Authentic Intelligence
The artists who work behind the scenes to build and beautify a folklife festival have deep experiential knowledge. Interviews and photographs by Kimi Eisele Invisibility is not an absence, claimed…
Humanity in the Public Square
Why a folklife festival matters right now by Kimi Eisele The year I was born, United States soldiers were overseas fighting a strange war in Vietnam. The conflict caused millions…
“The Festival is a gateway”
Mohyeddin Abdulaziz on finding belonging and community through sharing his culture at Tucson Meet Yourself As told to Kayleigh Stack in 2022 as part of an oral history project, 50…
One, two, three, hop … one, two, three, hop
Phyllis Gracy on the joy and satisfaction of Scandinavian folk dancing at Tucson Meet Yourself As told to Kayleigh Stack in 2022 as part of an oral history project, 50…
That One Voice
Classical guitarist and visual artist Gabriel Ayala on bringing his own Indigenous perspective to Tucson Meet Yourself As told to Kayleigh Stack in 2022 as part of an oral history…
A Rock and a Paddle
Kathleen Vance on the art of traditional Tohono O’odham utilitarian pottery. Kathleen Vance, of Tohono O’odham and San Carlos Apache descent, specializes in Tohono O’odham utilitarian pottery creating clay cooking…
A Force for Good
Loma Griffith on 50 Years of Tucson Meet Yourself, a Folklife Festival Interview by Kayleigh Stack Loma Griffith co-founded the annual folklife festival, Tucson Meet Yourself, with her late husband,…
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…
They Fried It, I Tried It
Adiba Nelson samples “cultural soul food” at Tucson Meet Yourself Video essays Adiba Nelson and Eryka Dellenbach One thing about me is that I love to eat. More importantly, I…
“Once you work on an egg, you forget the world.”
Ihor Kunasz on pysanky, tradition, and the Ukrainian diaspora Interview by Eryka Dellenbach Ihor Kunasz is a geologist and world-renowned expert in lithium. Of Ukrainian lineage, he moved to Tucson…
Show Up and Polka
Tucson’s Lajkonik Polish Folk Dance Ensemble Celebrates 25 Years of color, spin, and tradition by Kimi Eisele On a Thursday evening in late September in the large hall behind Tucson’s…
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…
Running Tales for the Times
A writer and collector of corridos on the power of the people’s song by Celestino Fernández When my father was on his deathbed, at age 93, he sang out a…
Ofrenda: Altar Makers Create Bridges between Life and Death
Ofelia Esparza and Rosanna Esparza Ahrens are altar makers from East Los Angeles. Ofelia is a sixth generation altarista and printmaker, who was recognized by the National Endowment of the…
Ascendant Culture: An Interview with Gustavo Arellano
Gustavo Arellano is the author of Orange County: A Personal Historyand Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America, and a features writer for the Los Angeles Times. Former editor of…
Fat Mama: A Street Sandwich from Myanmar Comes to Tucson Meet Yourself
by Adiba Nelson Fat mama. When you see those words, I doubt the words “gangster” or “sandwich” come to mind. I also highly doubt that veganism comes to mind. However,…
A Photo Is Not Reality
Story and photographs by Steven Meckler When I was in middle school, I had a dream in which I was walking around framing things I saw with a little black…
Embodying the Spirit of Tucson Meet Yourself
Former Tucson Meet Yourself board member, Ralph Colwell died of cancer on December 12, 2018 at the age of 81. We remember him for his service to the organization and…
Layers of Life and Beauty: The Papercuttings of Magdalena Nowacka-Jannotta
by Kimi Eisele To look into one of Magdalena Nowacka-Jannotta’s colorful and intricate papercuttings is to look into another world and wish you could go there. At least that’s how…
New Food Vendors at Tucson Meet Yourself
Food vendors benefit from Tucson Meet Yourself, bringing in a combined $350,000 on average each year. Many cultural groups use their earnings to support education and service activities throughout the…
The Egalitarian Sound of Son Jarocho
by Kimi Eisele Michelle Téllez first heard the lively harmonic sounds of son jarocho music at a community concert in Los Angeles. The band playing was Mono Blanco, a well-known…
Hello Kitty in Kimono: Exhibiting the Everyday Lives of Master Traditional Artists
If there’s such a thing as a “master curator,” Leia Maahs qualifies as one. As the program manager of the Southwest Folklife Alliance, she handles a lot of people, information,…
