by Marc David Pinate Atop the concrete courtyard of the Tucson Convention Center, a mother and daughter wandered, dressed for shopping downtown; Blind Mike played an accordion on the corner; mambo music spilled out from an imaginary nightclub; a grandmother made fresh tortillas on an outdoor stove. For four days, Tucson’s original Mexican ... [Continue Reading]
From Cameroon to the Desert: Atelier Diama Designs by Tradition
by Lisa M. O'Neill “This is the first collection,” says Ndifor Chesi, as he gestures to a rack full of brightly patterned dresses. Chesi is the designer for Atelier Diama, a Tucson-based designer clothing studio. He pulls out a lime green and brown short dress with an open back and a V-neckline, and places it on the mannequin, running his ... [Continue Reading]
Indigenous Stories, One Podcast at a Time
by Kimi Eisele Tina Vavages-Andrew isn’t afraid to laugh out loud. She does it readily in conversation. And at least once a month she laughs into a microphone. She’s the host of a monthly podcast—two of them actually—aiming to make indigenous voices (and laughter) more audible in the Southwest and beyond. Podcasting, Vavages-Andrew ... [Continue Reading]
Hello Kitty in Kimono: Exhibiting the Everyday Lives of Master Traditional Artists
If there’s such a thing as a “master curator,” Leia Maahs qualifies as one. As the program manager of the Southwest Folklife Alliance, she handles a lot of people, information, and cultural expressions. And for the past few months, she’s been curating a special exhibit for Tucson Meet Yourself to showcase master traditional artists along with their ... [Continue Reading]
The Power of the Vision: How Adaptive Basketball Saved Mario Moran’s Life
Mario Moran, 30, is an athlete on the University of Arizona Men’s Wheelchair Basketball team. Of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent, Moran grew up in New Jersey, where at 18, he lost use of his legs due to a spinal cord injury caused by a gunshot. Before moving to Tucson, Moran played for the Miami Heat Wheels, a team in the National Wheelchair ... [Continue Reading]
Rod Ambrose, Talking Drum Performance Studio Network
Rod Ambrose was a 2016 recipient of the Southwest Folklife Alliance’s Master-Apprentice Award for his work as a storyteller, pulling from the oral traditions of West Africa. For over 47 years Ambrose has studied, learned, developed, composed, written, acted in and directed plays in addition to storytelling in hundreds of elementary, middle and high ... [Continue Reading]
A Tucson Pastorela: Borderlands Theater Offers Decades of Holiday Irreverence
A young angry Chicana feminist weaves her way through ugly election politics to make friends with others, learn about cooperation, and help the shepherds get to Bethlehem in time for the birth of Jesus. How’s that for a spin on the Christmas story? A blend of headlines, humor, and miracles. It’s par for the course for the Tucson-based ... [Continue Reading]
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