This was a workshop that I co-presented with Karen Downing at the 1997 ACRL Learning to Teach Preconference, held in Berkeley, CA, June 27, 1997. It was based off the chapter that Karen and I had published back in 1993 in the publication, Learning to Teach: Workshops on Instruction.
When I was Assistant to the Dean for Staff Development, Recruitment and Diversity, I worked with a group called the Library Diversity Council to provide training and programming for the Library staff. One of our most memorable events was the Philippine Festival and Potluck Party we hosted, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Phillipine Independence from Spain. There were several Filipino staff members in the Library at the time, including MaryLou Myers, Aida Short, and Ditas Reitz, and they were able to convince a local club, The Mabuhay Dance Group to join us in the festivities. There was wonderful food, and the group curated an exhibition outside the Library Administrative Offices that was both informative and colorful. My role was that of sponsor, mostly. The bulk of the work on this one was done by Library staff. It was a fun event!
I put this poster session together in April, 2000 for the Diversity Now! Conference held in Austin, Texas when I was the Assistant to the Dean for Staff Development, Recruitment and Diversity at the University of Arizona Libraries. I had worked since 1992 as Carla Stoffle’s assistant, and my main goal in this position was to help the Library move forward in becoming what at the time we called a “multicultural organization”. I worked with the Library’s Diversity Council on providing programming and training for the staff, and with the Library’s Cabinet to formulate policy statements and workplace expectations. The documents below all come from that time period. This poster session took place the same year that I stepped down from my position as Assistant to the Dean for Staff Development, Recruitment and Diversity to join the Fine Arts/Humanities team and begin a new chapter in my career as a music and dance librarian.
Abstract:
For the past ten years, the University of Arizona Library has maintained a strong commitment to promoting and incorporating diversity into the everyday life and culture of the organization. The purpose of this program is to describe the key components of this initiative, which include adding diversity in the mission, vision, and values of the organization, creating a half time administrative position dedicated to promoting diversity, the formation of an active Diversity Council whose mission is to model and promote diversity through educational programming and training, and the active pursuit of campus and community partnerships that foster and promote diversity. Numerous examples of the varied programming, training and cooperative efforts will be highlighted.
INITIAL CAMPUS EFFORTS
In the late 80’s, following the lead of other institutions like the University of Michigan and Stanford University, University of Arizona President Henry Koffler mandated that diversity become an campus-wide priority. The Campus Diversity Action Plan was published shortly thereafter.
Diversity at the campus level was defined as:
Diversity encompasses differences in age, color, ethnicity, gender, national origin, physical or mental ability, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, Vietnam Era veteran status, or unique individual style.
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA DIVERSITY ACTION PLAN MISSION STATEMENT
The purpose of the Diversity Action Plan is to develop a campus climate which understands, accepts, and embraces the value of diversity among students, faculty and staff. This will be accomplished through a comprehensive and broad application of the concept of diversity. Diversity encompasses differences in age, color, ethnicity, gender, national origin, physical or mental ability, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, Vietnam Era veteran status, or unique individual style. The program comprises the following components:
Initial and ongoing assessment of the attitudes, expectations, and needs of students, faculty, staff, and administration relevant to issues of diversity
Provision of educational information and resources regarding the unique characteristics of various groups
Facilitation of personal understanding, tolerance, acceptance and valuing of diversity through structured training programs which will be required of all
members of the University community
Enhancement of general social awareness of the value and importance of diversity through public activities, celebrations, and events
Integration into academic and training curricula specially-designed courses which promote positive attitudes and understanding of diversity and the
incorporation of materials addressing diversity into all areas of the academic curriculum
Evaluation of the impact of the program through utilization of a variety of assessment methods
The focus of this program will be to assure that all persons affiliated with this institution believe that their individual characteristics, talents, and contributions are valued.
University of Arizona Library Mission Statement
The University of Arizona Library is dedicated to meeting the diverse information, curricular and research needs of students, faculty, staff and affiliated customers. In an environment of free and open inquiry and with a commitment to excellence, the Library participates in the scholarly communication process to promote life-long learning skills and continuous educational achievement.
The University of Arizona Library Vision Statement
To be recognized as the primary community for access and appropriation of information
By developing excellent services that meet expressed and anticipated needs of the learner, and that aim to exceed expectations
By building a diverse staff, valued for their knowledge and abilities in gathering, organizing, and distributing information, prepared for collaborative learning and recognized as partners contributing to the research enterprise
By outreach with students, staff and faculty
INITIAL LIBRARY EFFORTS
In 1990-91, the University created a Diversity Task Force, later renamed the Library Diversity Council.
The Task Force set to work on studying the efforts of other Universities and made a number of recommendations to the Library administration that were intended to move the Library forward in achieving diversity.
One of its first
accomplishments was the creation of a Library Diversity Mission Statement and
formation of the LIBRARY DIVERSITY
COUNCIL.
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA LIBRARY DIVERSITY MISSION STATEMENT:
The University of Arizona Library has a dual dimension: (1) it is an institution whose function is to collect and provide access to information and ideas that have derived from varied intellectual traditions representing peoples and cultures over many centuries; (2) it is a community of people, a microcosm of the University community, which seeks to represent the richness of human diversity and to integrate and promote this pluralism. Through its collections and services, the Library seeks to be a MODEL OF and a MODEL FOR this intellectual and social diversity. Our vision for diversity represents a new effort to move beyond statements of concern to plans for action which will encourage diversity among our patrons and staff as well as our collections and services. The University of Arizona Library guarantees students, scholars and staff equitable access to its resources and for employees, equal access for advancement, without regard to their race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, ancestry, age, marital status, handicap, or Vietnam veteran status.
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA LIBRARY DIVERSITY COUNCIL BYLAWS
1. Constituency
The Diversity Council consists of 9 members who are appointed to staggered two year terms. Before being appointed chair of the Council, a person must have served at least one year on the Council and can be either appointed or classified staff.
Members will be selected from Library staff who have expressed interest, via memo or other means, to serve on the Council and will be broadly representative of the diversity in the community and all job categories in the Library. Staff from diverse groups are encouraged to
become members of the Council, but the most important factor for membership is interest. The Council will make recommendations to the Dean for Libraries for new council members at the end of the fiscal year.
Ex officio members of the Council are the Dean of Libraries and the Assistant to the Dean for Staff Development, Recruitment an Diversity.
At the end of their two year term, council members may request to continue for a full term or for one year only. They may also continue on committees on a year-to-year basis as non-council members.
2. Committees (task forces of the council):
In order to accomplish specific tasks or goals, the council may initiate committees that consist of members of the Council and other interested Library staff. Some committees may be standing committees of the Council; others may be formed to accomplish a specific task, such as the Diversity Film Series. Non-council members serving on committees will be appointed on a year-to-year basis. Before being appointed chair of a committee, a person must have served at least one year on the Diversity Council.
3. Authority and Charges:
The Diversity Council reports to the Dean of Libraries with the following authority and charges:
The Council will be an advisory board for the Dean and the Library Cabinet and will make recommendations concerning diversity issues and their impact on existing policies and procedures. It will also make recommendations for changes to policies and procedures or make recommendations for implementation of new policies and procedures.
The Council will work to be a model for the Library for creating a multi-cultural organization.
The Council will be a resource on issues of diversity to all staff.
The Council will assess needs and assist the Library in moving towards a diverse environment.
The Council will set long range goals to meet the University and Library mission statements.
The Council will provide training on diversity issues.
The Council will communicate
and coordinate programs and events with related committees and groups within
the Library, the University, and the Tucson community.
Subsequent efforts to incorporate diversity at all levels of the organization have included:
Whenever the Library recruits for a new team leader, the Diversity Council is included in the interview schedule. Other groups that meet with a candidate also typically ask diversity related questions. A sampling of such questions is listed below.
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The Library is a multicultural environment and is committed to maintaining diversity to serve our customers. Describe where you have worked with diversity and how you have promoted it in positions you have held.
The Library’s Diversity Value Statement is: We value, respect, and are strengthened by viewpoints and experiences outside the dominant culture. We strive to build a multicultural organization. Describe situations where you have acted on this value.
As a team leader, part of your job will be to chair selection committees for open positions within your team. Please explain your understanding of diversity related issues as they pertain to recruitment and selection of employees. How would you balance the need to create a multicultural institution with other compelling factors?
How have you participated in diversity education and how have you encouraged diversity in your previous positions? Are there other related activities that you have taken part in?
Describe any challenging situations in your previous positions where diversity was an issue. How did you deal with the situation and what was the outcome?
As a team leader, what programs can we count on you to implement to encourage diversity thinking on your team?
Can you share with us an experience you have had where diversity within a team precipitated conflict–and share with us what your response to that conflict was?
How have you learned to work effectively with people who are very different from you–either in culture, gender, sexual preference, age, temperament, etc.?
As a team leader, what would you expect from the Diversity Council?
DIVERSITY IS BUILT INTO TEAM LEADER AND WORK TEAM LEADER EXPECTATIONS DOCUMENTS. EACH TEAM LEADER IS EVALUATED BASED ON HIS/HER ABILITY TO MEET EACH EXPECTATION.
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA LIBRARY
EXPECTATIONS OF TEAM LEADERS
1. Understands and communicates the Library’s mission, vision, values, goals, and while conveying the larger context in which the Library operates, exhibits personal commitment and takes leadership in creating team commitment to achieving them. Leads team in translating library and team strategic goals into action.
2. Promotes team commitment to a customer focus.
3. Works proactively and constructively to identify, define, and solve problems within their own team and between teams and other individuals and teams. Works with team members to develop coaching mechanisms to help individual team members who are having performance problems.
4. Facilitates and involves all team members in team planning, objectives setting, and problem solving, empowering and holding team members accountable for participation and results.
5. Works with team to define team and team leader roles and appropriate methodology for decision-making. Seeks and utilizes data and objective criteria for decision-making. Helps team recognize options and consequences of team decisions. Has final accountability for seeing that decisions get made and that there is appropriate follow through.
6. Fosters an environment that encourages risk taking and creativity.
7. Works proactively and constructively to develop and coach team members to be self-motivated; ensures professional, career, and skill development; ensures structure is in place for all team members to participate in the coaching and development of all staff.
8. Communicates and leads development of team understanding and support of library-wide decisions and priorities; helps the team communicate and create understanding of team issues library wide.
9. Helps promote and support diversity within the team and the Library.
10. Works with the team to build self-managing capabilities including effective delegation to sub-teams and individuals.
11. Champions cross-functional efforts to improve quality, service, and productivity.
12. Anticipates, initiates, and responds to changes in the environment to help the Library move forward.
13. Leads in management of budgets and fosters understanding of and responses to internal and external funding opportunities and constraints.
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA LIBRARY
EXPECTATIONS OF WORK TEAM LEADERS
Definition
The primary purpose of a Workteam Leader is to take leadership in facilitating processes within the scope of a specific workteam to enable the workteam to accomplish its work.
Assumptions
1. That the Performance Learning Project will result in each team developing work and behavioral expectations for all members and a mechanism for holding each other accountable.
2. Team will use these expectations as a basis for a dialog about observable outcomes.
Expectations
1. Understands and communicates the Library’s mission, vision, values, goals, and, while conveying the larger context in which the Library operates, exhibits personal commitment and takes leadership in creating workteam commitment to achieving them. Leads workteam in translating library and team strategic goals into action.
2. Promotes workteam commitment to a customer focus by modeling appropriate customer service behavior and responding appropriately to customer needs.
3. Works proactively and constructively to identify, define, and solve problems within their own workteam and between workteams and other individuals and teams.
4. Facilitates and involves all workteam members in workteam planning, objectives setting, defining expectations, and problem solving, empowering and holding workteam members accountable for participation and results.
5. Works with team to define team and work team leader roles and how decisions are made. Helps workteam recognize options and consequences of workteam decisions. Is individually accountable for seeing that decisions get made and that there is appropriate follow through. It may be necessary for workteam leaders to make decisions for the workteam in limited circumstances such as the workteam being unable to reach a decision or during special circumstances.
6. Coordinates the gathering, analysis, and utilization of data and information to make decisions.
7. Models and encourages creativity and informed risk taking.
8. Works proactively and constructively to develop and coach workteam members to be self-motivated and to be lifelong learners.
9. Communicates and leads development of workteam understanding and support of library-wide decisions and priorities; helps the workteam communicate and create understanding of team issues library-wide.
10. Demonstrates support for diversity as defined by the Library.
11. Works with the workteam to build self-managing capabilities including effective delegation to workteam members.
12. Champions process improvement and other cross-functional efforts to improve quality, service, and productivity.
13. Anticipates when possible, participates with an open mind, and responds appropriately to changes in the environment.
14. Understands the allocation of budget and resources process. Leads in management of budgets and resources.
15. Attends and actively participates in workteam meetings.
16. Models good communication skills by actively listening and giving and receiving constructive feedback.
17. Interprets, communicates, and applies relevant library policies.
18. Identifies and implements effective ways of making staff and students feel accepted and valued.
19. Leads and participates in the hiring process, primarily within the workteam.
20. Takes leadership in developing and implementing a training program for staff and students which may include customer service.
21. Schedules work to ensure that time is available for consultation with and coaching of staff and students. Maintains an open attitude to staff,
students, and their ideas.
22. Develops facilitation
skills, uses them, and supports workteam members in doing the same.
1998/99 LIBRARY STRATEGIC PLAN (partial)
GOAL 4, “STAFF ENVIRONMENT”: To transform the Library work environment and culture to improve the way staff are supported through programs and activities that enhance their ability to achieve the Library’s Mission.
CONTEXT STATEMENT: Sustained support and effort on both the individual and group level is instrumental to the success of a team-based learning organization. We hold ourselves and each other accountable for achieving the Library’s mission and for resolving any conflicts that arise in this process. Creative flexibility is needed in the ways in which the Library manages work assignments, promotes career progression, and promotion, pursues and provides competitive salaries, supports continuous education and learning, evaluates performance, and recognizes and rewards staff achievements.
To serve an increasingly diverse population, the Library recognizes that diversity among its staff is a strength in understanding, responding to, and respecting the needs of our customers.
Staff need opportunities to develop proficiencies in utilizing technologies and other tools to achieve new and higher performance satisfaction levels.
OBJECTIVES:
1. INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM DEVELOPMENT: To support individual and team development through the continuing work of the Performance Project Team, through December 31, 1998; and through the developmental systems that are created by this project, by June , 2000.
2. REWARDS AND RECOGNITION: To strengthen employee rewards and recognition by enhancing existing programs and developing new ones, by June, 1999.
3. MINORITY RETENTION: To increase the retention of minority individuals within the Library by openly addressing issues of participation and mentoring, as well as white privilege, racism and other forms of injustice by June, 2000.
4. MINORITY RECRUITMENT: To increase the diversity of the Library and better serve our increasingly diverse customer base by proactively recruiting and hiring minority librarians and career staff by June, 1999.
University of Arizona Position Description
Position Title: Assistant to the Dean for Staff Development, Recruitment and Diversity
Position type: Appointed personnel, full time, exempt.
Department: Library Support Team
Reports to: Dean of the Library/LST Team Leader
Regular Hours of Work (indicate if changes occur)
8am to 5pm
The Library is an innovative, team-based organization committed to continuous learning, increasing customer self-sufficiency and fostering a diverse environment. Our mission includes furthering cultural transmission, preservation and the educational roles of the Library.
All work that addresses customer needs will be performed (e.g. circulation, reference, check-in, cataloging, process improvement, etc.). Individuals can expect that this work will include team-wide and Library-wide work (e.g. process improvement teams, meetings, planning, Strategic Long Range Planning, etc.). As customers’ needs change, our work formula or patterns may change. As a result, team and Library work is negotiated within the team, the end product being an agreement in writing in the performance evaluation.
The incumbent performs the work appropriate for a librarian, as needed within the team, to meet the changing needs of the Library’s customers. As those needs change or disappear it may be necessary to reassign staff to areas in greater need of support and to change work hours to accommodate our customers.
