 311 E. Congress St. 622-8848,

HotelCongress.com/club

Tue 1: Protomartyr, Prom Body, Gay

Kiss, Sleep Money

Wed 2: Adara Rae & The

Homewreckers, Pipelights, Jillian &

The Giants

Fri 4: Lando Chill, Altrice, Copper

and Congress

Sat 5: Metalachi, Sugar Stains

Wed 9: Crystal Radio, The Electrified

Donkey Band, Dustin Hamman

Thu 10: Emily Kinney

Fri 11: XIXA, Asian Fred

Sat 12: North, Sleep Like Trees,

Chronovorus

Sun 13: Rocket From The Crypt

Mon 14: Gungor

Wed 16: Ape Machine, Gamma Like

Very Ultra, Joel Crocco

Fri 18: Mommy Long Legs, Dirt

Friends, Boyfriends, Big Bad

Sat 19: VenessaMichaels, Sid The

Kid, Andrew Shuta, Bob Really,

Jalph

Sun 20: Sugar Candy Mountain with

Mad Alchemy, Louise Le Hir, Naim

Amor

Tue 22: King’s Court Tour featuring

Slum Village, Black Milk, Phat Kat,

Guilty Simpson

Thu 24: Teen

Fri 25: My Gold Mask, Alter Der

Ruine, The Rifle

Tue 29: Kawehi

Wed 30: La Santa Cecilia

cOrONET402 E. 9th St. 222-9889

CafeCoronet.com

Wednesdays: Naim Amor

La cOcINa201 N. Court Ave. 622-0351,

LaCocinaTucson.com

Wed 2: Miss Lana Rebel & Kevin

Michael Mayfield

Thu 3: Freddy Parish

Fri 4: Greg Morton

Sat 5: Harpist Vesna Zulsky,

Nathaniel Burnside Duo

Sun 6: Mik and The Funky Brunch


Michael Mayfield

Thu 10: Louise Le Hir

Fri 11: Greg Morton

Sat 12: Harpist Vesna Zulsky



Michael Mayfield

Thu 17: Mitzi Cowell

Fri 18: Greg Morton, Cold Sweat




Michael Mayfield

Fri 25: Greg Morton




Michael Mayfield

Thu 31: Hank Topless

cUShING STrEET Bar & rESTaUraNT198 W. Cushing St. 622-7984,

CushingStreet.com

Saturdays: Cool Jazz, Jeff Lewis &

Friends

DELEcTaBLES rESTaUraNT 533 N. 4th Ave. 884-9289,

Delectables.com

Fri 4: Leila Lopez

Sat 19: Mitzi Cowell

ELLIOT’S ON cONGrESS135 E. Congress St. 622-5500,

ElliotsOnCongress.com

Monday: Jazz Guild Jam

Tuesday: Tommy Tucker

ErMaNOS220 N 4th Ave,

445-6625

ermanosbrew.com

Sun 6: Hank Topless

Thur 10: Katie Haverly & The Aviary

Sun 13: Mike Hebert Prison Band

Sun 20: Kevin Pakulis

Sun 27: Jillian & The Giants

Thu 31: Hey Bucko

FLYcaTchEr340 E. 6th St. 798-1298,

TheFlycatcherTucson.com

Thu 3: Pale Dian, Mute Swan, Night

Collectors

Sun 13: Sam Outlaw

Mon 14: Electric Six

Wed 16: Fleetwood Mac Tribute

Sat 19: Junior Boys, Jessy Lanza

FOX TUcSON ThEaTrE 17 W. Congress St. 624-1515,

FoxTucsonTheatre.org

xixA appears live at club congress on Friday, March 11. Dead kennedys play the Rialto theatre on Friday, March 11.

Photo courtesy w

ww

.facebook.com/xixam

usic

Photo courtesy deadkennedys.com

Z tunes


Wed 2: Joe Satriani

Thu 3: Keb’ Mo’

Sun 6: TAO: Seventeen Samurai

Wed 9: Peter Frampton RAW

Fri 18: Cherish The Ladies

Sat 19: Rave On!

