We spent this afternoon in downtown Tucson at the Tucson Meet Yourself Festival, in its 46th year. “The festival is a celebration of the living traditional arts of Southern Arizona’s ethnic and folk communities. The three day event features hundreds of artisans, home cooks, dancers, musicians, and special exhibits that celebrate beauty in all its diverse and informal forms.”
We went specifically to hear Mariachi Aztlan de Pueblo High School perform at 3:30 this afternoon. They are incredibly good, with 120 members vying for 16 performance spots. We also watched Ballet Folklorico, a Polish dance troupe, and Chinese lion dancers. There were dozens of ethnic food vendors, everything from Peruvian, French, Iranian, Mexican, Native American, Indian, Thai, and so many more. Artisans were demonstrating their crafts. Papa talked with a man making reatas, over 75’ long from single strands of cut leather. There were Native American artists making everything from jewelry to baskets to paper flowers, Asian weavers and calligraphers, a Congolese seamstress, a Ukrainian embroiderer, and from the Americas - leatherworkers, piñata maker, muralist, and potters, on and on! There were also thousands of people watching, eating, and enjoying the afternoon in downtown Tucson, with the event centered around the Main Tucson Library.
Tucson Meet Yourself Festival brings together all the elements that are a considerable reason that we chose to live in Tucson in retirement. We love the mix of ethnicities, the various traditions and cultures, native foods, and all of us living in the Sonoran Desert - where only a few tribes are native. All the rest of us are from someplace else.
We went specifically to hear Mariachi Aztlan de Pueblo High School perform at 3:30 this afternoon. They are incredibly good, with 120 members vying for 16 performance spots. We also watched Ballet Folklorico, a Polish dance troupe, and Chinese lion dancers. There were dozens of ethnic food vendors, everything from Peruvian, French, Iranian, Mexican, Native American, Indian, Thai, and so many more. Artisans were demonstrating their crafts. Papa talked with a man making reatas, over 75’ long from single strands of cut leather. There were Native American artists making everything from jewelry to baskets to paper flowers, Asian weavers and calligraphers, a Congolese seamstress, a Ukrainian embroiderer, and from the Americas - leatherworkers, piñata maker, muralist, and potters, on and on! There were also thousands of people watching, eating, and enjoying the afternoon in downtown Tucson, with the event centered around the Main Tucson Library.
Tucson Meet Yourself Festival brings together all the elements that are a considerable reason that we chose to live in Tucson in retirement. We love the mix of ethnicities, the various traditions and cultures, native foods, and all of us living in the Sonoran Desert - where only a few tribes are native. All the rest of us are from someplace else.