Each team member is responsible for:
* understanding and communicating the vision, mission and priorities of the Library and the team(s) in order to move the Library and team(s) to their goals
* committing to excellence, process improvement and continuous learning
* participating in the planning and decision-making processes for customer services
* obtaining the information necessary to perform his/her job
* accepting change and exhibiting flexibility in working within teams and dealing with team and Library-wide issues and concerns
* helping fellow team members in a team-based work environment and participating on cross-functional and process improvement teams in the Library as necessary
* attending and participating in team meetings and projects as assigned and facilitating and leading meetings as needed
* solving as many of their own problems as possible; expected to resolve issues close to the action rather than to pass responsibility for solutions to others and are empowered to do so
* making decisions at appropriate levels
* prioritizing work
* maintaining a customer service orientation
* challenging him/herself and colleagues to think creatively and broadly
II. PURPOSE/OUTCOME OF THIS POSITION:
The development of a supportive and responsive multi-cultural and diverse working environment is a top priority for the University of Arizona Library . Creation of such an environment involves pursuing new strategies for recruitment of librarians and addressing staff development issues relating to diversity and other change processes in which the Library will be involved. This position will be responsible for coordination of all staff development programs and professional recruitment, and will carry out special projects relating to personnel policy and procedures. The incumbent will participate fully in the Dean’s Cabinet meetings, and act as liaison with the Staff Development Committee, Affirmative Action Committee, and the Diversity Action Council. The position reports to the Dean of the Library.
To contribute to the profession and the professional literature to fulfill the responsibilities of a library faculty member through service (e.g., active participation in library-related associations and organizations) and scholarship (e.g., presentations at local and national conferences and meetings, publication of original research).
As a member of the library profession, the Library Faculty Assembly, and the general faculty of the University:
* To resist censorship of library materials and eliminate barriers to access to
information
* To commit to intellectual freedom in the pursuit of truth and knowledge for
customers and staff
* To commit to honesty and respect for customers and staff
* To commit to the professional Code of Ethics for Librarianship
* To be involved in the governance of the Library and the University through service
in the Library Faculty Assembly and on appropriate University committees
III. PRINCIPLE RESPONSIBILITIES
1. (.5 time) Coordinates the Library’s staff development activities. Works with an advisory committee, members of the Library’s Human Resources team and a .5 administrative secretary to conduct needs assessment, plan and implement training and professional development for librarians and staff. Administers Staff Development Fund and Special Workshops Fund. Coordinates new staff orientation.
2. Acts as the administrative liaison with the Affirmative Action Office, University Diversity Council, the Provost’s Office on Appointed Personnel and the University Human Resources Department (where appropriate). Updates and monitors the Library’s Affirmative Action Plan and Diversity Action Plan in conjunction with appropriate committees. Administers Diversity Fund.
3. Works with the Library Diversity Council to coordinate programs in support of building a multicultural organization. Provides leadership to the Diversity Council as it strives to become a model the Library in working across racial and ethnic lines.
4. Works with other members of the HR Team to assess needs for team development, systems and process change, new policies and procedures that support the continued success of the Library with its customers.
5. Works in conjunction with Library’s human resources specialist and selection teams to ensure that recruitment pools for professional positions are diverse. Provides guidelines and support for search committees. Insures compliance with University EEO/AA and Diversity plans. Assists with interviews of candidates on site and at professional meetings.
6. Participates fully in leadership activities of the Library through membership on Library
Cabinet.
7. Supports the library profession beyond primary job responsibilities through involvement in professional service and scholarship.
LIBRARY-WIDE RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Participation in library strategic project teams, cross-functional teams, and other teams required to complete the goals of the Library:
The Library Diversity Council has proactively
partnered with other campus units and groups, including the University
Diversity Action Council, the College of Agriculture’s Diversity Committee,
and the Commission on the Status of
Women to provide top notch programming, training and celebratory events that
unite the campus and the Library community.
Recruitment of a Diverse Staff
A key responsibility of the Assistant to the Dean for Staff Development, Recruitment and Diversity has been to proactively recruit people of color to apply for open positions at the University of Arizona Library. This has been accomplished through:
I gave this presentation on enemy turf, so to speak. It felt like I had been thrown into a lion’s den and was about to get eaten alive at any moment. These ladies were not interested in hearing that the ability to speak Spanish and communicate with the Spanish-speaking was value-added and that it should be rewarded by increasing the pay of those who had this ability. In the end, however, I survived, and felt good that I did this presentation. I might have even convinced one or two of the attendees that having bilingual skills is indeed an asset when working with the public.
Diversity presentation
Introduction
Good evening. My name is Bob Diaz. Before I begin my presentation, I’d like to tell you a little bit about myself. I’m a Mexican American with roots here in southern Arizona that go way back, a native Tucsonan, and a graduate of the University of Arizona. I have a B.A. in Psychology and a masters degree in Library Science. I’m currently employed as Assistant to the Dean for Staff Development, Recruitment and Diversity at the University of Arizona Library. Prior to that, I was an associate reference and instruction librarian at the University of Michigan Undergraduate Library from 1987- 1992. I’m very happy to be here tonight, and I hope we have a very useful and productive session.
I’ve been asked to discuss the issue of diversity in organizations. I will talk about three major issues: First I will ask the question, why bother with diversity anyway and will provide some context for what we are dealing with. Then I’ll discuss diversity within organizations, and use examples from my own experiences at the University of Arizona to illustrate some of the points I would like to make. Thirdly, I will discuss the issue of personal responsibility as it relates to understanding and embracing diversity. Finally, we’ll open up the floor to questions and comments from you.
Just what is diversity and why are we bothering?
Is it about race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age?
Is it about individual differences not included in the above categories? Is it about affirmative action and equal employment opportunity? The answer is yes, yes, yes. In fact, there are a multitude of definitions. One organization defines diversity as: those human qualities or characteristics that make people different, unique, the same, and similar. These distinctions are not limited to race, gender, or ethnicity, according to this definition. Another definition is: diversity is any difference that makes a difference.
However, the focus of my presentation tonight will not be solely on “individual differences” or unique qualities or characteristics” but on racial, gender and ethnic diversity and what needs to be done within companies and organizations, as well as at the individual level to change the way things now stand. I’ve chosen this focus because race, gender and ethnicity are key factors in the diversity equation and have been throughout the history of this nation. While some people would argue that there are laws on the books that protect the rights of members of minority groups and women and that there is equal opportunity for every citizen, it is clear that we are not yet at the point where we can say there is a level playing field. White males still dominate our country’s major corporations, and are still clearly the ones that hold most, if not all of the power at all levels of government and society.
Here are some basic facts that will help further this discussion:
3 out of 10 Americans are persons of color. However, in less than 50 years, (some say sooner) one half of the U.S. population will be African American, Latino, Native American, or Asian American. This is now the case in California.
By the year 2000, nearly one half of the civilian workers in the U.S. will be female.
Women with college degrees earn roughly the same as men with high school diplomas.
Women earn 72 cents for every dollar a man earns for the same work.
In a study of 15 major corporations, one researcher found that minorities comprised less than 8% of middle management and only 2% of upper management positions.
There are many other well known documented facts that are important to know. For example,
Minorities have less access than non-minorities to quality education, good jobs, upward mobility, and representation in government, and have lower income levels and higher mortality rates than non minorities.
Historically, minorities have been viewed by the dominant culture as either the enemy (Asians and Native Americans) or as a source of cheap labor (Asians, Latinos, African Americans) and were treated badly by members of the dominant culture, receiving lower wages and fewer societal benefits. While we cannot go back and change history, what we can do is try to understand how we got to where we are now. It isn’t a matter of placing blame either. It’s a matter of putting these issues into context.
There is an increase in racial and ethnic violence in our society. Hate groups are on the rise. There is increased anti-immigrant sentiment and less tolerance for people who choose to continue to preserve their cultural traditions and languages.
What does all this point to?: change is taking place and, as always, there is resistance. In fact, one writer, has noted that “diversity was never the issue. Diversity is a fact. The question is about inclusion or exclusion of whom, on what terms, and for what purpose? The issue is about fear: our fear of the stranger, our shadow side, our fear of change, and our fear of failure.”
While the outlook for our society may seem bleak, it’s where we are. And we have to do something about it. We have to begin to learn about eachother and to work together to overcome our fear of one another. This has to take place at multiple levels: at the societal level, the corporate level and the individual level.
Before moving on to looking at what can be done in corporations and at the individual level, I’d like to make one other point.
For me personally, embracing diversity has always been akin to “doing the right thing”. Respect for all people and tolerance for difference are values I hold dear. However, the arguments or what some would call “the moral imperative” that provided fuel for the civil rights movement and much of the legislation that followed took us all only so far. In fact, some folks argue that the conditions for minorities in this country have worsened since the sixties.
What do we need to do to take us further? One writer argues that diversity is a bottom line issue, and indeed it is: if we don’t begin to include people of color and others outside the dominant culture in our institutions and corporations, they will go elsewhere, not only for employment but for products and services. And believe me the competition is there waiting to serve and to sell. A good example is the Honda corporation. It realizes that it has a diverse customer base here in the U.S., so it has done market studies to determine the needs of these customers and it has also hired people from these diverse communities to sell Honda’s products. Remember that these communities are increasing in numbers too. What does this mean? Think about it.
So, what needs to be done to begin to address diversity in a company or organization? First, there needs to be commitment at the top. In study after study, the data clearly shows that the role of top management in setting the direction and agenda for implementing diversity goals, programs, and training is critical. Top management needs to set the agenda for change. It must look at its mission and values statements and change them. It must begin to address it’s hiring and recruitment practices and look at retention and promotion issues, communication issues, supervisory practices, the services that are provided and how they are provided. Management must also encourage all of its employees to behave with respect both for their fellow employees and for their customers. Training needs to take place. But, changes will not occur overnight. It takes practice and patience to change an organizational culture.
At the University of Arizona Library, we have a very strong commitment from the top. Our Dean, Carla Stoffle, has written extensively on these issues and has really put her money where her mouth is. Our library has a very diverse workforce (in fact, we are far above the national average in terms of numbers of minorities at the professional level). We have also included diversity in our mission and values statements, in our team leader review process, in our job descriptions and in many of our team objectives. We have in place my position, which oversees the efforts of the Affirmative Action committee and the Library diversity council. We have provided our staff with many training and learning opportunities, and have even been rewarded for taking the lead on campus in the area of diversity. Many of our programs are both educational and celebratory. We’ve addressed such diverse issues as homophobia in the workplace, what it means to be Jewish in the U.S, we’ve had a Chinese New Year celebration, and we’ve sponsored programs for the entire campus on topics such as the role of women in Islam. We’ve also co-sponsored numerous events such as the recent visit by Harvard professor Cornell West. While it is clear that we have made lots of progress, there will always be more work to do. We are finding that in a team-based organization, meeting facilitation is a very important skill as it is key to fostering a environment where all staff are given a fair chance to communicate and participate in everyday meetings and events. We now are working on building these skills across the Library.
At the personal level, there are many things that can be done to understand and embrace diversity. First and foremost, I would encourage anyone to begin with a positive attitude. What an incredible opportunity this can be for learning and growth!! Begin by questioning your own assumptions about how you see the world. Question your generalizations and stereotypes (we all make them). Question what you see on television, and what you read in books and magazines. Read a book by a person of color. Read a book about diversity. Go to a local fiesta or pow wow. Tucson is a very unique and diverse community. Explore it. Challenge your friends to a discussion of race and ethnicity. Question your assumptions again and again.
I’ll leave you with one final quote from a book entitled The Diversity Advantage by John P. Fernandez and Mary Barr. “Although the U.S. possesses the best laws in all the world to protect all its citizens, it must move from the philosophical and legal to the proactive and personal. US citizens must, in short, walk their talk. Each individual must recognize that he or she is part of both the problem and the solution….Thank you very much.
This exhibit in the Science-Engineering Library will offer a broad overview of the career of A.E. Douglass and basic information about the Laboratory for Tree Ring Research.
A.E. Douglass was an astronomy professor at the University of Arizona who headed the Stewart Observatory and established the science of dendrochronology, or the study of tree rings, which can be used to determine how old various archeological sites are. He also founded The Laboratory for Tree Ring Research in 1937. The exhibit will feature materials from the A.E. Douglass papers (Special Collections AZ 72), including photos, documents and artifacts from Douglass’s early youth through his later years. It will also feature material on loan form the Laboratory for Tree Ring Research, including a wooden beam from an archaeological site known as Chetro Ketl that is nearly 1,000 years old.
A.E. Douglass was born in Windsor, Vermont on July 5, 1867, the fifth child of the Reverend Malcolm Douglass and Sarah Hale Douglass. He grew up in Andover, Massachusetts and attended Punchard Free (High) School. His love for astronomy started at an early age. By his senior year, he was teaching the subject to other students. While in college, he excelled in the sciences. He graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 1889 with honors in astronomy, mathematics and physics.
After graduation, Douglass found work as a research assistant with William H. Pickering at the Harvard College Astronomy. He spent a year there before he was sent to South America to help build an observatory in Arequipa, Peru. He traveled to various other locales in South America and soon met Purcivell Lowell, an amateur astronomer with whom he began to work and who like Douglass, had a strong interest in the study of the planet Mars.
In the ensuring years, Douglass found himself working for Lowell in Mexico, and then in Flagstaff Arizona where he supervised the building of the Lowell Observatory. He had a falling out with Lowell, and for a few years was a probate judge for the town of Flagstaff. By 1906, however, after having spent 12 years in Flagstaff, he secured a position at the University of Arizona. He taught physics and geography, among other topics.
Douglass entered the University of Arizona as Assistant Professor of Physics and Geography. Upon his arrival he, with the help of his Harvard friends the Pickerings, made sure that the University of Arizona had a telescope. It was a borrowed, 8 inch, refracting telescope, but it was better than what was there before. The telescope stayed at the University of Arizona for many years atop the original Science Building just north of Old Main, but was eventually returned to Harvard.
It didn’t take Douglass long to start lobbying the powers that be for an observatory. He argued that the Tucson skies were perfect for star gazing. His wish was finally granted when in 1916, Mrs. Lavinia Steward, a wealthy donor, gave the University $60,000 for a new observatory. It took nearly 6 years to complete, but Douglass happily witnessed a dream come true. The Steward Observatory was officially dedicated on April 23, 1923.
Douglass served the UA in other capacities over the years. He was head of the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Interim President, and Dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
Materials in this exhibit were borrowed from the following sources:
In the early 90’s I was a member of the American Library Association’s GLBT Book Award committee. One of the books published for the year under review was Leslie’s Feinberg’s groundbreaking novel, Stone Butch Blues. It brought to light the issues faced by people who were transgendered and it struck a strong chord with me. I lobbied hard for the book to win the award for fiction, and indeed it did, in 1993. At the time, my position at the UA Library was that of Assistant to the Dean for Staff Development, Recruitment and Diversity and part of my work was to engage in building partnerships with campus and community groups to help educate the campus and the community at large about issues faced by underrepresented or misunderstood groups, such as the GLBT community. I decided that it would be great to bring Leslie to Tucson, and worked with the members of Wingspan, the local gay community center to raise money to fund her visit, which took place during the Fall 1994 semester. We received support from the University’s Diversity Action Council as well as from the University Library and other groups.
This is the news release I wrote for the occasion:
NEWS RELEASE….NEWS RELEASE…NEWS RELEASE…NEWS RELEASE
September 1994
Biographical sketch: Leslie Feinberg came of age as a young butch lesbian in the factories and gay bars of Buffalo NY in the 1960’s. Since that time, Feinberg has been a grassroots activist and a journalist.S/he is nationally known in the gay and transgender movements.
Leslie Feinberg was given the distinct honor of being the opening speaker at this summer’s Stonewall 25 rally in New York City, which drew millions of people from across the country and around the world. Feinberg’s novel, Stone Butch Blues, published on March 1, 1993 by Firebrand Books, has received a wildly popular response. The novel has received the prestigious American Library Association Award for Gay and Lesbian Literature and a LAMBDA Literary Award.
A video about Leslie Feinberg titled Outlaw (see excerpt below) premiered at the New York City Lesbian and Gay Film Festival this summer and is being distributed nationally and internationally.
Feinberg has toured the country for two years with the slide show on transgender issues that has played to packed audiences and standing ovations. Since October 1993, s/he has appeared on the Joan Rivers show and scores of other television and radio programs. Feinberg has been interviewed and and her work reviewed by virtually every lesbian/gay, transgender and feminist publication in the last two years.
Biographical Highlights:
bd 9/94
Here’s a copy of the article that appeared in the Tucson Weekly about Feinberg’s visit:
Feinberg’s visit was the first of several made to Tucson over the years. Within a few years of her visit, the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance was founded, which was a support and advocacy group whose focus was to support those who identify as transgendered. The group still exists and is stronger than ever.
Feinberg returned to Tucson in 2004 for the following event.
In 2007, Leslie was the keynote speaker at the Annual Wingspan dinner in Tucson. Read about it here.
Read Feinberg’s obituary in the Advocate here.
Years later, after Feinberg died in 2014, when I was a member of the American Library Association Council, I authored a resolution for the Association that was passed in Leslie’s memory. I’ll never forget how encouraging and supportive Leslie was to me and my partner, with whom she became fast friends. She encouraged me to do more community organizing and complimented me on the work I did when I brought her to town all those many years ago. Introducing her to the Tucson community was one of the best moments of my career.
