Young San Carlos Apache boys perform the "crown dance" - December 4, 1999 Photo: Kimi Eisele
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La Fiesta de Tumacácori
A
two-day event celebrating the many diverse cultures and traditions
of the Arizona borderlands. Native American peoples such as the
Navajo, Tohono O'odham, Apache, Tarahumara, and Yaqui peoples are
represented, as well as the Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo cultures.
The fiesta centers around the 17th-century Mission San José de
Tumacácori, which is considered the best preserved Franciscan
mission ruin in the United States and represents one of the oldest
outposts of European civilization in the United States. An integral
part of the mission chain founded by Jesuit Eusebio Francisco Kino,
and Italian-born Jesuit priest and the first missionary in the
Southwest, this mission stands as a monument to the expansion of
the Spanish society in the New World and the dynamic cultures that
exist in the borderlands today. The mission is now part of the
Tumacácori National Historic Park of the National Park
Service. (Tumacácori is a Pima word meaning "place of the flat
rock.") The Fiesta de Tumacácori helps to make visitors aware
of the unique cultural fabric of the borderlands.
The fiesta, held the first Sunday in December since
the 1960s, is tied directly to historical events of the mission; it
offers a glimpse of modern traditions as they intersect with
centuries-old customs. It includes music, food, dance, crafts, and
storytelling. Live music and dancing from Mexican, Tarahumara,
Yaqui, Tohono O'odham, and the American country-western traditions
entertains participants and visitors throughout the weekend. Over
two dozen booths offer foods such as tortillas, burritos, fry
bread, tacos, menudo, and chili con carne, and crafts ranging from
reverse glass paintings, basket-weaving, pottery, and leather to
paper flowers. A "Kid's Corner" features puppet shows about local
history, a hands-on natural history exhibit, and the always popular
piñata swatting. Closing the two-day celebration is a Waila band. (Tohono O'odham
waila or "chicken
scratch" music has a German polka beat, and is played on the
accordion, drums, guitar and fiddle.) The heart of the Fiesta is
the Sunday morning procession and Catholic mass, celebrated
primarily in English and Spanish, with songs, blessings, and dances
in Yaqui, Tohono O'odham, and Tarahumara. After the mass, there is
a procession back to the Fiesta grounds where a statue of the
venerated St. Francis Xavier, the patron saint of the Fiesta, is
sheltered in a ramada.
Project documentation includes a written report of 41
pages and bibliography; 29 8 x 10 color photographs with
descriptive information; a videotape of the 1999 Fiesta, a video
log; articles from the Green Valley News and
Arizona Tourist News; a map of Mission grounds, a map of the Fiesta
grounds with booths identified, a list of booth participants; a
Fiesta schedule/poster; an excerpt from a book
The Pimería Alta, Missions and More; and brochures on Tumacácori
National Historic Park.
Originally submitted by: Ed Pastor, Representative (2nd District).
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The Local Legacies project provides a "snapshot" of American Culture as it was expressed in spring of 2000. Consequently, it is not being updated with new or revised information with the exception of "Related Website" links.
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