(Published by Zocalo Magazine on Dec. 1, 2013.) It is crazily popular. Tucsonans love this parade. It’s an eclectic, Old Pueblo eccentric glorious mishmash of goofy to serious entries – storm troopers meeting dog groups meeting accordion players meeting high school marching bands meeting church groups. There are local dignitaries in convertibles; car clubs, scooter clubs, motorcycle clubs; dance troupes, mariachi and folklorico groups. All of these various Tucsonans coming together … [Read more...]
Downtown Tucson Comes Alive Again with this Year’s 2nd Saturdays
(Published by Arizona Daily Wildcat on Sept. 12, 2013.) This weekend, artists, bands and vendors will dominate the streets of downtown Tucson with the school year’s first production of 2nd Saturdays Downtown. Downtown Tucson’s Providence Service Corporation began to support the entertainment series known as 2nd Saturdays in May 2010 in order to expose the community to art, music, fashion and a spread of culture unlike anything else in Tucson, according to 2nd Saturdays’ website. As the … [Read more...]
The 1960s: Urban Renewal and Barrio Destruction
This article was part of a special February 2012 Zocalo Magazine issue commemorating the 100th anniversary of Arizona’s statehood. The complete section of Tucson snapshots over the last 10 decades is at this link. No discussion about Downtown Tucson over the last 100 years would be complete without paying homage to Los Tucsonenses and the late 1960s decimation of la calle – 80 acres of Downtown that was once a culturally diverse residential and business district. Tucsonenses, as … [Read more...]
Rooted in Community
(Published by Zocalo Magazine on July 5, 2011.) “Sparkroot is a concept that I have been mulching in my mind for years,” says Ari Shapiro of his latest Downtown venture, set to open in early August at 245 E. Congress St., at 5th Avenue. “It’s essentially the kind of space that I crave as a customer that I don’t feel really exists. The heart and soul of it is a coffee shop, but it’s a coffee shop that brings elements of a restaurant into it.” Shapiro, who is also the proud founder and … [Read more...]