She was a true revolutionary.
Further reading:
Leslie Feinberg Beheld a World without Gender, by Martha E. Stone. The Gay and Lesbian Review, March-April, 2015.
Leslie Feinberg’s Curriculum Vitae.
A few years back, I was a member of the Board of Directors of Tucson Meet Yourself and for the 2012 Festival, I was invited to create a small exhibition on lowriders for display at the festival. The results can be seen below. I had a great time working on this, from painting the display boards to writing a bibliography on lowriding (see below) to meeting with members of the local car club, The Dukes, to borrow materials for the display. These include the little cars and the Dukes clock, as well as the hubcaps that are shown. I used material from my own record collections to create the display on oldies but goodies music. The photos below include a couple of my good friend Mel “Melo” Dominguez, a wonderful local artist with whom I shared a booth at the festival. Friends of mine stopped by and their photos are also included. Finally, I had to include some photos of the many beautiful cars that were on display that day. Again, this was another fun project!
Lowrider Bibliography
These resources can be obtained from either the University of Arizona Library or the Pima County Public Library.
How to build a lowrider. / by Frank Hamilton. North Branch MN. Cartech, 1996. University of Arizona Library, Special Collections. TL 255.2 .H36 1996
Lowrider: history, pride, culture. / by Paige R. Penland. St. Paul MN: Motorbooks, International, 2003. University of Arizona Library. Special Collections. TL 255.2 .P46 2003
Lowrider Magazine. San Jose, Calif.: A.T.M. Communications. Pima County Public Library. Various branches.
Lowrider space: aesthetics and politics of Mexican American custom cars./ by Ben Chappel. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2012. University of Arizona Library. E184.M5 C3837 2012
Lowriders. / by Lisa Bullard. Minneapolis, Minn: Lerner Publishing, 2007 (children’s book) Pima County Public Library. 629.2872 B8729L 2007 CHILD
Lowriders / by Matt Doeden. Mankato, Minn.: Capstone Press, 2005. (children’s book) Pima County Public Library. 629.2872 D67L 2005 CHILD
Lowriders. / by Robert Genat. St. Paul, Minn: MBI, Publishing, 2001. Pima County Public Library. 629.222 G2852L 2001 Espanol TEEN
Lowriders handbook, The: engines, tires and wheels, hydraulics, custom interiors, custom bodywork, chassis and suspension, air ride. / from the editors of Lowrider Magazine. New York: HP Books, 2002. University of Arizoan Library. Special Collections. TL 255.2 .L68 2002
Lowriders in Chicano culture: from low to slow to show. / by Charles M. Tatum. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood, 2011. University of Arizona Library. E-book.
Lowriding in Aztlan: the truth about lowriding! / a film produced by Katrina Jasso-Osorio, Daniel Osorio; written and directed by Daniel Osorio. New York: Universal Music and Video Distribution, 2006. Pima County Public Library. 629.222 L9552 2006 DVD TEEN
Low ‘n slow: lowriding in New Mexico. / photographs by Jack Parson; text by Carmella Padilla; poetry by Juan Estevan Arellano. Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press, 1999. Pima County Public Library. 917.89004 P254L 1999
Low y cool. / a film by Marianne Dissard. Tucson, Az. M. Dissard, 1997. Pima County Public Library. 362.7089 L95 1996 DVD, available at various branches.
Old barrio guide to low rider music, The. / by Ruben Molina. La Puente, Ca: Mictlan Pub., 2005. University of Arizona Library. Fine Arts Library and Special Collections. ML 3558 .M65 2005
Prepared by Bob Diaz for Tucson Meet Yourself. October, 2012.
Promo for the event:
Corridos are narrative songs which often chronicle socially relevant historical events. The corridos featured in this evening’s program come from both the Mexican Revolution and the Cristero Rebellion, a revolt by Catholics against the Mexican government that occurred in response to anti-Catholic legislation in the 1920’s.
A lecture by Dr. Celestino Fernandez will be followed by the performance of corridos by local artists, including Juan Aguilar and Justin Enriquez, members of the quartet, Los Cuatro Vientos.
Dr. Celestino Fernández, Professor Emeritus in the University of Arizona School of Sociology, is himself a composer of corridos. He served as University Distinguished Outreach Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies for many years. His research focuses on various issues pertaining to culture, Mexican immigration, ethnic diversity, and education and he has published approximately 50 articles and book chapters. Dr. Fernandez serves on numerous community boards, and helped start San Miguel High School, a college-prep school for students from poor and working class families. Dr. Fernández received an M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University.
To learn more about the Cristero Rebellion, you may wish to visit the online exhibition La Vida Fronteriza: Church, Economy and Daily Life which features materials documenting the De la Torre family and their involvement in the Cristero Rebellion.
My introduction to the event:
“Good evening. My name is Bob Diaz. I am the curator for the performing arts and the exhibits and events coordinator here in Special Collections. Thank you for for joining us tonight. It’s my pleasure to welcome you to our second annual evening of corridos. Before I introduce our guests, I’d like to mention our Dia De Los Muertos altar. This year’s altar was put together by Luis Coronado Gruel and students from his History 368 class on Colonial Mexico. The altar is dedicated to Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, one of the most important Mexican writers of all time. Thank you, maestro Gruel, for doing such a wonderful job.
Tonight Dr. Celestino Fernandez, professor emeritus of Sociology, will be giving a presentation on the corridos of the Cristero Movement and the Mexican Revolution. Following his presentation, we will hear from a number of folks who brought their guitars with them and who will be singing some corridos for us. We have with us again, Justin Enriquez and Juan Aguilar, as well as a few other musical guests, including Bobby Benton, Jim Griffith, Antonio Gomez and Aristeo Brito, and Dena Cowan and Jesus Garcia. There may be others who have come along to join in on the fun, and hopefully we’ll have time to hear everyone sing at least one song.
After the lecture and performances we will have refreshments, including pan de muerto from La Estrella Bakery. Please enjoy the program, stick around and check out the altar and our exhibit on Tucson, and enjoy yourselves. Nuestra casa es su casa”.
This exhibition was held in celebration of the anniversary of the “founding” of Tucson in 1775 by Spanish colonizers, and was centered around a collection of photographs I had found in Special Collections that consisted of photos of all of the buildings in the oldest part of town that had been demolished during Tucson’s urban renewal rampage, which took place in the latter part of the 1960s. Some beautiful houses and many historically significant buildings were lost in the old barrio, or “Barrio Viejo” to to make way for the building of the Tucson Community Center. My friend Richard’s father, Mr. Albert Elias, had mentioned to me that they existed, so I looked and looked until I found them. I was frankly quite shocked that these photos never got much attention before I pushed to have them digitized for use in this exhibition. The events I planned included a lecture by Tom Sheridan, assessing the present state of the Mexican community in Tucson and a panel discussion on growing up in Tucson that featured Katya Peterson, Molly McKasson, Lydia Otero and Ernesto Portillo, Jr. This was one of my best efforts. The programs were both well attended and the exhibition drew many visitors.
I coordinated two different programs held in Special Collections for Hispanic Heritage Month in 2016. I worked with Socorro Carrizosa of the Chicano Hispano Center on the planning. Dan’s talk was the first one. The second program was another “Noche de Corridos” evening. I’ve known Dan Buckley since my days as a member of the Board of Directors of the Tucson International Mariachi Conference in the mid-2000s. He’s been a long time supporter of the Tucson International Mariachi Conference and his writing for the Tucson Citizen on the festival was always something one could eagerly look forward to reading.
Click here to listen to the audio of this program.
Local documentary producer, writer and music critic, Daniel Buckley, will share the story of the Tucson youth mariachi movement. He is currently in production on his eighth documentary, “The Mariachi Miracle,” which traces the impact of youth mariachis and folklórico dance groups on the social economic, educational, political and artistic fabric of Tucson, Arizona.
Producer/director Daniel Buckley is currently in production on his 8th documentary film, The Mariachi Miracle, which traces the impact of your mariachis and folklorico dance groups on the social, economic, educational, pollitical and artistic fabric of Tucson.
Buckely spent over 30 years as a music journalist, and later multimedia developer for newspapers in Tucson, Arizona and national magazines. During his nearly 23 years with the Tucson Citizien, de developed a deep interest in Tucson’s traditional Mexican and Native American cultural expressions.
In 2013, the Tucson International Mariachi Conference inducted Buckley into its Mariachi Hall of Fame, and in 2014 he was named Artist of the Year at the Arizona Governor’s Arts Awards for his work as a writer, composer, filmmaker, performance artist, and photographer.
Click here for more information on Buckley’s Mariachi Miracle project .
In late 2013, I was approached by my friend Keith Bagwell, who asked me if I would be interested in working with a couple of people he knew who wanted to work on an exhibition in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Wilderness Act. Those two people turned out to be Meg Weesner, formerly of the National Park Service, and Kevin Dahl, executive director of the Tucson Audubon Society. They knew we housed the papers of the Udall brothers as well as those of Edward Abbey, and they were very eager to share their knowledge of conservation and environmental issues with me and to work with me to design an exhibition celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the passage of the Wilderness Act. It was a real pleasure working with them. Meg, in particular, put in a lot of time and effort into this project. She led the way.
“This new exhibit showcases how, 50 years after becoming law, the Wilderness Act continues to benefit the American people by ensuring millions of acres of public land are available for recreation, exploration and inspiration. “The Wilderness Act” features original material from Special Collections including maps, books, archival documents and photographs from the collections of Edward Abbey and Stewart and Morris Udall.”
Read former student assistant Jarrod Mingus’s article about the exhibition here.
Listen to highlights of the opening program, courtesy of KXCI, here.
I co-curated this exhibit with Gloria McMillan and India Spartz. My sections of the exhibition are shown below. I created the displays featuring science fiction-related toys loaned to Special Collections by Wolf Forrest, the featured speaker for our opening event. I also made arrangements with the staff at the Lunar and Planetary Lab to borrow the Mars globe, and visited with Dr. William Hartmann at his home, where he graciously loaned me one of his Mars paintings and some of his Mars-related reference books for inclusion in the exhibition. I also purchased the posters that were displayed and made arrangements for Dr. Bradley Schauer to speak at the exhibition’s second event. It was a real pleasure getting to know Mr. Wolf Forrest, who it turns out, is not only a Sci-Fi buff, but a rock and roll music buff too!
The Mars Madness exhibit, subtitled “Sci-Fi, Popular Culture and Ray Bradbury’s Literary Journey to Outer Space” opened January 21st, and will be on display until August 1, 2014 in the Special Collections at the University of Arizona, 1510 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ. An array of Ray Bradbury material will be on display, including original works by the author, works of others who influenced him, pulp SF magazines, photos of Mars, movie memorabilia, and a selection of SF related toys on loan from the private collection of Wolf Forrest. The exhibit is curated by India Spartz, Bob Diaz, and Gloria McMillan, editor of Orbiting Ray Bradbury’s Mars (McFarland),
The opening reception will be held on January 21, 2014, at 5:30 p.m with a talk by Mr. Wolf Forrest. A book signing with McMillan will be held March 15, 2014, at 3:30 p.m., and a lecture, “Filming Pulp Poetry: Ray Bradbury and It Came From Outer Space” with assistant professor of the School of Theater, Film and Television, Bradley Schauer, will be held on April 8, 2014, at 5 p.m.
I put this exhibition together for display in the Main Library. All of the material comes from Special Collections, which has an amazing collection of performing arts-related holdings. The exhibition, although small, was well received, and was a pleasure to work on. I don’t have photographs of every section, but I did save some.
Description:
“Special Collections has a growing number of collections about the performing arts. This exhibit will draw on these collections to provide a look at Tucson’s history of performing arts from the 19th century to the present day. Included will be recordings, photographs, programs and other ephemera.
Tucson has been home to a rich arts scene encompassing music, dance, theater and cinema. The Tucson scene has thrived in part because of its inclusive nature, which has included classical as well as popular offerings. For instance, music offerings span symphonic and opera offerings at one end of the spectrum to street music and folk festivals at the other.
Tucsonans are fortunate that our community has so many arts and cultural organizations that sponsor performances, not the least of which is the University of Arizona. The exhibit will include materials from UA Presents, the “Saturday Morning Music Club” and Tucson Meet Yourself among other collections.”
THE PERFORMING ARTS IN TUCSON
Native peoples of Southern Arizona included chants and drumming in their ceremonial lives long before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. Shortly thereafter, as the missions were built, the Spanish priests trained the local people in the music of the Church. Choral music and voice lessons provided by the local friars were a regular part of mission life during the 18th and 19th centuries.
After Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, the local people continued many of the traditions that the Spanish brought with them. Tucson was a small outpost on the northernmost frontier, so entertainment by outsiders was sporadic. Small local Mexican performing groups existed, and their infrequent work consisted of serenades and performing at parties.
When the Gadsden Purchase was signed in 1854, Tucson became part of the United States, and its population gradually increased. Easterners brought with them their own European-based cultural activities. However, visiting performing groups came mostly from Mexico. El Teatro Royal, later called the South Main Theater, was one of Tucson’s first entertainment venues. Traveling musical groups and theater troupes entertained the locals with plays in Spanish, and even opera. It is said that the world famous Mexican opera star, “La Peralta” even performed there once.
The following story comes from the book, “Tucson Incunabula”, by Alexandra Maria Diamos.
In the 1870s, Levin’s Park was the home of Tucson’s first “Opera House”, which hosted traveling musical and theatrical shows. It didn’t last long, but soon other venues were created for entertainment. Military bands stationed at Ft Lowell also provided countless hours of entertainment for the local community at this time.
In the 1880’s, St. Augustine’s Cathedral was soon joined by other churches representing the Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and Episcopalian faiths. Choral music and other religious music thus increased. Along with this, the local schools (public and private) that were opened also emphasized the importance of the arts, music in particular. The University of Arizona, founded in 1885, played an important role in Tucson’s musical life. By 1906, the department of music and dance was training students in choral music and lessons were given to students learning instruments such as the violin and piano.
At the turn of the century, a new Tucson Opera House was built on Congress, as were other venues, including the Broadway Theater and Elysian Grove, which was located at the present site of Carrillo School on S. Main and was the former home of The Carrillo Gardens. One can only imagine what it was like attending Buffalo Bill’s Traveling Minstrel Show or seeing the great Sarah Bernhardt on stage. Both appeared in town in the early 1900s.
By 1910, what one would call “more refined” entertainment in Tucson began to increase. The Tucson Opera House hosted everything from Shakespearean drama to nationally renowned singers and other classical musicians, while theaters such as El Teatro Carmen, established by Carmen Soto Vasquez, continued to host travelling groups from Mexico that offered both musical and theatrical entertainment.
CLASSICAL MUSIC IN TUCSON
Tucson High School was the home of many early classical concerts up through the late twenties. The auditorium was a beautiful space, and a favorite of the Tucson Symphony and other local performing groups in the 1920s.
Madeline Heineman Berger, who co-founded the Saturday Morning Music Club in 1906, also founded the Temple of Music and Art. Built in the late 1920s, it became the home of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra as well as to local theater groups that performed there. From 1929 through the late 1960s, the Temple served as a major center for Tucson’s performing arts community. The Temple fell on hard times in the 1960s and 1970s, and changed ownership a number of times, but never completely closed its doors. Today, it continues to be a thriving performing space and is home to the Arizona Theatre Company.
The Tucson Symphony Orchestra began its long life at the end of the 1920s and performed not only at Tucson High and the Temple of Music and Art, but also at the University of Arizona auditorium, well into the 1960s. In the early 1970s Tucson Community Center Music Hall became its permanent home.
By mid-century, the University had a well-established annual visiting artist series, and hosted many talented musicians and groups, including dance troupes such as the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. The students and faculty of the School of Music also provided concerts for the public on a regular basis. Theater was taught both in the public schools as well as at the University level, and performances of plays, musicals and opera were held on a regular basis by both local and visiting performers.
Over the past 25 years, the University of Arizona Library has hosted several El Dia De Los Muertos programs and altar installations. Dr. Alba Nora Martinez, a professor in the Spanish Department was an early promoter of this programming, and I worked with her at the Main Library to produce at least two different programs and installations in the late 1990s, when I was Assistant to the Dean for Staff Development, Recruitment and Diversity. Years later, after I became coordinator of exhibits and events at Special Collections, I decided to have the programming revived. In 2013, I worked with three graduate students, Amy Vaterlaus, Stephen Curley and George Apodaca on the altar below. We made paper flowers and I purchased other materials for inclusion in it. They also gave very informative presentations about various aspects of the Mexican Day of the Dead traditions in Mexico and the United States. Justin Enriquez and Juan Aguilar provided musical entertainment and there were Mexican beverages like horchata and jamaica as well as pan de muerto, provided by La Estrella Bakery. It was a fun and memorable event!
