Our taxi driver was supposed to be taking us a few blocks down the road for dinner. But we’d been in the cab, weaving around other cars, aggressively accelerating then quickly breaking for at least 10 minutes. “Almost there!” He would assure us over the blaring Spanish rap CD in the car stereo. The three…
Ancient skulls, a 100-ounce gold crystal, vibrant rubies, and a couple thousand unique minerals are enticing 55,000 people from across the globe to travel to the city of Tucson. It’s that time of year again, as the annual Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Showcase, the largest event of its kind, is in full swing throughout…
Inside the neon green and yellow shack on 6th Avenue, a few blocks outside of South Tucson, there are four rows of connected seats facing the entrance and a gray television set broadcasting an episode of Malcolm in the Middle dubbed in Spanish. A glossy Mexican national flag is painted across the wall behind the rows…
The automatic doors to the motel swish open. The desk clerk looks up at me. My overstuffed backpack pushes me forward. I can feel my credit card that I have stuffed in my shoe poking against the side of my foot. My ponytail is caught under the backpack, causing my smile to have a wince…
Rainbow-colored telavera animals crowd the outside of Casa Maya de Mexico in the self-described “artist colony” of Tubac where metalwork shaped into suns and moons, paper mache skeletons from Día de los muertos, and wooden religious figures join them. María Troy, who has worked at Casa Maya de Mexico for the last two years, helps bring…
