Monday, August 24, 2020

SUMMER VISITORS.

The Presidio Museum is currently open from 3 to 7 PM on Thursday through Saturdays. We will have an expended schedule in September.

We recently had a pair of off-hour visitors who wandered into the Museum, deciding to take a nap behind Soledad's Garden.

Click on the picture to get a larger image (photo by Dena Cowan).

The Javelina or Collared Peccary (Pecari tajacu) is a mammal found in North, Central, and South America. A Wikipedia page on this species can be found HERE. Javelinas are common in Tucson, but they were not always present. No bones from this species have been found at sites predating AD 1800. Archaeological excavations have found  a single bone at the Mission of San Agustin, dating to sometime in the early 1800s. This suggests that they expanded their range, moving north, perhaps a result of the extermination of wolves in the region. Newspaper accounts indicate they were present in the Catalina Mountains by 1880.

Javelinas are not closely related to pigs, although they have similar diets, eating anything they can find including cactus pads, mesquite beans, roots, lizards, and ornamental plants. They tend to live in herds. If you come across a group of javelina, be careful because they can be aggressive and they bite!

Luckily, the pair of sleep javelina at the Museum decided to wander away, perhaps coming back again when there is a docent available to explain the history of Tucson.

Thursday, August 20, 2020

GREAT THINGS TO DO IN TUCSON!

#27 Tucson Meet Yourself – Tucson Meet Yourself was founded in 1974 by University of Arizona folklorist and anthropologist Dr. James “Big Jim” Griffith with a mission to celebrate folk life and living traditions rooted in identity, artistry, and cultural significance. In 2011, Griffith was honored by the National Endowment for the Arts with a prestigious recognition as a “National Heritage” treasure.

Tucson Meet Yourself
Food vendors in front of the 1929 Pima County Courthouse (photo courtesy Tucson Meet Yourself).

#28 All Souls Procession – The procession began in 1990 by local artist Susan Johnson who was grieving the passing of her father.  It quickly grew to over 150,000 participants in a two-mile-long procession that ends with the ceremonial burning of an urn with hopes, prayers, and offerings.  The event is always held during Dia de los Muertos, the first week of November, and is organized by local non-profit Many Mouths One Stomach.


All Souls Procession.

#29 De Grazia Gallery in the Sun- Nestled in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains, the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun celebrates the artistic heritage of Ted De Grazia (1909-1982). Known for his paintings and sculptures of the American Southwest, Mexico, and Central America, the Gallery mounts several new exhibits annually.

"Los NiƱos"
Los Ninos by Ted DeGrazia (photo courtesy DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun).





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Wednesday, August 19, 2020

GREAT THINGS TO DO IN TUCSON!

#25  Tucson International Mariachi Conference – From Davis School’s Las Aguilitas, to Tucson’s High’s Mariachi Rayos del Sol to Los Changuitos Feos, Tucson is a center for great Mariachi.  Every year theInternational Conference puts on a show like no other, supporting and grooming the next generation of Mariachi talent.

2019 Tucson International Mariachi Conference 4/25 - 4/27 | Casino ...
La Frontera Mariachi (photo courtesy Casino del Sol).

#26 Historic Vail Post Office - Built in 1908, this historic adobe building was the hub of the Vail ranching community, the Empire Ranch and Agua Caliente Ranch. It acted as store, gas station, and gossip center.  Today it is a physical reminder of the national, economic and cultural forces that converged in this valley during the Territorial Period of Arizona history, including the railroad, mining, ranching, new settlement and cultural convergence. Check out “Voices of Vail” online to learn more.  

Photo gallery: Old Vail Post Office damaged in storm | Local news ...
Restoration work at the Historic Vail Post Office (photo courtesy Tucson.com).

THANK YOU TO THE SPONSORS OF THE
CITY OF TUCSON’S ANNUAL BIRTHDAY 



site-logo


This blog is sponsored by



196 N. Court Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85701
United States
540-622-0594