Promotional video for the El Dia De Los Muertos altar
Video of the entire event by Antonio Arroyo
I co-curated this exhibition with another member of the Special Collections staff, who chose the materials for inclusion in the exhibition. My contributions included writing all of the captions and a narrative of the ship’s history (see the text below) as well as a timeline/chronology of key events in the life of the ship. All photos used here are from the U.S.S. Arizona collection, AZ 517, courtesy of Special Collections, The University of Arizona Libraries.
Promo from the UA News Service:
Special Collections, at the Main Library, has one of the largest collections of USS Arizona materials in the world. The collection will host a signature exhibition honoring the 1,177 USS Arizona crewmen and officers who gave their lives in the line of duty during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The extensive USS Arizona collection, which has been created primarily from donations of individuals associated with the battleship during her 26-year life, is the source of content for the exhibition, “The Life and Legacy of the USS Arizona,” which opens on Aug. 29.
The exhibition will remain open through Dec. 23, featuring original photographs that document the USS Arizona’s personnel and operational history. Other materials on display will be papers, scrapbooks, documents and memorabilia, such as the ship’s newspaper, official Navy documents and crew correspondence. Also included will be oral histories with men who served on the ship and papers from the USS Arizona Reunion Association.
Click here to see the chronology that I created for the exhibition.
The narrative I wrote for the exhibit:
1914-1915
At the close of the 19th century, the military strength of Japan and Great Britain was largely based on their sea power, and both led the world in building great battleships. Domination of the seas meant domination of commerce and trade. The United States, not to be outdone, dedicated itself into building even greater, mightier war ships, and in the early 1900s several were built. It took an act of Congress to authorize the construction of such ships. Upon completion of construction, the USS Arizona, the 41st battleship built by the US Navy, was said, by the New York Times, to be “the world’s biggest and most powerful, both offensively and defensively, super dreadnought ever constructed.” The ship was built at a cost of 15 million dollars, and was a sister ship to the USS Pennsylvania.
There was speculation in the news media about the name of the new ship. Some believed it would be named after the home state of the Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels, who hailed from North Carolina. However, as fate would have it, the keel for the new ship was laid on March 14, 1914 and it was christened the USS Arizona on June 19, 1915, in honor of its entry as the 48th state into the union on February 14, 1912.
Esther Ross, an Arizona native and the daughter of a prominent Prescott businessman, was chosen by Governor George P. Hunt as the ship’s sponsor. It was her job to “christen” the ship, and an estimated 75,000 people crowded the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn witness Miss Ross fling two bottles, one filled with champagne and one with water, at the prow of the ship, proclaiming, “I christen thee Arizona!”
1916-1920
The USS Arizona was commissioned on October 17, 1916 by Rear Admiral Nathaniel R. Usher. Its first captain was John D. McDonald. Following her “shakedown cruise”, or maiden voyage, on November 10, 1916, she joined the Atlantic fleet, and by the end of 1916 had sailed to Cuba and had fired both her 5-inch and 14-inch guns for the first time. Unfortunately, the ship had experienced some mechanical problems with one of its engines, and as a result had to return to New York for repairs, which took about four months.
The ship remained stateside during World War I because oil, which wasn’t readily available in Europe during the war, was the ship’s main fuel source, while other ships in the US fleet ran on coal, which was plentiful in places like England.
Shortly after the war ended, the ship participated in escorting President Woodrow Wilson to Europe for the Paris Peace talks in December 1918. It was then sent to Turkey in 1919 at the beginning of the Greco-Turkish War to represent US interests, which included the oil companies owned by men such as John D. Rockefeller. It then sailed back to New York where it remained until the following year. In January, 1920, the ship sailed to the Caribbean once again, with visits to Cuba, Barbados and Panama.
1921-1925
In early January of 1921, the USS Arizona joined the rest of the Atlantic fleet for a trek to Cuba to participate in a series of tactical exercises in the Caribbean. Having its sister ships in proximity offered the crew of the USS Arizona the opportunity to compete with the crews of other ships in a variety of sports, including football, rowing, boxing and baseball. Several of these athletic teams from USS Arizona won awards and trophies.
The fleet transited the Panama Canal on January 17, 1921, and made its way to Peru, crossing the Equator for the first time on January 24. This was the USS Arizona’s first opportunity to both transit the Canal and to cross the Equator. Crossing the Equator, according to naval tradition, meant it was time for the “crossing the line” ceremonies, a series of mostly fun-filled activities and practical jokes intended to initiate new recruits into the naval brotherhood.
By mid-1921, a number of changes took place, including a change in senior leadership. The USS Arizona was now under the command of Rear Admiral Josiah S. McKean and tasked to join the Pacific fleet, with its new home base at San Pedro, a port adjacent to Long Beach, Ca.
In 1923, President Warren Harding reviewed the ship while anchored in Seattle. Upon his death the following month, the USS Arizona half-masted her colors and joined other ships in firing a salute to the deceased President.
1925-1930
The latter part of the 1920s found the USS Arizona with a busy schedule. It was continually moving, often engaged with its sister battleships in a variety of military exercises. From its home base in Southern California, it sailed up and down the West Coast, from San Pedro to San Francisco to Seattle and back numerous times. It sailed to Hawaii twice, to Panama and the Caribbean, and up to New York and back. Its final trip of the 1920s was through the Panama Canal up to the Norfolk Navy Yard where it was dry docked in late May, 1929, and underwent major renovations. The cage masts were replaced with newer tripod-type masts, and newer five inch guns replaced her old three-inch anti-aircraft battery. Outer plating was added to protect against underwater mines and torpedos. Work on the ship was finally completed in December of 1930.
1931-1935
Remodeling of the ship was completed by 1931 and the ship is re-commissioned. It sails the East Coast, and escorts President Herbert Hoover on a cruise to the West Indies and back to Maine. It also makes trips to Cuba and the Panama Canal on its way back to the West coast. By early 1932 it makes its way to Hawaii with other battle ships for tactical exercises, but soon returns to the West Coast. This would be the normal routine for the ship for the remainder of the 1930s, although there were a few out of the ordinary adventures, including the occurrence of an earthquake in Long Beach in 1933. The crew of the ship assisted with the relief efforts that followed. Another was the use of the ship as the main prop for the movie, “Here Comes the Navy” starring James Cagney in 1934.
1936-1940
The next five years (1936-1940) finds the ship spending time sailing up and down the Pacific coast, as well as making a few long distance trips to Hawaii, Panama and the South Seas. It crossed the Equator two more times, offering the ship’s men the opportunity to engage in more rounds of “crossing the line” ceremonies. It also participated with the rest of the US Fleet in various military exercises throughout this time period. Tragically, on July 9, 1937, one of the USS Arizona’s planes, an O3U-3 biplane, was caught by a sudden wind that plunged it five hundred feet, into Puget Sound, leaving one man, Seaman First Class William H. Meyers, dead. By late September, 1940. the ship returned to the West Coast and spent the last days of 1940 in the Puget Sound region.
December 7, 1941
Pearl Harbor. The fate of the crew on the USS Arizona took the worst turn imaginable on December 7, 1941. Early in the morning, the Japanese attacked the US fleet docked in the harbor, and virtually destroyed the USS Arizona with a direct hit which split the ship in half and caused it to sink, killing most of its men. In all over 1,100 lives were lost. Over 900 of these men are still buried on the ship. As then President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed shortly after the bombing, Dec. 7 1941 “would be a day that would live in infamy”.
There are numerous first person accounts of the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. To learn more about these personal testimonies, please see the computer kiosk included as part of this exhibit. It includes two recorded oral histories.
The book, “The USS Arizona: the ship, the men, the Pearl Harbor attack, and the symbol that aroused America,” by Joy Waldron Jasper, James P. Delgado and Jim Adams. New York: Truman Talley, 2001, is also available in the Main Library and Special Collections. (Call #: D 767.92 J37 2001)
Daily Life on the USS Arizona
The USS Arizona was home to over 1500 crew members at any given time. There was a clearly defined chain of command and very little, if any, informal interaction between officers and the non-commissioned and enlisted ranks. Those in the enlisted ranks were assigned the most laborious jobs, such as holystoning the deck, (sanding the deck with a brick attached to a pole) polishing brass and peeling chipped paint.
While daily life on the USS Arizona was very regimented, the sailors still found time for engaging in various activities, including a variety of sports such as boxing, rowing, baseball and football. Over the years the teams representing the USS Arizona in competition with teams from other ships won a number of trophies and awards.
The ship housed a printing operation, and published a weekly newsletter, as well as programs for events and other activities. The ship had its own band, and concerts were given whenever possible. Parties, and special dinners occurred all too rarely, but were memorable events. The ship also had a library, and a canteen, and church services were held every Sunday.
William Watkins
William Allen Watkins was born in Jackson County, West Virginia and served aboard the USS Arizona from 1931-1938. He remained with the US Navy for 23 years, and retired in 1953. His duties while on the USS Arizona included that of turret crew member, where he kept the turret #1 clean and ready for firing. He was active in sports, and participated on the ship’s tennis, baseball and rowing teams throughout the 30s. He donated over 400 USS Arizona related items to the University of Arizona, including photographs, albums, books, certificates, banners, a kerchief and various handmade souvenirs such as handmade photo frames and ashtrays, made from shell casings and scrap metal.
Carlos Cecil
Carlos Cecil enlisted in the US Navy in 1917. He was a Carpenter’s Mate 1st class, and served on board the USS Arizona from 1919 to 1921, whereupon he received an honorable discharge. He was born on October 15, 1899 in St. Louis Missouri, and passed away at the age of 70 on July 8, 1970. His last will and testament stipulated that his collection of Navy memorabilia be donated to the University of Arizona. These included photographs, news articles and programs for various events. They were presented to the University by Cecil’s widow at the 18th Annual Fleet Reserve Associations SS Arizona Memorial Service, held at the Student Union building on December 5, 1971.
Crew-Kin Association
The USS Arizona Crew-Kin, an Arizona non-profit organization, was founded in 1979 shortly after the fourth annual reunion of the USS Arizona Reunion Association. The organization’s objectives were to: maintain membership of the immediate relatives of persons who served on board the USS Arizona; to perpetuate and memorialize the Battleship USS Arizona and the officers and men who served on board; and to conduct reunions with such members. Meetings were held annually and reunions were to take place on the weekend nearest the 7th of December at the University of Arizona’s Student Union building. The organization’s bylaws included descriptions and duties for various committees, including the newsletter committee, a historian committee, and a publicity committee.
Pearl Harbor Memorial
Efforts to create a memorial at Pearl Harbor date back to 1950, when Admiral Arthur W. Radford, commander of the Pacific Fleet, attached a flag pole to the main mast of the USS Arizona and began a tradition of hoisting and lowering the flag. A temporary memorial was created that same year above the remaining portion of the deckhouse. As early as 1951, Radford requested funding to create a national memorial, but it took over 10 years to see his vision realized.
The USS Arizona Memorial was built in 1962, and is the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on the USS Arizona during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The memorial was designed by Honolulu architect, Alfred Preis.
The National Park Service currently manages a visitor’s center, where historical information about the ship is provided. It also runs a shuttle to and from the memorial, and provides other general visitor services. 2 million people visit the site annually. The sunken remains of the USS Arizona were declared a National Historic Landmark on May 5, 1989.
The Ship’s Bell
In June, 1944, while in search of scrap material in the Bremerton Navy Yard, Wilbur Bowers, (a University of Arizona graduate, class of 1927), discovered one of the ship’s bells from the USS Arizona, enclosed in a crate and in line to be melted down. Bowers worked immediately to save the bell, contacting the senior Naval command. In August of the same year, Arizona Governor Sidney P. Osborn wrote to the Honorable James V. Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy, requesting that once the war ended, that the ship’s bell be turned over to the State of Arizona, to be hung at the University of Arizona’s Old Main building. The bell reached the campus in 1946, and when the new Memorial Student Union building was constructed in the early 1950s, was installed in a tower built specifically for it. While the Memorial Student Union has since been re-modeled, the bell remains a stalwart fixture in the structure, and is rung on special occasions. It is also rung seven times every third Wednesday of the month to honor the achievements of UA students, faculty and staff.
Crossing the Line Ceremonies
The Crossing the Line ceremony is an initiation rite in the US Navy that has origins going back hundreds of years. It commemorates a sailor’s first crossing of the Equator. The two-day event is a ritual in which previously inducted crew members called Trusty Shellbacks, are organized into a “Court of Neptune” to induct “slimy pollywogs” into the “mysteries of the deep”. The pollywogs undergo a series of personal initiation ordeals. After a day and half of such activities, a pollywog receives a certificate indicating his new status as a shellback.
The USS Arizona crossed the Equator three times, first on January 24, 1921, then again on May 19, 1936 and a final time in July, 1940. On each occasion, the crossing of the line ceremony was held. The USS Arizona collection includes a variety of photographs and memorabilia commemorating each crossing.
Click here to see Special Collections’ online exhibition.
This was the first in a series of 3 corridos programs held between 2013 and 2016. Several performers shared their talents, including Mr. Bobby Benton, Mr. Jim Griffith, Justin Enriquez and Juan Aguilar of Los Cuatro Vientos, and an unknown gentlemen who shared some of his own original compositions. It was a night to remember. See below to listen to the audio of the program.
Many thanks to Aengus Anderson for shooting this beautiful promotional video for Una Noche De Corridos, featuring Justin Enriquez and Juan Aguilar.
From the UA News Service:
“Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at the UA Special Collections as local musicians, including UA students, perform ballads of passion, pride and politics, also known as corridos. Throughout the oral history and tradition of Mexico, the corrido has been a source of information, education and celebration about events, people or places.
The corrido was particularly important during the Mexican War of Independence and the Mexican Revolution when news of events, heroes and tragedies were shared through the genre.
Often times sung by a single performer playing a guitar, corridos vary in length, style and rhythm. As a staple of Mexican musical life, corridos are also celebrated in an annual contest held during the Tucson Meet Yourself festival”.
Watch the entire program here:
I was a member of Teatro Libertad from 1983 to 1985. Putting this exhibit and program together was one of the highlights of my career in librarianship. It took many months of planning to bring over 25 former members together, but I managed to pull it off. Teresa Jones flew in from Seattle, Pamela Calla joined us live from New York via Skype, and other members just seemed to pop out of the woodwork. The reunion was a memorable occasion, and putting the exhibit together was a blast.
From the UA News Service: “A local street theater company from the 1970s, Teatro Libertad, is featured in a new exhibit on display from Sept. 3, 2013 – Jan. 12, 2014 at the UA Main Library.
Formed in 1975 by seven local actors and musicians – Scott Egan, Barclay Goldsmith, Teresa Jones, Arturo Martinez, Pancho Medina, Arnold Palacios, and Sylviana Wood – the group was influenced by the tradition of teatro Chicano, the Chicano movement of the 60s and 70s, and with inspiration from El Teatro Campesino – a group formed by Luis Valdez in the early 1960s.
Teatro Libertad tackled real life, everyday issues as experienced by the Chicano community in Tucson and the Southwest. Using satire, comedy, and music, the group wrote and performed their plays with the goal of getting people to think about issues such as unemployment, union organization, race, and cultural identity. Among the plays written and performed by Teatro Libertad were “Los Peregrinos,” “El Vacil de 76,” “Los Pelados,” “La Jefita,” “Semilla Sembrada” and “La Vida Del Cobre.”
The bilingual, multicultural group relied on simple stage sets and props – old boxes, masks, and signs – when performing in local neighborhood centers throughout Tucson and in Mexico City, San Diego, Santa Barbara and New York. The group also performed – sometimes from a flatbed truck – in Arizona’s mining towns for striking miners or farm workers.
More than 25 performers participated in the all-volunteer Teatro Libertad during the group’s 14-year run. Additional members included Pamela Bartholomew, Olivia Beauford, Bob Diaz, Lilliana Gambarte, Pernela Jones, Jean McClelland, Juan Villegas and a host of others.
The exhibit, “Teatro Libertad and Chicano Theatre in Tucson,” is a retrospective review of the societal and cultural context in which the group performed. Original scripts, promotional materials, photographs, newspaper articles, reviews, and other original documents recreate the work of Teatro Libertad. Bob Diaz, associate librarian in Special Collections, curated the exhibit, with material on loan from former members. A permanent archive of Teatro Libertad will also be established for the benefit of future academic research and scholarship.
