Food & Foodways
Culturescapes of Agave & Mezcal
How a beloved plant and its spirit foster culture, character, and identity in Mexico and beyond. by Luis E. Coronado…
Beyond Kombucha: Fermentation as Resistance
For Cesar Ojeda Linares, supporting traditional fermentation techniques in Mexico is a way to preserve culture and environment. Interview by…
Más Allá de la Kombucha: la fermentación como resistencia
Para Cesar Ojeda Linares, las tecnicas de la fermentación tradiconal en México representan una manera de conservar la cultura y…
Pan de Semita and the Legendary Bakers of Bustamante
A special variety of pan dulce in northern Nuevo León honors generations of gastronomic heritage by Chantal Flores Outside of…
Master Artists
The Last Potter and the Next One
The late Ron Carlos and his apprentice, August Wood, on traditions of O’odham and Piipaash pottery. Ron Carlos passed away in May 2023 due to complications from cancer. He was a member of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. He learned traditional paddle and anvil technique pottery in the mid-1990s…
Making Rope
Jesús Garcia connects people to the Sonoran Desert past and present with horsehair and plant fiber Interview by Casely Coan Born and raised in Sonora, Mexico, with ranching and farming parents, Jesús Garcia learned horsehair and agave fiber rope “reata” from his father and other residents from his hometown of…
Listening All the Time
Karen Falkenstrom on building taiko drums, creating community, and passing on tradition. Interview by Eryka Dellenbach Karen Falkenstrom (she/they) is a taiko drum maker and performer from Tucson, Arizona. Co-founder of Odaiko Sonora, Tucson’s Japanese drumming ensemble, Karen has been building Japanese drums for over 20 years and is recognized…
Thinking like a Folklorist
Kitchen-table Remedios
A folklorist finds new ways to carry traditional knowledge into the future by Selina Morales Alexis is eight, and I am nine: Lela instructs us to gather flowers from the…
Dancing like a Folklorist
Contemporary dancers in the borderlands learn the folklórico dance of Sonora Bronco Essay by Yvonne Montoya with photographs by Ammi Robles In the dusty dance studio of Agua Prieta’s Casa…
The Play’s the Thing
Elevating heritage and folkways through theatricality by Marc David Pinate Four, ten-foot-tall giant puppets dressed in ornate gowns dance down Morley Avenue in Nogales, Arizona. Children point and gasp at…
In Memoriam: James S. Griffith
July 30, 1935-December 18, 2021 James S. Griffith, or “Big Jim,” moved to Tucson at age 20 to study at the University of Arizona, eventually earning a PhD in cultural…