Sun 20: Steppin’ Out Live with Ben

Vereen

Thu 24: Acoustic Africa

Fri 25: David Crosby

Sun 27: Alan Parsons Live Project

hacIENDa DEL SOL5501 N. Hacienda Del Sol. 299-

1501,

HaciendaDelSol.com

Nightlly: Live Music on the Patio

For information please visit the web

site.

ThE hUT305 N. 4th Ave., 623-3200

huttucson.com

Sundays: Acoustic Open Mic, with

Cadillac Mountain

Fridays: Sunset Soul with Kelsey St.

Germaine

Saturdays: Mike & Randy’s 430

Show with Top Dead Center

MErcI GaLLErY630 E. 9th St. 623-2114

MerciGallery.com

Sat 5: Sonny Boy Thorn

Sun 20: Balearic Beats by Toby

Roberts & Thomas B

Sat 26: Shana Halligan

MONTErEY cOUrT505 W. Miracle Mile,

MontereyCourtAZ.com

Wed 2: Nick McBlaine & Log Train

Thu 3: Corey Spector

FrI 4: Sofia Talvik

Sat 5: Mean Mary

Sat 12: Keith Alan Mitchell

Sun 13: Nancy Elliott & Friends for

Sunday Brunch, SxSW Show

Tue 15: The Tucsonics

Wed 16: Eric Schaffer & The Other

Troublemakers

Fri 18: Eliza Gilkyson, Nina Gerber

Tue 22: Bose Tour with Jeff

Campbell, Megan Slankard, Jamie

Kent, Matt Szlechetka

Wed 23: Shapiro Brothers

Thu 24: Touch of Grey

Fri 25: Off The Ground

Sat 26: Key Ingredients of African

Soul

Sun 27: Nancy Elliott & Friends for

Sunday Brunch

Tue 29: Community Center

Thu 31: Flying Balalaika Brothers

PLaYGrOUND TUcSON278 E. Congress. 396-3691,

PlaygroundTucson.com

Sundays: The George Howard Band

PLaza PaLOMINO2990 N. Swan Rd., 907-7325

plazapalomino.com

See web site for more info.

rIaLTO ThEaTrE318 E. Congress St. 740-1000,

RialtoTheatre.com

Fri 4: Canned Heat, Tom Walbank

Sat 5: Lethal Enjektion, Cryptic

Wisdom, Southpaw, Solace In

Nothing, The Endless Obsession,

Waysted Youth, Monstrosity

Thu 10: Neon Indian, Brydes

Fri 11: Dead Kennedys, The

Freeze, Doll Skin, The Besmirchers,

Hotchicks

Sat 12: Acorn Bcorn, Katterwaul,

B4 Skin, Lemon Drop Gang,

Whoops

Sun 13: Nightwish, Sonata Arctica,

Delain

Tue 15: Silverstein, Being As An

Ocean, Emarosa, Coldrain, Rarity

Thu 17: Between The Buried And

Me, August Burns Red

Fri 18: Summer Slaughter & All

Stars

Sat 19: John Hiatt, Rick Brantley

Sun 20: The Sword, Royal Thunder

Mon 21: Big Smo

Tue 22: X Ambassadors

Wed 23: Mobb Deep, Big Meridox,

EZ Goin’

Tue 29: They Might Be Giants

Wed 30: Lecrae

rOYaL SUN LOUNGE1003 N Stone Ave

(520) 622-8872

BWRoyalSun.com

Sun-Tue: Happy Hour Live Music

Sundays: Ivan Denis

SEa OF GLaSS--cENTEr FOr ThE arTS330 E. 7th St., 398-2542

TheSeaOfGlass.org

Sat 5: The DeGrazia Spanish Guitar

Band

Fri 11: The Crystal Trio from Siberia

Wed 16: Makana from Hawaii

Sat 26: Temenos Quartet

SKY Bar TUcSON536 N. 4th Ave, 622-4300.