In the mid-2000s I was a board member of Tucson Meet Yourself. Knowing that the 40th anniversary of the event was coming up, I decided to curate an exhibit on the event. Special Collections is home to the archives of the Southwest Folkore Center, which sponsored Tucson Meet Yourself. There was a wealth of materials to choose from, and it was great fun putting this exhibition together.
From the UA News Service: In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Tucson Meet Yourself, the UA Special Collections is hosting “40 Years of Tucson Meet Yourself” through Jan. 10. The special exhibition, curated by Bob Diaz, offers a retrospective review of the origins, traditions and celebrations that define Tucson Meet Yourself.
On display at Special Collections, 1510 E. University Blvd., the exhibition includes decades of posters, newspaper articles, programs, photographs and original documents, such as meeting notes. Also included is a music kiosk and a history of the festival’s annual corrido contest as well as a special profile of Griffith, the festival’s founder who is now retired from the UA.
Curated from the Tucson Meet Yourself Archive in Special Collections, which documents the festival from its first year through 1995, the exhibit also includes select items borrowed from the festival headquarters that were recently relocated to the UA Downtown campus in the Roy Place building.
For more information about the 40th anniversary of Tucson Meet Yourself and the exhibition, see the Zocalo article, “Ephemera and Eccentricities”, by Monica Surfaro Spigelman.
From the UA News Service:
UA Exhibition Reflects on Decades of Civil Rights in Tucson
Jan. 14, 2013
On Aug. 28, 1963, thousands were drawn to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to be part of what would become a historic event: the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
On a national level, the march spurred the passing of important civil rights legislation.
To honor that history, a new exhibition at the UA’s Special Collections will review how, 50 years later, the fight for civil rights has impacted local Tucson communities.
The exhibition, “50 Years: Civil Rights in Arizona from 1963 to Today,” is on display Jan. 15 through Aug. 31 at the UA Special Collections, 1510 E. University Blvd. The Special Collections exhibition focuses on national civil rights issues. A companion exhibition focusing on local civil rights will be on display in the UA Main Library during the same time period.
Highlights of the exhibit include national civil rights legislative documents from the Morris K. and Stewart L. Udall Collections and from the Tucson Council for Civic Unity archive, which detail the council’s effort to end discrimination and segregation in Tucson and Arizona.
The exhibition also includes photographs and papers from civil rights groups and individuals representing the African American, Native American, Asian American, Mexican American and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities of Tucson. An audio kiosk with songs from the civil rights era is also part of the exhibition.
A lecture series featuring community leaders, UA scholars and local educators, will accompany the exhibition. All lectures take place at Special Collections and are free and open to the public. They are:
Contact: Bob Diaz, UA Special Collections, at 520-621‐7010 and diazj@u.library.arizona.edu.
Here is another overview of the exhibition and programs, from the February 21, 2013 issue of the Tucson Weekly. The exhibition and programs were The Weekly’s “Pick of the Week”.
50 Years Later, by Megan Merrimac.
For more information see: 50 Years Later, a “Pick of the week” article by Megan Merrimac that appeared in the Tucson Weekly on February 21, 2013.
I co-curated this exhibit with Veronica Reyes-Escudero and a graduate student from the Library School. My portions of the exhibit dealt with stereotypes of people and places and included a focus on pulp fiction, movies and movie posters, as well as dude ranches and promotional material used by entities like the Tucson Sunshine Club. Veronica’s sections of the exhibit dealt with real life accounts of life along the border taken from diaries, for example and photographs of farming and ranching. The annotations that follow were all contributed by Veronica.
From the UA News Service: “Visions of the Borderlands: Myths and Realities is an exhibition inspired by two works published by the University of Arizona Press, Celluloid Pueblo by Jennifer L. Jenkins and Postcards from the Sonora Border by Daniel D. Arreola. There is a reality and a myth of the U.S.–Mexico borderlands, propagated through multiple lenses. Featuring material depicting both reality and myth through photography, posters, pamphlets and written documentation, this exhibit centers on important areas of enterprise for the Southwest such as photography and film; copper mining; tourism; and cattle ranching. It also expresses issues of discord such as the Mexican Revolution, mining strikes and immigrant exclusionary legislation of the time. “
The exhibit was also covered in a publication titled “Bear Essential News”. Click here to read it.
Two events were planned to go along with this exhibit. The opening event was titled, “Visions of the Borderlands: Exploring Popular Historical Imagery,” featuring author Daniel Arreola and University of Arizona Professor Jennifer Jenkins.
The second program “Visions of the Borderlands: Three Women Writers Share Their Stories”, featured the writers Denise Chavez, Patricia Preciado Martin, and Natalie Diaz. The program can be listened to in its entirety below. Producing this program was, for me, the best part of the whole project.
I worked with Dr. Charles Tatum of the Humanities program at the University of Arizona on this exhibit and lecture. Unfortunately, no photos of the actual exhibit exist, as they were lost when one of my hard drives bit the dust.
Main Library
April 2, 2012-June 12, 2012
News release by Bob Diaz
Tucson, Ariz. (March 29, 2012) – A new exhibit at the UA Main Library explores the history of Latino literature in the United States and chronicles a national movement to recover the Hispanic literary tradition. On display from April 2 – June 12, 2012, “Arte Público Press and the Legacy of Latino Publishing in the U.S.” showcases one of nation’s oldest and most esteemed Hispanic publishing houses. Nicolás Kanellos, director of Arte Público Press, will deliver the opening lecture titled “From the Latino Archive to Your PC or Laptop or Hand-Held Device: EBSCO Partners with Hispanic Recovery” on April 4 from 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. in UA Special Collections.
Nicolás Kanellos, founding publisher of the noted Hispanic literary journal The Americas Review (formerly Revista Chicano-Riqueña), established Arte Público Press in 1979. As that nation’s oldest and largest non-profit publisher of literature of U.S. Hispanic authors, Arte Público Press showcases Hispanic literary activity, arts, and culture. Its imprint for children and young adults, Piñata Books, is dedicated to the realistic and authentic portrayal of the customs, characters and themes unique to Hispanic culture in the United States.
Here is a selection of authors and book titles published by Arte Publico Press, and included in the exhibit.
In 2005, I became a board member of the Tucson International Mariachi Conference. It was a memorable experience. I hadn’t done a lot of fundraising before, but one of my tasks as a member of this group was to do just that. I came up with the idea of having a film festival, and pulled all my resources together to produce “Cine Mariachi at the Fox”. I worked with the Mexican Consulate in Tucson to secure a beautiful print of the film “Dos Tipos de Cuidado” starring Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete, and I also pulled some strings to secure the Fox Theatre as the venue for the program. My friend Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias was intstrumental in helping me with this. My mariachi friends Johnny Contreras and Olga Flores helped get a small mariachi group together to provide musical entertainment, and we even had ballet folklorico dancers.The promotional materials were done by a marketing group that worked with the Tucson International Mariachi Conference. We even got write-ups in the local press. It was a full day’s worth of fun! Now that these films are freely available on Youtube, I have included them below. Enjoy!
These are copyrighted photos, available for purchase, courtesy of kevin@KvrCreative.com.
Introduction: This was the second exhibit I curated at the Science Engineering Library. Once again, I found a treasure trove of information in Special Collections, including photographs, news clippings, books, pamphlets and brochures as well as advertisements in local magazines, directories and other sources. I learned a great deal about the topic, including some very interesting facts about tuberculosis and its treatment. Finding information on the Pima County Hospital was also very enlightening, as was learning about the various sanitariums that existed across the community. Another fun project!
News Release:
A new exhibit at the University of Arizona (UA) reviews 100 years of health care history in Tucson. “A Look at Medicine and Medical Facilities in Early Tucson” showcases Tucson’s system, and business, of health care from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. The exhibit is on display from June 19 – Dec. 31, 2012 at the UA Science-Engineering Library, 744 N Highland Ave.
“A Look at Medicine and Medical Facilities in Early Tucson” reviews the history of Tucson health care through three categories: physicians, hospitals, and Tucson’s approach to treating tuberculosis.
Included in the exhibit are profiles, photographs, and biographical information of 9 early Tucson physicians. One of Arizona’s most colorful and distinguished physicians, Dr. George E. Goodfellow, earned his medical degree in 1876 and became a self-taught expert on bullet wounds. He went on to make medical history in Tucson for performing the world’s first successful prostate removal surgery.
Of interesting note for Pima County physicians was a county
ordinance passed in 1875 that required local physicians to file their
diplomas from accredited schools with the county recorder or face a fine
up to $50. The Territory of Arizona did not take similar action until
1881.
The exhibit also offers a brief historical review
through photographs, books, and ephemera of Tucson’s early hospitals
including St. Mary’s Hospital, Pima County General Hospital, and the
Veteran’s Administration Hospital.
The patient population at
Tucson area hospitals ballooned in the early 20th century, an increase
brought on by patients seeking treatment for tuberculosis which, by that
time, was responsible for 12 out of every 100 deaths in the United
States. Up to 25% of all newcomers to the Southwest over that period
arrived in the region to recover their health, choosing the Southwest
for its warm, dry air and their faith in its healing properties. Notable
among those who came for the healing climate are Governor A.P.K.
Safford, Sam Hughes, Hiram Dodge, “Doc” Holliday, and Harold Bell
Wright.
Tucson sanatoriums, including Whitwell Hospital, the Desert Sanatorium, Comstock Hospital, Pastime Park, focused on treating tuberculosis patients. While wealthy patients were received care at resort-like sanatoriums, those without financial means were treated in Tentville, a “squalid ghetto” located in the area north of Speedway Blvd. between Park and North First Avenues. Photographs and ephemera included in the exhibit offer a brief history of Tucson’s sanatoriums.
“A Look at Medicine and Medical Facilities in Early Tucson” was curated to coincide with Tucson’s 237th birthday, an occasion where Tucsonans are encouraged to recognize our community’s history, culture, arts and environment.
A List of materials used in this exhibit
This exhibit was housed in the Main Library. I enjoyed putting it together. Dr. Brooks Jeffery graciously agreed to give a lecture on the architecture of Tucson. It was a fun project.
Happy Birthday Tucson: A Look at Tucson’s Cultural and Architectural Treasures
This exhibit celebrates Tucson’s 237th birthday. It includes a selection of books and other items about Tucson, and a variety of materials on music and architecture. The section on classical music features music programs going back over 100 years, plus photos of the Temple of Music and Art and the original Tucson Symphony Orchestra. The mariachi music section features local musicians, including Lalo Guerrero, Linda Ronstadt and Los Changuitos Feos as well as other local groups and singers. Featured in the architecture section are a number of churches, including the San Xavier mission. A special section is devoted to photos taken of the Fox Theatre back in the 1930s by the Campbell and Pereira Studios. Included is the original program for the opening of the movie, Arizona, for which the Old Tucson movie set was built. Most of the materials on display are either from the private collection of Joseph R. Diaz or from Special Collections.
Mexican Music in Tucson
Mexican music has long been a staple of Tucson’s cultural life. Today, the Old Pueblo is known as one of the premiere centers for the study and performance of mariachi music, which is taught from the primary grades through the college level in many of the schools in the region. In addition, every April, hundreds of students from throughout the country gather here to participate in the Tucson International Mariachi Conference to learn music from some of mariachi’s top musicians, such as Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan, Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano, and Tucson’s own Mariachi Cobre. Tucson is also the hometown of the legendary Lalo Guerrero and Linda Ronstadt. Los Changuitos Feos, one of the nations’s first youth mariachi groups, was formed in Tucson in the early 1960’s, and is still going strong. The recordings featured in this exhibit are all of local musicians and are from the private collection of Joseph R. Diaz
Classical Music in Tucson
Tucson’s love for European art music goes back over 100 years. Some of the genre’s greatest orchestras and conductors have graced the stages of the Tucson Opera House, the Rialto Theatre, The Tucson High School auditorium and the Temple of Music and Art (shown in the photo on the right). The Tucson Symphony has a long standing history in the community and the photo in this exhibit is of the original group, founded in the 1920s. The Saturday Morning Music Club, a group of enthusiastic classical music supporters, was for a long time the primary force behind providing the community with rich musical experiences. The programs featured in this exhibit are from UA Special Collections.
Religious Architecture and Sculpture in Tucson
Over the years, Tucson has been home to a number of beautiful church buldings, the best known of which is the San Xavier Mission, a National Historic Landmark which was founded by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692. Contruction of the current church began in 1783 and was completed in 1797. The oldest intact European structure in Arizona, the church’s interior is filled with marvelous original statuary and mural paintings. A renovation of the structure and interior was recently completed. It is truly a Tucson treasure!
The Fox Theatre
Originally budgeted at $200,000, the Fox Theatre would eventually cost $300,000 including furnishings. Designed as a dual vaudeville/movie house, the Fox featured a stage, full fly-loft, and dressing rooms beneath the stage. The combined effects of “talkies” and the Depression limited the opportunities for live performance, and the dressing rooms were never completed.
Opening night, April 11, 1930, proved to be the biggest party the small community of Tucson had ever seen. With Congress Street closed and waxed for dancing, four live bands, a live radio broadcast and free trolley rides Downtown, the party was one not to be missed.Those lucky enough to have bought tickets in advance—3,000 or so people—enjoyed the show inside as well as out. The film “Chasing Rainbows,” a MovieTone short, and a Mickey Mouse cartoon were well received by both audiences that evening, and the Fox Theatre began its 40 year life as the center of Tucson’s entertainment world.
The photos in this exhibit, taken in the early 1930s, are from the Campbell and Pereira Collection, housed in Special Collections. The program to the movie, Arizona, is from the private collection of Joseph R. Diaz.
Architecture in Tucson
Tucson has a number of beautifully constructed buildings. Featured here are The Pioneer Hotel building, The Geronimo Apartments building, The Pima County Courthouse, the El Conquistador Hotel and the Santa Rita Hotel, as well as a number of private residences and postcards of hotels. For more information on Tucson’s architecture, see A Guide to Tucson Architecture, by R. Jeffery Brooks and Ann M. Nequette. (Science-Engineering Library and Special Collections NA 735.T8 N46 2002).
Exhibit curated by Bob Diaz, Special Collections, The University of Arizona Libraries
Monday, January 22, 2018 – 9:00am to Friday, July 6, 2018 – 6:00pm
Special Collections
The University of Arizona Libraries
Introduction:
Putting this exhibit together was a labor of love. I started out knowing very little about local architect, Judith Chafee, but learned a great deal from organizing her papers, which are housed in Special Collections, and working with her assistant, Kathryn McGuire a local architect and co-author of the book, “Powerhouse: The Life and Work of Architect Judith Chafee. As I poured over her work looking for material to include in the exhibition, I came to the realization that Chafee was an artistic genius, well ahead of her time. She was the first woman to graduate from Yale’s architecture program. She finished at the top of her class, and won prestigious awards along the way. A highlight of the whole experience for me was meeting Chafee’s daughter and granddaughter, who made a special trip to Tucson to see the exhibition. They were very impressed by it. It made me feel just great knowing that they liked it. All that work I had put into this project paid off! Attendance at both of the events that were held in conjunction with the exhibit was beyond my expectations, and both were very well received. This exhibition was one of my favorites.
From the UA News Service:
A remarkable American architect, Judith Chafee was a true trailblazer, both as an architect par excellence, and as a woman in a male-dominated profession. She is celebrated as a visionary modernist whose structures harmoniously blend with their host environments.
This exhibit highlights key events and projects from her life and work. Materials will include photographs, drawings, artwork and more.
For more information see:
The Judith Chafee Papers Page–Special Collections, The University of Arizona Libraries
The Judith Chafee Papers Collection Guide
Powerhouse: The LIfe and Work of Judith Chafee
“Powerhouse is the first book on the singular life and career of American architect Judith Chafee (1932-1998). Chafee was an unrepentant modernist on the forefront of sustainable design. Her architecture shows great sensitivity to place, especially the desert landscapes of Arizona. Chafee was also a social justice advocate and a highly respected woman in a male-dominated profession. After graduating from the Yale University Architecture School, where her advisor was Paul Rudolph, she went on to work in the offices of legends including Rudolph, Walter Gropius, Eero Saarinen, and Edward Larrabee Barnes. In addition to her architectural legacy, her decades of teaching helped shape a generation of architects. Chafee’s drawings and archival images of her work are complemented by stunning photography by Ezra Stoller and Bill Timmerman”. –from the Princeton Architectural Press site.
It was very nice of Kathy McGuire to mention me in the acknowledgements section (see below) of the book. I learned a great deal from her during our visits, and without her guidance the exhibition would not have been as informative and interesting as it turned out to be.