A Woman of Waila: Gertie Lopez Plays Music to Remember
Gertie Lopez’s hands are delicate and thin, but her strong, nimble fingers can easily coax sounds from the button accordion, an instrument she taught herself to play when she was…
Low & Slow: The Duke’s Car Club Preserves a Lowrider Culture
It’s a late April afternoon on Tucson’s Southside and the sun glints off the Kelly green paint job of a 1939 Chevrolet. Alfred Teran, Jr. gets in and plugs his…
Threads of Culture Bonyang Michaels: The Folk Art of Laotian Weaving
BorderLore interviews TMY tradition bearer Bonyang Michaels, with translation assistance from her daughter, Vil Rosales. Bonyang Michaels is a weaver from Laos, one of more than 100 folk artists who…
Food Vendor Guadalupe Pulido: Los Chiquilines Aguas Frescas
B: How long have you been a vendor at TMY? G: This will be our 26th year. We began just with aguas frescas, the symbol and custom of Mexico. They…
An Herbalist on Every Corner John Slattery: Medicinal Plants of the Southwest
John Slattery’s vision of a healthy community is that one that has an herbalist on every corner. “Not because it’s a viable livelihood,” he says, “but because it would be…
Sweet, Sour, and Spice in the Ice
One of the most refreshing ways to flavor up the summer in Tucson is with a raspado, the Mexican version of a snow cone. This icy delicacy gets its name…
Field Notes TMY from a Folklorist’s Eye
Saturday, October 10 in the Presidio: A folklorist focuses unobtrusively on a dance demonstration in progress on the City Hall stage. Something that catches his eye makes him chuckle. His…
The Makings of a TMY Food Booth: Little Mexico & Día de los Muertos
Behind the informal spontaneity of Festival food booths, there is a careful and conscious choreography of tradition that goes beyond “good grub.” Many TMY food booths are elaborately decorated in…
Candy and Food Justice Barrio Bici in TMY’s Culture Kitchen
As the attendees leaned closer, Cesar Lopez of Barrio Bici melts the Oaxacan chocolate, adds the cinnamon and pops the amaranth seeds. Full of nutritional value and a staple of…
Roundup of Digital Clips
Our 2014 Festival: A Video Retrospective https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEfTEmM7wFw © Julianne Stanford Video Link: The Pick-up Kings! https://youtu.be/1ozLahVboDo ©tohono.tv 2014 Video Link: Thai Buddhists at Tucson Meet Yourself https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnZx8Y0fJhI&feature=youtu.be © Sophia Chen…
Tucson Meet Yourself Is Growing
The Board of Directors of Tucson Meet Yourself — the beloved 41 year old festival which shares the City’s namesake — has created a new not-for-profit legal entity to serve…
Global Foodways Fellowship Awarded
Meet this year’s TMY Global Foodways Fellowship Recipients Lila Sideras and Evaristo Ramierez Barajas. This year, TMY offered the first ever “Global Foodways Fellowship” Award. The Fellowship was available for…
More About Tucson Meet Yourself 2013
Volunteers — We Need You Volunteers are the lifeblood of Tucson Meet Yourself. We can’t run the festival without the support of Tucsonans who generously share their time and their…
In the TMY Cultural Kitchen: Cooking up Traditions of Good Eats & Entrepreneurship
Everything about the TMY Cultural Kitchen says that it’s a place to gather and see how food tradition and good eats happen in our city. When you meet Priscilla Mendenhall,…
Tucson Meet Your…..Birds?
The lore associated with all things “birds” has long fascinated bird-watching enthusiasts and naturalists. Such lore includes all the references to birds in art, literature, myth and popular culture, as…
Countdown to TMY Tradition
Q&A With Maribel Alvarez, Ph.D. If TMY is a melting pot bubbling over with culture, then Maribel Alvarez is its executive chef, who stirs in the authentic local ingredients of…
Kidlore Spolights Play
Q&A With Kimi Eisele Multidisciplinary artist Kimi Eisele is curator of TMY’s newest cultural area — Kidlore. Here’s the inside story on how KidLore is curating engaging and playful experiences…
GREEN is The TMY Color
Q&A With Mia Hansen She has been called a TMY sparkplug. Now Mia Hansen is instilling sustainability in the TMY engine. BL: What’s up with the TMY Green Team? Who…
Wild & Wonderful Carnival!
Q&A with Richard Noel Tucson loves a good party, and next weekend TMY’s Traditions of Caribbean will be THE place for fun, festivities, educational workshops and promenade. All authentically led…