SkyBarTucson.com

Tue 1: Tom Walbank, Naim Amor

Wed 2: Open Mic

Thu 3: Fire & Gold Belly Dance

Sat 5: Sirsy, Kelli Carpenter, Louise

Le Hir

Tue 8: Tom Walbank, Haboob

Wed 9: Open Mic

Thu 10: Hobart W. Fink, Deschtuco

Fri 11: Cirque Roots

Sat 12: Pipelights, Mohawk Radio,

Iota

Mon 14: Haunted Summer, Edith

Crash

Tue 15: Tom Walbank, Naim Amor

Wed 16: Open Mic

Sat 19: The Appetite, Demonyms,

Thomas Rex

Tue 22: Tom Walbank, Haboob

Wed 23: Open Mic

Thu 24: The Love Junkies, Mikal

Shapiro

Fri 25: Cirque Roots

Sat 26: Ultra Violent Rays, Let Go of

Everything

Tue 29: Tom Walkbank, NAim Amor

Wed 30: Open Mic

Thu 31: Ned and the Dirt,

Sundarata, The Rifle

SOLar cULTUrE31 E. Toole Ave. 884-0874,

SolarCulture.org

Tue 8: Tal National

Fri 11: Supernova, Ben Olayinka,

Eliogold

TaP & BOTTLE403 N. 6th Ave. 344-8999

TheTapandBottle.com

Thu 3: Katie Haverly and The Aviary

Thu 10: The Electric Blankets

Thu 17: Jillian and the Giants

Thu 24: The Bennu

Thu 31: Tom Walbank and Austin

Counts

Z

the DeGrazia Spanish Guitar Band appears at Sea of Glass center For the Arts on Saturday, March 5.

Joe Satriani appears at Fox tucson theatre on Wednesday, March 2.

Photo courtesy S

ea Of G

lass.

Photo by H

artmut S

pringer.

tunes


by Andrew Brown / @aemerybrowntucsonstreetportraitsZ

top to bottom, left to right:Becca HammenCaleb GutierrezRobert Anthony Villa

June 2015 | ZOCALOMAGAZINE.com 47

by Jeff Weber / @loljeffweber

lookback Z

top to bottom, left to right:SWMRS headlining Club Congress (2/16/16)Gem and Jam Festival 2016 (2/14/16)TEDxTucson - TED2016 LiveCast MixerAi WeiWei Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads: Gold exhibit at the Tucson Museum of art (2/15/16)Max Estenger exhibition opening (2/13/16)


photos: Niccole R

adhe

Z escape


ARIZONA IS a highly acclaimed and well-known birding paradise, and the Santa Rita Mountains happen to be one of the favorite pit stops for the myriad of winged migrants that visit our state. Over 230 species of birds are spotted here annually, including 15 species of humming birds alone. Tucked in the range is Madera Canyon, a world premier bird watching destination that welcomes hikers, mountain bikers, campers, photographers, and birding enthusiasts. This is an unforgettable place and spring is one of the best times to enjoy our home and revel in the diversity of the nature that lies in our own backyard.

Madera Canyon is nestled in the northern facing slopes of the Santa Rita Mountain range, just a tamale-toss away from the Mexican border. Madera is the Spanish word for wood, named after the lumber camp that existed here in the 1800s during the great western migration. This sky island of thriving life emerges from a vast sea of dry desert, with wide ranging vistas all the way to Baboquiveri. The flowing springs and seasonal waterfalls that have carved out the canyon give life to the plants and animals that rely on this beautiful ecosystem for their survival. The animals here know no borders or nationalities, they speak only riparian. The canyon is home to a diverse array of avian, mammal and insect wildlife. It is home to the highest peak in the Tucson area, Mount Wrightson, topping off at 9,453 feet.