My most recent and last exhibit for Special Collections was a look back at 1968, 50 years later. I was only 9 years old at the time, but remember the era vividly. I had a brother in Vietnam, and two of my siblings were in California enjoying themselves in San Francisco, along with thousands of other young people. I spent the year collecting baseball cards and playing flag football with the other kids in the neighborhood. The assasinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy didn’t impact me that much, as I was not old enough to understand what was happening in the larger world. The music I listened to was usually the popular stuff one heard on the radio, and the Beatles, of course. Doing this exhibit brought back a lot of memories. It also impressed upon me that it was an amazing time, with so much going on, culturally, musically, and politically.
September 4, 2018-December 7, 2018,
Special Collections, The University of Arizona Libraries
From the UA News Service:
One of the most volatile years in the history of the United States was 1968. The Tet Offensive escalated the war in Vietnam, we lost two monumental leaders – Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy – to assassination, and riots broke out across the nation. As students protested the war, popular music became a powerful voice for their generation. At the same time, the civil rights and Black Power movements inspired environmentalists, women, Chicanos, Native Americans and the gay and lesbian community to add their voices to the discourse.
This exhibit showcases a variety of materials from University Libraries’ Special Collections. Explore hidden treasures highlighting politics, news, art, literature and culture from 50 years ago – including underground press publications, sports and music memorabilia and photographs from the University of Arizona.
Company Town: Arizona’s Mining Communities During 100 Years of Statehood, was the first exhibit I curated completely on my own in my new job as exhibits and events coordinator in Special Collections at the University of Arizona. The exhibit was located in the Science-Engineering Library, in a much smaller exhibit space than the Special Collections gallery. It was a fun project and one I was very eager to work on. I enjoyed doing the research on mining in Arizona and found that Special Collections has a rich treasure trove of historical information on mining. In the exhibit, I featured information on Ajo, Globe-Miami, San Manuel Superior, Jerome, Bisbee, Clifton-Morenci, and Ray/Sonora, and included original photographs, books and other materials. I learned a lot from this project along the way. Feedback I was given included that I used way too much material and that I should not have used sticky dots on any of the materials. I also didn’t include enough written annotations. The Dean of the College of Mining wasn’t too happy either because I included a section on labor strife in Arizona. She even asked the University administration to intervene on her behalf to pressure me to remove the information on labor issues, but the Vice-Provost and the Dean of the Library defended my right to include “controversial” information in the exhibit. Below, I’ve included an article written by the UA News service, with links to further information, including a video of the exhibit and an article written for the Arizona Daily Star by Ernesto Portillo, Jr.. I also planned one program, a lecture by Dr. Anny Ochoa O’Leary. A news story and the transcript of her talk are linked below.
January 6, 2012: Exhibit – ‘Company Town: Arizona’s Copper Mining Communities During 100 Years of Statehood |UA News …
“Company Town: Arizona’s Copper Mining Communities During 100 Years of Statehood,” a new exhibit at the UA Science-Engineering Library, shares 100 years of stories, struggles and triumphs from Arizona’s copper mining communities.
The history of mining in Arizona is rich and colorful with silver, gold and copper all having been discovered and mined in the state. The first mining company was established in Ajo in the 1850s; the arrival of the railroad brought a booming industry to Clifton-Morenci, Bisbee and Jerome.
Throughout the 20th century, while mining companies made significant profits, the mining workers’ salary was often not a living wage. Conditions in the mines were dangerous and unhealthy; many miners developed a lung disease now referred to as “miner’s lung.” In this context, labor relations between workers and the mine owners throughout Arizona’s history have been volatile, and at times violent.
“Company Town” features an in-depth selection of photographs, pamphlets, original manuscripts, federal and state reports and personal papers drawn from UA Special Collections. The materials on display detail the history of eight Arizona mining communities – Ajo, Bisbee, Clifton-Morenci, Globe-Miami, Jerome, Ray-Sonora, San Manuel and Superior – and show that these communities were more than just a mine, and the people more than just mining workers.
One community in particular, Clifton-Morenci, was the epicenter of the Arizona copper mine strike of 1983. Anna Ochoa O’Leary, a professor in the UA department of Mexican American and Raza Studies, lived in Clifton during the strike and was the president of the Morenci Miners Women’s Auxiliary in Clifton from 1985 to 1986.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE ALSO:
*Materials used in the Company Town Exhibit
*January 6, 2012-March 30, 2012: Company Town: Arizona’s Copper Mining Communities During 100 Years of Statehood | Special Collections
* Mine Exhibit Brought to Life Through Special Collections | UANews (video feature story)
Salsa!
Listen to part one of last night’s show here.
Listen to part two of last night’s show here.
I was very tired yesterday when I got home from work at 5, so I took a nap, thinking I could just sleep for half an hour and wake up in plenty of time to work on my radio show from 5:30 to 7pm. As luck would have it, however, I overslept and woke up at 5:50 rather than 5:30. I thought to myself, oh oh, what am I gonna do? I don’t have a lot of time to prepare this show. I hate having to rush, but the clock was ticking away. I decided, to heck with it, I’m just going to play nothing but songs that last 5 minutes or longer. Where could I find a whole show’s worth of songs that were that long? And then the lightbulb went on! Last week I had played an all-English language dance music show, so this week I decided I would play an all Spanish language dance show and feature nothing but salsa! Those songs are all usually 4 to 6 minutes long and they’re quite danceable too. So lo and behold, that’s exactly what I did. I went through my small collection of salsa and musica tropical and came up with a good handful of tunes, all of which were at least 4 minutes long. I gave folks a heads up on Facebook that I would be having another dance party, but that this time the featured music would be a mix of salsa and Latin jazz, and one friend in particular got very excited and told me she had just put her dancing shoes on and was ready to boogie the night away. I dubbed the title of the show, “Salsa A to Z”. I almost made it all the way through the alphabet, but had to skip one or two artists because I had run out of time. That same friend who was ready to bop the night away later told me she thought it was a perfect show. Wow, sometimes you never know how things are going to turn out. I have to admit that initially I wasn’t all that excited about doing an all salsa show, as I was bummed that I had to rush things, and I usually like to mix things up, but I’m glad at least one person liked it.
I wasn’t sure if it was my tio Raul’s birthday yesterday or not, but my cousin Carmen just confirmed it, so here’s a tribute to him.
He was born during the Revolution in Mexico, in San Luis Potosi, on February 18, 1913, the same day that his father was born back in 1885 in Asturias, Spain. Because of the war, it wasn’t long before my grandfather, his wife Zeferina, and my tio Raul moved up north to Arizona. He was less than a year old, in fact. My tios Valentin and Mino were born a few years later, in Ray/Sonora, Arizona, a mining town near Superior that is now long gone.
Uncle Raul and Aunt Prudence married in the late 30s. She was born in Cananea, Sonora, but moved to Superior when she was a young girl.
They ran a bakery and a store together in Superior, and then later he delivered milk to the people of the town and surrounding region. Tio Raul was well known and loved in his community, and was very generous to those in need.
Uncle Raul had tons of cigar boxes all over the place, it seemed. He smoked cigars all the time, and it was rare indeed to ever see him without one hanging from his mouth. …I took a few of these boxes home with me once and still have them somewhere. The lids are falling off because they’re so old.
My cousin Olivia wrote the following for inclusion in our family history book, titled “Diaz Family: Spain To America”. Olivia passed away recently. She was the eldest of all our cousins.
I used to love to go up to Superior with my parents, aunts, uncles and cousins to Uncle Raul’s house. It wasn’t very big, but we all managed to fit and we all had plenty to eat. He ran the dairy in Superior and outside was a big refrigerator where he kept the milk and other products he sold. We used to sneak in and help ourselves to chocolate milk all the time. I also loved banging on the old piano that was kept in a closet in one of the rooms. It seems like just yesterday.
I’ll also never forget the time when we all found ourselves (about 30 of us cousins) in my uncle’s living room with our faces glued to the small black and white television. The Ed Sullivan show was on and his special guests that night were none other than the BEATLES! Wow. This was the first time I’d ever seen them and one of their first ever appearances on national tv. Life sure changed for everyone after that experience. We all became Beatle wannabes. My brother Rudy grew his hair long and joined a band, and we all had our favorites. Mine was Paul…
Aunt Prudence suffered from arthritis most of her adult life. She preceded Uncle Raul in death at the age of 69 in 1983.
Tio Raul died two years later at the age of 72.
Antonio Díaz Palácios
My paternal grandfather, Antonio Díaz Palácios, (1885-1954), was a native of Asturias, Spain.
To learn more about the Kingdom of Asturias, way back in the “olden days”, see this article, titled, “The Asturian Kingdom: Chroniclers and Kings, 791-910”, by Roger Collins, from the book, Caliphs and Kings: Spain, 796-1031, published by Wiley, 2012.
His parents were Josefa Palácios and Valentin Díaz. Valentin’s parents, my great-great grandparents, were Raymundo Fernandez Díaz and Maria Garcia. My grandfather had several siblings, including Soledad Díaz Palacios, Natalia Díaz Palácios, Rosita Díaz, Alfredo Díaz, Elvira Díaz and Belarma Díaz.
My grandfather was born in 1885, at a time when Spain’s influence and strength as a world power were well on the wane. In the early 1900’s, King Alfonso XIII hoped to gain back Spain’s prestige as a world power, as it had recently suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the US in the Spanish-American War. Flexing its military muscle once again, Spain went to war with Morocco (called the 2nd Rif War) to secure control of Morocco’s mineral wealth. Thousands of young working class Spanish men were drafted as conscripts, while their richer brethren were able to pay their way out of service. It was a bloody war, and many, many lives were lost. This did not sit well with the Spanish people. According to one source, “in 1909, troops embarked for Morocco protested the inequalities of military service. A general strike was proclaimed at Barcelona and other Catalonian cities …” It appears that the people of Asturias felt the same way about the war, and like thousands of other young men who left Asturias during the early twentieth century, my grandfather came to North America to avoid induction into the Spanish Army. He set sail to the Americas from the port of Gijon at the age of 21, never to return to his place of birth.
My grandfather’s ship landed in Havana, Cuba in 1906, but after a short period of time, he decided that he did not like it there, as it was under U.S. occupation and there was tension in the air. He landed in Veracruz and worked in the shipyards there for a short while.
By 1907, however, he made his way to the United States, and ended up in the Clifton-Morenci region, working in the mines there. One day my grandfather got into an argument with a bully, who demanded my grandfather give him a cigar, and when my grandfather didn’t comply, he started a fight with him, and he lunged at my grandfather with a knife, barely missing his body. My grandfather grabbed a pool cue and hit the man over the head with it, knocking him out cold.
Fearing for his life and thinking that he killed the man, my grandfather fled south to Mexico, ending up in Zacatecas, where he worked in the silver mines.
Around 1912, my grandfather met my grandmother, Zeferina Torres Gallegos(1895-1939), a native of the state of Zacatecas. My father said she was from Sombrerete, although others in the family thought she was from the capital of Zacatecas, also called Zacatecas, which is supposedly where they met. I recently discovered their marriage certificate:
Here’s a song about the beautiful city, Zacatecas, Zacatecas.
I’ve also recently discovered additional documentation. Zeferina’s father’s name was Blas Torres Perez. His parents were Seberiano Torres and Diega Perez. They also had other children including Dionisio, Maria, Longinas, Juana, and Nicolas. They baptized Blas on February 4, 1866 at San Matias, Pinos, Zacatecas.
Blas married Matiana Gallegos in Pinos, Zacatecas on May 10, 1884. He was 18 (b. 1866) and she was only 13. Matiana’s mother’s name was Feliciana Gallegos.
My grandmother had at least two siblings, Epigmenia Simon Torres Gallegos, and Gabina Torres, who died in infancy. Not much else is known about my grandmother’s early life, except that she was from a Spanish family and had a sister who likely moved north to the US as some point. My hunch is that my grandmother was born in Pinos, Zacatecas, as that is where her parents married and the location of her brother Epigmenia Simon’s grave. He died on November 28, 1986 at the age of 85.
Here’s one of a handful of songs about Zacatecas.
My aunt Josie tried very hard to find out more about our grandmother, even going so far as to travel to Zacatecas to find out anything she could about her. She came up with nothing, unfortunately. It didn’t help that she had the names of her grandparents wrong. My grandmothers birth certificate indicates that her parents names were Florentina Garcia and Jose Torres. Not true.
The Mexican Revolution hit Zacatecas in 1912, and my grandparents moved to San Luis Potosi where they were married at San Pedro, Cerro de San Pedro, San Luis Potosi (San Luis Potosi) on March 26, 1912. My uncle Raul Diaz was born there the following year, in 1913.
In 1915, my grandfather was a payroll manager at the mine at which he worked. One early morning, he found a gun pointed in his face. It was the revolutionaries, demanding money. They took it, along with my grandmother’s wedding dress and other valuables, and left him with these words, “Que no salga el sol, Diaz”…which meant you better be gone by the time the sun comes up!
Here’s a song about the Battle of Zacatecas. My grandparents were in Mexico at the time, and this battle, the bloodiest of the Mexican Revolution, took place just west of where they lived at the time.
At that point, my grandparents decided to leave Mexico for good. They entered the U.S. through the El Paso port of entry in 1915.
They soon made their way to central Arizona, a region rich in copper mining and jobs. They settled in Ray-Sonora, and lived there for several years. They were one of a handful of Spanish immigrant families living there. Two of my uncles, Valentin and Belarmino, were born in Ray. Valentin was born on March 8, 1917 and Belarmino’s date of birth was February 7, 1919.
After a few years spent working in the mines, my grandfather fell ill with miner’s consumption, a debilitating lung condition. He left mining behind, and moved his young family to the Verde Valley region of northern Arizona, where he started a dairy farm. My dad grew up working the fields, fishing and delivering milk to the neighboring communities. What a different life it must’ve been! For a quick, historical overview of the region, see the following description: Irrigation in the Verde Valley
During this period, from 1920 to 1936, five more Diaz children, including my father, Alfred T. Diaz, were born and raised in and around Camp Verde. While the Great Depression made it difficult for the family, they got by somehow, even if it meant moving again and again.
Meantime, in the mid to late 30’s, back in Spain, the Spanish Civil War was taking place, and the Republican forces fought some heavy battles against the nationalist fascist forces in my grandfather’s home state of Asturias. The following song, “Asturias” depicts some of the actual footage of the Spanish Civil War. I included it here primarily because the tune is so beautiful. The words are bittersweet when combined with the film footage. (For more information about what is known as the “Asturias Offensive” see this article from Wikipedia).
Around this time, my grandfather moved from the Verde Valley up to Flagstaff and then to Superior, a mining town just south of Globe, where he went back to work in the mines. Along the way, many of his cattle died from the cold, and my dad told me once that cholera had infected other livestock, killing them all off. The Great Depression hit the family hard. One day, my father remembered that our grandfather had gone to the bank to withdraw money, only to find the doors locked and shuttered. He lost practically everything he had.
In 1938, my grandfather’s cousin, Emilio Palacios, who owned a bar in Clemenceau, Az, passed away, within a year or two after his own wife’s passing. My grandfather adopted his nine children and took care of them. Below is an article that appeared in the Arizona Republic in 1938.
By this time, my grandparents had nine children of their own–Raul, Valentin, Belarmino, Alfredo, Antonio, Rafael, Josefina, Helen and Carmen. Having so many children to care for, and moving so much took its toll on my grandmother. She contracted uterine cancer, and died shortly after the family moved to Superior. She is buried in the cemetary there.
My grandfather had his hands full after grandmother died. His youngest two daughters, Helen and Carmen, were well below the age of 10. As luck would have it, he met a lady named Angelita, a widow with children of her own. They decided to marry, and remained together until my grandfather died in 1954.
In the late 40s my grandfather moved his family to Tucson. My dad says he had rented ranches in various places around town, including on Silver Lake Rd. near the Santa Cruz River, up in the Sabino Canyon area by the Rillito River, and also on the other side of town at a ranch formerly known as the Sotomayor Ranch, near River Rd and Oracle Rd.
My four oldest brothers and sisters grew up going to the ranch with my mom and dad on the weekends. Mom loved being there and used to tell us how much she enjoyed spending time with our Nana Angie and our Tata, making tortillas outside, cooking food and sleeping under the stars at night. She would also love to tell us how our Tata would get my brother Carlos to help him milk the cows, and that he sometimes he would squirt milk straight from the cow right into his mouth. Becky says that Tata would get a little tipsy sometimes and get up on a table and dance flamenco, and he would point at all his grandchildren, saying to them, “ustedes son Espanoles!” My sister Irene also fondly recalls our Tata driving her back and forth to school at St. Peter and Paul Elementary school when she was a little girl. He would also sell vegetables that he bought at a discount from the local grocery chains to the people in the poorer sections of town more often than not giving it away to those who could not afford it. He was quite a guy. My brothers and sisters all spoke fluent Spanish as kids. I’m sure he had a lot to do with it. Wish I had known him. I was five years too late!
