Faces of the Festival

Carmen: Polyglot

I wanted to be an interpreter for the United Nations or become a teacher of languages. I learned five languages at the University of Arizona: Spanish, English, Italian, French, and…

Sophia: Dinner Parties

My grandmother is Chinese, Indian, and Jamaican. She married a Venezuelan and had a son who married a white woman from Canada who’s Irish and Scottish. I feel like a…

Scott: Wear Pants

I have a soft spot in my heart for people who do what they want. I was in the Seattle airport, killing time, and walked into Sub Pop Records which…

Saul: Broken, Hopeful

When my father passed away in 2005 it broke me, but in a good way. It made me persevere and helped me be a creator and create my own brand,…

Sarah: Getting Together

I’ve lived in Tucson forever. Most of my family have lived here for a really long time, but the family I’m closest to lives in San Francisco. I visit them…

Guadalupe: Pirate’s Daughter

My father told me to believe in myself and that I can do anything in life. He was blinded in an accident. I was his eyes, describing everything for him…

Richard: Therapeutic Rhythms

I am originally from the twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago, home of the steel drum, Calypso, and limbo. I moved to Tucson in 1998 to further my studies in…

Gina: A Happy Life

I’m from Puerto Rico. I lived in the Dominican Republic when I was very little. There was a chicken coop under the shade of a big mango tree that I…

Loma: Festival Origins

I was born in Santa Barbara, California. I met my husband, Jim, when I was about 20, and he was an archaeologist drifting toward art history. We took our honeymoon…

Hilary: Defining Culture

I was born and raised in London to Jamaican parents, both of whom left Jamaica when they were in their late teens. They have lived in England since then. I…

Jim: The Feats of Youth

I was nine or ten years old in 1966 when I was in the Tucson Boys Chorus. We were about to leave on tour from the Temple of Music and…

Justyn: Born to Write

I started writing when I was very young. My grandmother is a writer. I would always see her typing when I was little. When I was about eight years old,…

Mariana: Karate Practice

When I was in Cuba, one of my cousins did karate, and I went to his classes. When we returned to Tucson, I told my mom one day, “I want…

Marc: Chile Colorado Calling

I grew up in Arizona and left when I was 18 not knowing anything about where I was from, where my mother’s family was from. I left really wanting to…

Priscilla: Musical Bonds

My family is a part of me. I’ve been with my husband, Rene, for 16 years, and we run a family business together. We are literally together 24/7 because when…

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