Take a stroll through Bog Springs and Kent Spring trails to traverse many different life zones in one spring day. Hike under the shade of juniper and oak trees while the sweet sounds of birds and flowing water lure you higher into the green canyon. Bog Springs trail is one of the most popular trails in the area, it is short and rewarding. Yet even on the busiest weekends these trails seem serene and private, with less traffic than Catalina Mountain or Sabino Canyon trails. The Bog Springs trail is rated as a beginning (easy) hike according to the informational brochure that they give you at the visitor booth. However, it can easily be considered intermediate, with almost 2,000 feet of elevation gain in only 2.5 miles. Even though this entire loop is only 5 miles, it is a very steep trek that brings you from 4,820 feet up to 6,700 feet where it meets Kent Springs trail. This hike is worth every step!

Bog Springs trailhead is located in the in Bog Springs Campground parking lot and is well marked, making it easy to find. The adventure begins up and down a winding and sunny dirt road for the first half mile before reaching a fork. A huge metal sign juts up to direct adventures with its’ rusty words. Bog

Springs trail is on the left hand side and Kent Spring is on the right. Sylvester Spring can be reached shortly after this point by taking the trail to the right towards Kent Spring. (Note: if going downhill is more difficult than going uphill it is best to take the steeper Kent Spring trail to Bog Springs because it will be easier on the knees in the long haul). These trails are just two of over 24 in the canyon and most are much more difficult than Bog Springs Loop. There are also a few enriched wildlife viewing zones that are conveniently located for easy access and are handicap accessible. Birds perch beautifully for visitors to witness, while the squirrels eat the leftovers dropped below. The canyon offers three different lodging choices, a gift shop, and a very helpful visitors center.

Much of this is made possible by The Friends of Madera Canyon, a non-profit volunteer organization affiliated with the U.S. Forest Service. Their wonderful staff provides informational brochures, clean-up crews, research and education programs, maintenance of trails, and finances the building of many of the facilities throughout the Canyon. For more information about this amazing place and the people who help make it happen visit FriendsOfMaderacanyon.org. This website can give all the information needed to donate, volunteer and prepare for an unforgettable visit to Madera Canyon.

Making Your Escape: Madera Canyon is accessed from Interstate I-19 about 30 miles south of Tucson and 30 miles north of Nogales, AZ on the US – Mexico border. Exit I-19 at Continental Road and Madera Canyon. Turn east on Continental Road, continue straight ahead through a traffic signal, cross the Santa Cruz River, and turn right at the next four-way stop which is Whitehouse Canyon Road. Cross the railroad tracks and continue up the hill to the southeast. Slow down for the Continental School, cross the cattle guard and you are now in the Santa Rita Experimental Range operated by the University of Arizona for research on grasses, grazing, and range fire. After six miles turn right on the paved Madera Canyon Road. Heading south on Madera Canyon Road one will cross three one-lane bridges then climb towards Madera Canyon between Mt. Wrightson on the left and Mt. Hopkins on the right.

Follow Niccole on Facebook at “Take a Stroll with Niccole” to check out other outdoor excursions in Arizona and around the world or email with questions and comments to [email protected].

Madera Canyon Trails

Zescape

by Niccole Radhe

Danny Martin’s

Tucson Neon Coloring Book

Available online at: WoodAndPulp.com

or find it at any of these tucson area outlets:Antigone Books, University of Arizona Bookstore, Arizona Experience Store,

Art House Centro / Old Town Artisans, Bookstop, Blue Willow, Bookmans (all locations), Downtown Clifton, Hotel Congress, Loft Cinema, MAST, Pop Cycle, Presta Coffee Roasters,

Stella Coffee, Yikes Toys, and Zia Records.

2nd printing!

30 black and white drawings of Tucson’s historic neon signs.

921 S. Meyer, $559,800

211 S. 4th, $489,000

408 S. Convent Ave, $889,000 990 S. Meyer, $331,800

840 S. 8th ave, $253,000

Download - Zocalo Magazine - March 2016

Top Related