My grandfather moved one last time to a house just north of Speedway on Riverview. He spent his last days there, and died on December 8, 1954. He was 69 years old. He’s buried in Superior, next to his wife Zeferina.
Here are some great gospel tunes. Enjoy!
Alex Bradford and Marion Williams: Take Me To the Water
Alex Bradford: Too Close to Heaven
Alex Bradford and the Bradford Singers: Close to Thee
The Caravans: None But the Righteous (different version of “Take me to the Water”)
The Caravans: Where Is Your Faith In God
The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi: Sending Up My Timber
Aretha Franklin: Climbing Higher Mountains
Mike Jemison, Yolanda Adams and Shirley Caesar: Oh Happy Day/How I Got Over
Dottie Peoples: Little Wooden Church
The Meditation Singers: Jesus Be A Fence
Here’s another Aretha gospel tune that I just found (2/3/25).
Listen to part one of last night’s show here.
Playlist for Part One:
Rufus with Chaka Khan/Dance Wit Me–Aretha Franklin/What a Fool Believes–Grace Jones/I’m Not Perfect (But I’m Perfect For you)–The Weather Girls/It’s Raining Men–The Pointer Sisters/I’m so Excited–Wham/Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go)–Madonna/Like a Prayer-Natalie Cole/This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)–Lipps, Inc./Funky Town–Cher/Take Me Home–Alicia Bridges/I Love the Nightlife–Deniece Williams/Let’s Hear It For the Boy (partial)
Listen to part two of last night’s show here.
Playlist for Part Two:
Deniece Williams/Let’s Hear It For the Boy(partial)–Aretha Franklin/Who’s Zoomin’ Who?–Whitney Houston/How Will I Know?–Gladys Knight/Love Overboard–Chaka Khan/I Feel For You–Darlene Love/He’s Sure the Man I Love–The Staple Singers/I’ll Take You There–Madonna/Holiday–Natalie Cole/Pink Cadillac–Etta James/Jump Into My Fire–Grace Jones/Pull Up to the Bumper Baby–Labelle/Lady Marmalade–Aretha Franklin/Deeper Love
I didn’t know what the heck I was going to feature on the program yesterday. I’ve been so focused on getting my website updated that I haven’t had much time to pay attention to birthdays or holidays etc. When I finally sat down to start preparing it, it occurred to me that I needed a good workout, as I haven’t been exercising regularly lately, and I thought about doing an oldies show, but for some reason, I decided on featuring 70’s and 80’s dance music. I started by looking at Aretha Franklin’s music from the 80s. I wanted to hear songs that had a strong dance beat, so I decided on stuff like “What a Fool Believes”, “Who’s Zoomin’ Who?” and “Deeper Love.”, all three of which I played last night. I actually had six of her songs in mind, but once I got started pulling other material, I ended up playing just three of them.
Because I wanted the show to be a dance show, I decided to open it with an invitation, and played “Dance Wit Me” by Rufus and Chaka Khan. I then played Aretha’s version of “What A Fool Believes” and Grace Jones song, “I’m Not Perfect, But I’m Perfect for you”. From there, I did my usual introduction and let folks know that the evening was going to be nothing but dance music by women, and proceeded with “It’s Raining Men” by the Weather Girls. I also played Madonna’s song “Like A Prayer” , Lipps, Inc. tune “Funky Town”,and other stuff. One of my boo boos included playing the song “Wake Me Up, Before You Go Go”, by Wham. I miscued the darned song, thinking I was going to play the Deneice Williams’ tune, “Let’s Hear It for the Boy”. I ended up joking about George Michael sneaking in and being one of the girls… oh well. I played the song by Williams later in the program.
The show proceeded without too many other boo boos, but one other big one occurred when, to my horror, Cher’s song, “Take Me Home”, started, rather than “I Love the Nightlife” by Alicia Bridges. Another miscue. Damn, that was the very first time I’ve ever played Cher. I think she’s tacky, stuck up and rude, and I don’t like her. I’ve never played her and never will again. I cut that song short, as a result, and segued into the Alicia Bridges song.
Other than those two miscues, everything else turned out fine. I included stuff by Whitney Houston, The Staple Singers, Labelle, Gladys Knight and others. I had a blast and danced my ass off for two whole hours. I’m now very sore, but I needed a good workout. I hope folks enjoyed the music!
I have no idea what I’ll be playing next week. That’s what makes this all so much fun!
For the second program I coordinated, I invited UA professors Celestino Fernandez and Raquel Rubio-Goldsmith to speak about the role of women in the Mexican Revolution as portrayed through the corrido. We also had music that evening (corridos!), featuring Justin Enriquez and Juan Aguilar, of the group “Los Cuatro Vientos” who were joined by two additonal musicians from the restaurant, La Fuente. It was a night to remember!
From the news release: “Raquel Rubio Goldsmith, historian and lecturer in the UA Department of Mexican American and Raza Studies, will discuss the significant role women played during the Mexican Revolution. Celestino Fernandez, Professor, UA Department of Sociology, will discuss the corrido as a popular song form and its importance in communicating values, issues and ideas during the Revolution and into the present. The presentations will be illustrated by a performance from the local musical quartet Los Cuatro Vientos”.
The program was videotaped and is available for viewing below. It is divided into 8 separate sections. My thanks to Antonio Arroyo for filming it.
Several years later, in 2016, I presented a lecture on the corrido Mexicano in Special Collections. It was titled, “What’s to Know about corridos anyway?“ I included it in my blog back then. It includes references for further reading and a number of corridos performed by some of Mexico’s best singers. Enjoy!
My mom’s brother Eduardo Rascon was born on February 8, 1926 in Superior, Arizona. He was the second of five children born to Josefa Ortega and Donato Rascon.
At one point, I had a photo of him as an adult. It was taken at my mom’s house and in the photo with him was my aunt Dora. I loaned the photo to my tio Donato, and unfortunately he never gave it back, so the only photos I have to share are ones from his childhood.
Uncle Eddie had his share of troubles. When he was young, he had a few run-ins with the law and was put in jail for having, along with another young guy, stolen someone’s car. He was called up to serve in the military in the mid-40s, although I’m not sure in which branch he served, or even if he actually did serve. The article below is from the December 3, 1948 edition of the Arizona Daily Star. Uncle Eddie’s name is included in the list of young men from Tucson who were called in for a pre-induction physical.
In 1958, Uncle Eddie married Maria Luisa Canez (Mary Lou) when he was 32 and she was 30, and they had two children. A son named Ruben died in infancy and another, Eduardo Jr., is my age and lives in Tucson, if I’m not mistaken, but I haven’t seen him in many years. The family used to live way out in Flowing Wells, and they had a gorgeous antique buffet, that my grandmother held onto for the longest time. It’s funny how one remembers these things…
My tios divorced in 1970 and Uncle Eddie lived alone for a long time in a trailer in South Tucson. He was a gardener for the University of Arizona. I distinctly remember him raking the grounds outside the Social Sciences building while I was in class one year. I was always happy to see him and I made sure to say hello whenever I ran into him on campus. I remember that my mom was very fond of him too.
Uncle Eddie died on July 8, 1997 and is buried at the Holy Hope Cemetery in Tucson.
Today, February 7, 2020, is my late uncle Belarmino Diaz’s 101st birthday. (02/07/1919-06/16/2005). He was born in 1919 in Ray, Arizona if I’m not mistaken (could’ve been somewhere in the Verde Valley), and was closest in age to my dad, who was born the following year in Jerome, Az.
I remember my uncle well, although I never spent a lot of time around him, at least not as much as my other uncles. He was probably the quietest of all the siblings in my dad’s family. He was a World War II veteran and served in the US Army. He and his wife Eva, whom he married in 1944, settled in Phoenix and lived there the rest of their lives.
They had three children, Belarmino Jr., James, and Helen. At the time of my aunt’s death in 2003, they also had 7 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.
The only times I ever saw Tio Mino and his family were when we had big family gatherings in Superior, Oracle or Tucson. The above photo was taken in 2007 at one such gathering, our second family reunion. Below is a photo of another such event, back in the early 60s in Superior. Uncle Mino is seated on the far right.
My cousin Helen Molina, tio Mino’s daughter, wrote a beautiful tribute to her dad and mom in the book “Diaz Family, Spain to America: A Story of An American Family”. (It’s available for sale at lulu.com). She shares a lot of details about my tio that are quite interesting, including the fact that he was a male nurse in the Army and that he sailed home from Europe on the Queen Mary after the war.
I sure miss my tios and my dad. These family gatherings were some of the happiest times of my childhood. Aunt Helen and Carmen are still with us. The rest have all passed, but their memory lives on! Que viva la Famila Diaz de Supirio, Arizona!
Introduction:
You may be wondering, oh boy, what’s he up to now? Why architecture? Let me explain…In 2011, I was transferred from the Fine Arts Library to Special Collections at the University of Arizona Libraries. I have done a variety of work while there, including managing the department’s exhibits and events programming and curating exhibits. While that work was extremely rewarding and I had a great time creating some fun exhibits and programs, in 2019, my duties changed. I now serve as curator for the Library’s performing arts and architectural collections and I manage reference service for the department. My passion for local history and love of local architecture help fuel my desire to learn all I can about the topic, particularly about the various architects who have worked in Tucson and Arizona. My intention with this posting is to introduce folks to the collections housed in Special Collections and to promote use of these collections among students, scholars and the general public.
THE ARIZONA ARCHITECTURAL ARCHIVES
The University of Arizona has had an architecture degree program in place since at least the 1960s and for a time, the School of Architecture had its own departmental library. However, over the years, because of decreased state funding, budgets for things like departmental libraries have shrunk to the point that collections and services have been consolidated where possible and facilities such as the Architecture Library have been closed. The College of Architecture’s library closed in the mid-2000s and the bulk of its collections were absorbed by the University Libraries.
The majority of the architecture-related holdings housed in Special Collections at the University of Arizona come from a collection called the “Arizona Architectural Archives”. This collection was started in 1976 at the College of Architecture Library and its purpose was “to provide documentation of the architecturally significant structures in Arizona, and of the architects and builders who have played a significant role in their field in the state”.
(Gresham, 1982. “Collections of Drawings and other records related to the buildings and the practice of architecture in Arizona”. Arizona Architectural Archives).
Initially, the collection included works by the following architects:
Place and Place (1918-1967) 88 projects are represented, most of which were completed before 1955. Roy Place is credited with creating the “style” of the UA campus. Many of the early campus structures were built by his firm, which at the time was called Lyman and Place. John B. Lyman, who had moved to Tucson in 1917 partnered with Roy Place to build the Mines and Engineering Building, the Steward Observatory, the University Library (now the Arizona State Museum) and the Memorial Fountain, among other structures on the UA campus. After Lyman left the firm in 1924, Roy Place continued building on campus and his son joined him as a partner in 1940. Place also designed the Pima County Courthouse, Mansfeld Jr. High, the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind, and the Pioneer Hotel. He died in 1950 and his son Lew continued the work of the firm until 1976. The collection of drawings by Roy Place and his associates was donated by Lew Place in 1976.
Henry O. Jaastad A Norwegian born in 1872, Jaastad immigrated to the US in 1886. He moved to Tucson in 1902 and worked as a cabinet maker and carpenter. He also studied electrical engineering at the University of Arizona. He became an architect in 1908 and designed mainly residential buildings. He was a member of the Tucson City Council and also mayor from 1933 to 1947. He expanded his architectural practice over the years and built churches, schools and hospital buildings as well as other buildings for public use. He died in 1965 at the age of 93. Public buildings built by Jaastad include Roskruge Jr. High, Drachmann School, the Southern Arizona Bank, and the YWCA buildings. Nearly 300 projects were completed. Annie Graham Rockfellow worked for him as the lead designer for the firm but never received proper credit for her work.
D. Burr DuBois 1901-1979. DuBois graduated from the School of Architecture at the University of Michigan and moved to Tucson in 1926. He worked for a number of different architects including Henry O. Jaastad and James MacMillan, but always did his own work as well. He built the Himmel branch of the Tucson Public Library and was responsible for several additons to various University of Arizona buildings, including the Student Union Memorial building. His collection includes 570 drawings and five boxes of records and cover the time period, 1937-1968.
Russell Hastings 1909-1979. Hastings moved to Tucson in 1931 to study archaeology but didn’t stay long, but he returned in 1939. By 1950 he had become a registered architect with the State of Arizona and he designed residential buildings, schools and other dwellings. These include the Adair Funeral Home, the Immaculate Heart Academy, Magee Jr. High, two A & W restaurants and many residential dwellings. The collection includes 110 projects and over 1000 drawings done between 1950-1978.
Over time, since the closing of the School of Architecture Library, the Arizona Architectural Archives collection was moved to a variety of locations. The University of Arizona Libraries acquired the bulk of the collection in 2011, although some of it now resides at the Tucson division of the Arizona Historical society. (See library_Architectural-Drawing.pdf)
While inventories of the collections that are housed in Special Collections exist, they are not yet publicly available. However, they can be searched and viewed with assistance and advance notice. You can reach me at jrdiaz@email.arizona.edu or contact Special Collecions at: askspcoll@email.arizona.edu and I or one of my colleagues will be more than happy to help you.
NEW ADDITIONS:
The following collections are available to the public, and, with the exception of the Joesler drawings noted below, have finding aids that are available in Arizona Archives Online. They include:
Judith Chafee Papers MS 606: This collection includes a variety of materials pertaining to the life and work of architect Judith Chafee. The majority of the collection are project files and architectural plans corresponding to Chafee’s award winning designs, but it also includes photographs, artwork, poetry, publications, office documents, and teaching files from Chafee’s time as an architecture professor. A brand new book about Judith Chafee, titled Powerhouse: The Life and Work of Judith Chafee, written by Kathryn McGuire and Christopher Domin, is now available. A companion exhibit is also available for viewing at the School of Architecture.
Thomas Gist papers, 1918-2000 MS 655 “This collection consists of the personal and professional papers and drawings of Tucson architect, Tom Gist (1918-2000). His unique design and building style made his homes an important part of Tucson’s Historical Districts. The bulk of the material relate to his work as an architect and include his drawings, plans, contracts, and other important information pertaining to his work. The rest of the collection stems from his personal life and contains various awards, degrees, photos, scrapbooks, and journals including his work with the Tucson National History club.” (from the finding aid)
John W. Murphey records 1919-1972 (bulk 1920-1950) MS 603 Along with Leo B. Keith and Helen Geyer Murphey , his wife, John W. Murphey owned and operated a number of commercial ventures in Southern Arizona beginning in the 1920s. In 1928 the John W. Murphey and Leo B. Keith Building Company was incorporated and Josias Joesler was hired as the firm’s architect. Fourteen years later, in 1942, the company was re-organized as the Murphey and Keith partnership, at which time Josias Joesler sold his shares. Into the 1950s, Murphey and his associates constructed homes, performed renovations, sold property, and leased houses in the Tucson area. Large projects include whites-only housing developments such as the Catalina Foothills Estates and Broadway Village, commercial spaces at Broadway Village and St. Phillips Plaza, the Hacienda Del Sol hotel, and the El Conquistador hotel. After Joesler’s death in 1956, Murphey began working with architects Blanton and Cole.
Josias Joesler: Born in Switzerland in 1895, Joesler was educated in various places throughout Europe. He moved to Los Angeles in 1926, and shortly thereafter met John and Helen Murphey. After settling in Tucson in 1927, Joesler worked with John Murphey for thirty years, until his death in 1956. Joesler designed over 400 projects, including commercial buildings, churches and residences. St. Phillips Plaza and St. Phillips in The Hills are among his many works that showcase his love for the Spanish neo-colonial style of architecture. Today, his Tucson homes are highly sought out and they command a hefty price. For more information see: Josias Joesler | Through Our Parents’ Eyes.
The Joesler Collection of Architectural Drawings is available for viewing in Special Collections. Digital versions of these drawings are also available online at: https://content.library.arizona.edu/digital/collection/Joesler
Backlog: Much of the material contained in the Library’s architectural collections has yet to be fully processed. Among these are:
While the above collections constitute the bulk of our backlog, there is more material available. If you have any questions or would like to find out more about our collections, please contact me at jrdiaz@email.arizona.edu.
Work is underway to acquire a handful of additional collections, but given that architectural drawings take up a lot of space, time will tell how much more material the Library will be able to accomodate as it is running out of storage space.
If you are interested in doing research in the areas of architecture, planning or landscape architecture , see the following subject guide. You may also contact me or my colleague Rachel Castro, (castro2@email.arizona.edu ), who is the departmental liaison for the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Arizona Libraries.
It’s so shocking to know that Donald Trump is going to be our next President. I am filled with dread. I’m also heartbroken, sad and angry, yet determined to fight for our right to freely exist. Our insurance, our marriage, our rights–they’re all likely to disappear in the coming months. This is a huge deal, and a scary proposition.
I had to put a radio show together the day after the election. Here is the show.
There we were, in the middle of Palm Springs, when who do we see? Murray from the Mary Tyler Moore Show!!! Gavin MacCleod is his name. He was also on the Love Boat. There he was on the main drag in the main shopping district getting his own star put in on the sidewalk. How cool! He lives there now. He and I hugged real tight. He was nice. Richard liked him too. He said Mar… for me in that heavy accent of his. as in Mary…He asked us to keep Mary Tyler Moore in our prayers, as she is battling severe diabetes. Poor soul.
Dylan had just won the Nobel Prize for Literature the day before. How’d I ever end up this lucky? It was my friend Richard’s doing. Bless his heart. He got us the tickets. He got us the car. He got us the motel room. He got us to the bar… My buddy. I love you. Thank you.
Dylan opened with Rainy Day Women #12 and #35. Yee Haw! Somewhere along the way, we did get to feeling really good. It was such a blast being in the middle of a mob of people, all there to see Dylan and the Stones! Old people, young people…it was a rainbow festival of people. Beautiful young men were everywhere. I lucked out and ended up right next to a whole group of pretty boys. These guys were gorgeous. They were young and had beautiful, angelic faces and gorgeous bodies. I thought maybe the older guys that were with them were the movie directors or something. Ahem…
My feet gave out on me during the Stones segment of the show. I had trouble with my left shin all day for some reason. Don’t have the vaguest idea what I did to it, but it hurt. I ended up in the back by the bar. It wasn’t bad. Took my shoes off and massaged my poor feet. Some woman couldn’t stop laughing at me. A minute later I was up dancing and shaking my big ass in her direction. Toma, cabrona!. I shouldn’t be so volatile. Didn’t hurt anyone, and anyways she was the one that laughed at me!
Richard drove the whole way. We made good time, and lucked out with the food. We found a good Mexican restaurant in Quartzsite, and we also had two really good ones within walking distance from our motel. The shuttle to the show was across the street. Everything worked out beautifully.
I never dreamed I’d see the Rolling Stones. I missed them when they came to Tucson in ’78 with Etta James and Linda Ronstadt. Damn! But I lucked out and got to see them after all. They were wonderful. They play the fucking blues like nobody’s fucking business. They are bad ass motherfuckers. Long live the Rolling Stones!!
I wish my sister Becky could’ve seen the Stones. They have always been her favorite band. I called her the morning of the show and told her I was going to dance a number or two for her. She said, nah, just have a drink for me, ok? Ha ha ha. That’s my girl! Beckaroo! She taught me and Freddie so much, I can’t begin to tell you! I love her dearly.
Bob Dylan should be seen in smoky nightclubs instead of large outdoor venues. He’s so subtle, but such things do not make it to the people in the further reaches of the compound. You miss the nuances if you’re too far away. That sucked. I love Dylan. I was with him all the way, but I would have loved to have been up close so that I could cling to every word in awe of him and his magic. He himself has said the following, according to a Facebook post I read somewhere: “I can’t stand to play arenas, but I do play ’em, but I know that’s not where music’s supposed to be. It’s not meant to be heard in football stadiums. The best sound you can get is in an intimate club room, where you’ve got four walls and the sound just bounces”. Right on, Bob!
Richard’s list of the songs played.
Rock and roll feeds my soul. I was fed well this past weekend. God bless the Rolling Stones, and love live our Nobel prize winning folksinger, Blind Boy Grunt!!!!
“Special Collections hosts its third annual evening of song, featuring local musicians performing Mexican corridos in Spanish. Similar to English ballads, corridos tell the story of an event, a person or a place, and often include words of wisdom for those tempted by lust or greed. A brief lecture, titled, “An Introduction to the Corrido” will be given by Bob Diaz, Special Collections curator for the performing arts. This program is supported by the Mexican American Studies department”.
Listen to the audio of the program here.
Wow, what can I say? I’m so glad that “Una Noche de Corridos” event turned out so well, in spite of the fact that the musicians that agreed to play for us were not able to make it after all. We had over 100 people in attendance. I had asked the musicians to show up 15 minutes early. By 6pm, they still hadn’t shown up. I was sweating bullets by then.
When 6pm rolled around it was time to start the program. I gave my presentation on the corrido, and fumbled a bit along the way with having to toggle back and forth from one program to another, but I got through it. The audience was very receptive and understanding, and they seemed to enjoy the videos I presented.
Once I ended my part of the program (see my previous blog post, What’s to know about corridos, anyway?, as I used it as the basis for the presentation), it was time to announce that our expected musicians hadn’t shown up. I then asked if there were any other musicians in the house who wanted to sing. I knew Bobby Benton was there with his guitar, so I figured I could count on him. He agreed to sing. And lo and behold, to everyone’s delight and surprise another individual also came forward. Her name is Tiffany Alvarez. I had my guitar on hand, so she used it to perform. Tiffany is a biologist and mariachi musician who has performed with Mariachi Mujer 2000, and Bobby Benton is a native of Barrio Anita, and a well respected singer whose talents can be heard on the cd recording titled Heroes and Horses: Corridos from the Arizona-Sonoran Borderlands.
They each sang three songs, and accompanied one another on guitar. The songs included: El Siete Leguas, La Herradera, El Corrido de Nogales, and El Preso Numero Nueve. The audience just ate it up. They loved it!
Again, I can’t say how grateful I am to these two wonderful individuals!
After the program, folks stuck around to enjoy some food and beverages. I met many wonderful people last night. My good friends Mima and Pernela were there too. We sang happy birthday to Mima, and I mentioned that Pernela had won a corrido contest at Tucson Meet Yourself. She said she was going to get me back for that one. She brought her sister Gloria, who used to babysit me when I was a baby. I love Gloria. She reminds me of Mrs Jones. She and Irene, my sister, were great friends in their youth.
By the time I got home last night, it was nearly 9pm. I was exhausted, and still a bit in shock over what happened. Thank goodness it all turned out so well!
Here is a very nice note I just received from someone who attended:
Hello Bob:
Just a quick note to say how much my son and I enjoyed last night’s program! We had a great time.
I really enjoyed the musicians and the snacks after. The whole thing reminded me of when I was a kid and my dad and uncles would sit in the backyard on a Saturday night playing the guitar and singing, all while the beer and tequila flowed. Of course, my mother wasn’t happy about the last part but I remember when my grandmother would join in the singing. I haven’t thought about that for a long time, so thank you.
Anyway, I wanted you to know that it was a lot of fun. And we enjoyed your talk, too. My dad used to play all kinds of Jose Jimenez records.
Karen
————————————-
P.S.
Writer Xavier Omar Otero wrote this review of the event for the Tucson Weekly.
(click on the graphic to get a larger image)There is one answer for you. Other writers note that the corrido is derived from a combination of Spanish song styles, not just the romance. Corridos were quite popular during the Mexican American War and reached even greater heights of popularity during the Mexican Revolution. A typical corridista would stand on street corners and sing to the passersby, often distributing the songs on “hojas” or leaves of large pieces of colored paper (referred to in English as broadsides). While some scholars such as Vicente Mendoza argue that the true form died out after the Revolution, others stress that the corrido has merely evolved, and that it flourishes to this day.
Corridos can be written about any number of topics. Some of the more popular corridos are about the Mexican Revolution, its heroes and villains, and the great battles that were fought. Others are about places, or about people who get themselves into trouble for being too bold or stubborn. There are also corridos about horses, cock fighting, and drug running. The latter are called narcocorridos, and they are extremely popular today.
According to the Mexican scholar Vicente Mendoza, a typical corrido usually contains some of the following elements: the initial call of the corridista or the balladeer to the public, sometimes called the formal opening; the stating of the place, date and name of the protagonist of the ballad; the arguments of the protagonist; the message; the farewell of the protagonist; and the farewell of the corridista. (Mendoza, Vicente. La Lirirca Narrativa de Mexico, pp17-18, 1964). Of course, not all corridos follow this formula to the letter, but most corridos do include a closing or farewell message of one kind or another.
La Adelita (Click on graphic to enlarge)Simonett states that, “the corrido is usually sung in 2/4 or 3/4 time, and that its harmony is based on the tonic, dominant and subdominant chords. It is usually constructed of a number of stanzas of four or six octosyllabic lines, and the melodic phrases are repeated for each stanza. Occasionally, the corrido has a melodic refrain, which may be in a different rhythm”. (Simonett, Helena. Banda: Mexican Musical Life Across Borders, 2001).
I grew up listening to El Corrido del Caballo Blanco from the time I was 2. The song opens with the sound of a galloping horse. Anyone who hears that sound who is familiar with Mexican music, recognizes it almost immediately as being the opening to one of Jose Alfredo’s most popular songs.
When I was in my early teens, our local drugstore, El Campo Drugs on the corner of 22nd and Country Club, had a record bin with Mexican albums. One day I asked my mom to buy me one. She liked Mexican music a lot, so it wasn’t hard to convince her. I chose Antonio Aguilar’s album, Corridos. It included some of the most famous corridos ever written, such as Gabino Barrera, Juan Charrasqueado, El Hijo Desobediente, and Rosita Alvirez.
In high school, I learned more about Mexican popular music in a class called “Cultural Awareness”, one of the very first Chicano Studies classes (1974) ever offered in Tucson. Our teachers brought record albums to the classroom that included corridos of the Mexican Revolution. Songs like La Adelita and Valentin de La Sierra (see Ana Gabriel’s version below) resonated with me. They alluded to a history I was not yet familiar with, but was closer to me than I realized. My own grandparents had immigrated to the U.S. both during and after the Mexican Revolution. Their lives were directly impacted by this conflict. It took me a while to realize what this really meant to me.
I began to slowly collect record albums in high school, although I didn’t have a strong interest in Mexican music until after I graduated from college and joined KXCI radio in 1983 as a volunteer disc jockey. At that point, I started hosting two radio shows. One was a three hour morning program, and the other was a specialty program called The Chicano Connection. My goal in doing this was to present both American and Latin music to the public. Once I started listening to and collecting more music in Spanish, particularly Mexican folk music, I started to become more familiar and comfortable with the corrido repertoire, and I began to collect songbooks, albums and whatever else I could find. One artist, whose song Doña Elena y El Francés, was one of my uncle’s favorites, was the great actor Ignacio Lopez Tarso. He issued two albums of corridos of the Mexican Revolution. They are comprised of spoken word monologues accompanied by music. Here’s an example.
I have discovered over time that there are a variety of types of recordings of corridos. Some would argue that the only ones that are “authentic” and worth listening to are those that were recorded in the early part of the 20th century, or “in the field” so to speak, by folklorists. These are performed generally by working musicians, who may or may not possess the best voices. They appeal to me on a different level than those recordings that are considered more commercial, and which are quite frankly more readily accessible to the general public. (Below, however, is one set of recordings that were made in the early 20th century that is readily available from Arhoolie Records).
Another recording, one that has the feel of a field recording, but was actually recorded in 2002 , is titled, Heroes and Horses: Corridos from the Arizona Sonora Borderlands. It is also readily available from Smithsonian Folkways. It was compiled by James Griffith, folklorist and co-founder of Tucson Meet Yourself.
Some of Mexico’s greatest ranchera singers, including Miguel Aceves Mejia, Lola Beltran, Lucha Villa and Antonio Aguilar, have helped preserve the corrido by recording them on their albums. Aguilar, for example, has issued several corrido albums, including one about the Mexican Revolution and another one all about horses.
Here’s one more corrido, this time by Lucha Villa. It’s called El Hijo Desobediente.
One of my all time favorite albums of corridos is Amparo Ochoa’s recording, Corridos y Canciones de la Revolucion Mexicana, which was issued in 1983. It includes definitive versions of La Adelita, El Soldado, and Valentin de la Sierra. It also includes a very moving song called La Caritina, written by Victor Cordero, a contemporary composer. The song is about a female revolutionary colonel who fought alongside Pancho Villa, but who was not officially recognized by the Mexican government, and who ends up dying in abject poverty. Here’s Amparo Ochoa singing this song live.
Since the 1970s, narcocorridos have been very popular with the Mexican public. A wildly popular group called Los Tigres Del Norte are largely responsible for popularizing this type of corrido. Other artists such as Chalino Sanchez helped further the form’s popularity.
Corridos continue to be written to this day. Many are political or deal with current events and contemporary issues. Below is an example of a relatively new corrido about President Obama. It was recorded in 2008 by Los Dorados Del Norte. Youtube is a great source for finding these songs. There even exist corridos about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, some of which are very biting and funny. I’ll leave it to you the reader to explore these on your own. Have fun!
Locally, corridos are very popular in Southern Arizona. Back in the 1980s, a local group called Mariachi America, led by Gilbert Velez, recorded “El Corrido de Tucson”. Tucson Meet Yourself has also held corrido contests for many years, and the University of Arizona Poetry Center has sponsored a number of contests for high school students. Below is an example of such a corrido, written and sung by Araceli Valenzuela. The corrido won the 2010 Bilingual Corrido contest. Alfredo Valenzuela is a local teacher, now retired, who created the youth mariachi program at Davis Elementary School.
Below is a list of books you can read to learn more about the corrido. Those available online are linked to Amazon. Local libraries such as the University of Arizona Library, Pima Community College LIbrary, and the Pima County Public LIbrary also have some materials.
Here are a few corrido recordings that are available for sale online via Amazon.
Newly added material… Corridos about Pancho Villa…
An album by Bud and Travis (titled “Naturally: Folk Songs for the Present”) that I bought up in Phoenix the other day piqued my curiosity, so I started searching the web, including Ebay and Amazon to find more of their material. I also checked Youtube to see if there were any videos posted of them performing together. It turns out that their careers are well documented at budandtravis.com. Youtube contains a number of very interesting live performances, and many of their recordings and other related material are available both on Amazon and Ebay.
I decided to gather up all of the recordings in my own library at home–lps, a cassette, and some cds– and it didn’t take long to figure out that there was only one lp the the duo recorded together called “Spotlight on Bud and Travis” that I didn’t have. I had forgotten that I also have some solo recordings of both singers. I even have duplicate copies of at least three of their albums! There were some double cds of a few of these albums available on Amazon, and I purchased two of them, including one that contains the “Spotlight on Bud and Travis” recording. With the acquisition of these cds, I’ll have acquired a significant portion of their catalog. Of course, I don’t have everything, particularly their solo material, but all in good time! I love these guys. Their voices blend so well together, and their guitar work is superb. Here’s a link to their discography: http://budandtravis.com/discography.html
Travis Edmunson grew up in Nogales, and was an Arizonan through and through. He sang lots of songs in Spanish, and with his singing partner Bud Dashiell, recorded an entire album in Spanish called The Bud and Travis Latin Album, as well as a number of other songs in Spanish scattered throughout the various recordings that they made together. One of their best recordings is of the traditional son jarocho, La Bamba. I also like El Abandonado. Here’s a live version of La Bamba that they performed on the Ozzie and Harriet Show:
Post Radio show notes:
I just had to play a song by these guys on my next radio show. The song I chose was Malaguena Salerosa. It was in my opening set, and was sandwiched in between Lola Beltran’s “Del Cielo Cayo’ Una Rosa, and Martha Gomez’s lovely version of “Cielito Lindo”. It was a great little set, and I even got a phone call from a listener who let me know he enjoyed it very much. That was nice!
Here’s Del Cielo Cayo’ Una Rosa, by Lola Beltran:
Here’s Malaguena Salerosa, by Bud and Travis:
Here’s Cielito Lindo by Marta Gomez:
The rest of the show also turned out well, which was a pleasant surprise, because I changed my plans midstream, and had to “wing it”, which meant picking and choosing what to play during the show itself (I usually have every song planned out beforehand!). I was originally going to play a bunch of songs that were about betrayal, anger, hurt and loss , since I had recently been through an unpleasant experience, but then I thought, why subject everyone else to these unhappy feelings? I want my show to be an uplifting experience, not a drag. I ended up playing two songs by the Grateful Dead and two by Bob Dylan, as well as some rancheras and salsa. Towards the end, I included two songs that expressed disappointment, but they didn’t dominate the mood. Overall it was an upbeat show, one that I thought turned out well, especially since it was one of those “spontaneous creations”.