Covering Grupo Folklorico Miztontli Live!

Grupo Folklórico Miztontli is a collaborative student-found group whose goal is the promotion of Mexican folk dance and cultural awareness. We seek to represent Mexican culture in the University of Arizona and the Tucson communities through our performances and presentations and to show what Mexican culture has to offer for the fine arts as well as for the individual.

Today I will be covering GFM as they rehearse for their next performance at the Hispanic Graduation Convocation on Wednesday May 9, 2012.

 

By Hope Jamieson 25 April 2012

"Around the World in 50 Years: Destination Guatemala"

Tonight, April 24, at 5:30 I will be covering a discussion lead by Professor Liz Oglesby from the School of Geography and Development and the Center for Latin American Studies, about her research in Guatemala. It will be held in the living room at the University of Arizona's Slonaker House in Tucson, Ariz. Oglesby will be joined by the Study Abroad Program Coordinator, Jill Calderon, and a few students who have traveled with her. Tune in as I cover it live!

 

By Jamie Turow 24 April 2012

Cover it Live- Borderlands Community Film Series

Tonight Lauren Urratio and I will be covering an event put on by the Arizona Humanities Council with support from the Consulado de Mexico en Tucson. The event will be showing the film 'Al Otro Lado/ To the Other Side' at El Pueblo Neighborhood Center. The film explores the world of immigration, drug smuggling and the corrido music-ballads about the narcotics underworldand undocumented immigrant life. The event starts at 6 p.m. so make sure you tune in!

 

By Lauren Sokol 19 April 2012

Islam and Hip Hop

Religious Studies and Africana Studies Professor, Alex Nava, will be giving a lecture titled "Islam and Hip Hop" at the University of Arizona on April 19, 2012, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m at the Integrated Learning Center. He will be discussing Robert Burns's book Christianity, Islam and the West, as well. Tune in as I cover it live during his lecture!

 

By Chelsey Barthel 19 April 2012

Preserving Cuban Architecture

Cuba has some of the influential modern architecture of the 20th century. Despite its politically rocky history the country is emerging as a tourism hot spot and the architecture is grabbing the attention of many Cuban and international preservationists. The speaker will be Rosa Lowinger, principal and senior conservator of Rosa Lowinger and Associates. She was born in Cuba, left in 1962 but has returned to the country for the last 20 years as an art and architecture conservator.  The lecture will be taking place at the University of Arizona inside the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering building tonight April 18, 2012.

 

By Rachel Kolinoski 18 April 2012

Tucson Human Rights Watch Film Festival

The Tucson Human Rights Watch Film Festival brings to light human rights violations throughout the world.

By Emily Kjesbo and Lauren Urratio 18 April 2012 Read Article

Con-Nichiwa is more than just an Anime Convention

Border Beat takes a more in-depth look on the subculture of cosplay, a Japanese-based performance art of costume and role play, as well as how anime conventions like Con-Nichiwa help small anime businesses and artists.

By Melissa Guz 18 April 2012 Read Article

Tucson's Jewish History Museum

The Jewish History Museum was built in 1910 as the first Jewish house of worship established in the Arizona territory.  It served as an important center of Jewish community for the southwest before Arizona achieved statehood.  Click on the links below to learn about various Jewish influences in Tucson. (Read more about the building's history: "The Saving of a Treasure".)

 

 

 

Part 1: Who is Eileen Warshaw?

Part 2: The University of Arizona was started by 3 Jewish men

Part 3: The story of Nogales, once a small village called Isaacson

Part 4: Holocaust Remembrance Month

By Jamie Turow 18 April 2012

The Life and Legend of Ted DeGrazia

For nearly 70 years, Tucson has been home to one of the most inspiring artists of the desert’s time. Ettore ‘Ted’ DeGrazia opened his own art studio on the outskirts of Tucson near the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains in 1944 after the public had rejected his work. However, some believe the artist still lacks the appreciation he deserves.

Here you can view the life and legend of Ted DeGrazia, listen to interviews with the retail specialist of the DeGrazia Gallery and watch a visual slideshow of the Gallery as it stands today.

 

By Chelsey Barthel 17 April 2012 Read Article

What is a Muslim Citizen?

The University of Arizona's Muslim Student Association will be hosting the discussion panel "What is a Muslim Citizen?" tonight, April 12, 2012, at 6 p.m. in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center (MLK) room 100. It is part of the club's weekly event, Islamic Awareness Week, which consists of a series of five lectures, all aimed to expose the UA and Tucson to the truth about Muslim beliefs and the Muslim culture.

By Melissa Guz 12 April 2012

Dolores Sloan and the Crypto Jews of the American Southwest

Dolores Sloan, mother and grandmother of three, former psychotherapist and journalist, is now a full-time writer and speaker.  Her parents were from the U.S., but her grandparents came from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Warsaw. At 8 years old, Dolly's mother explained that her grandfather thought their ancestors came from Spain. "I was only 8 years old, I completely took it in and let it go." 

 

 

By Jamie Turow 05 April 2012 Read Article

Burundi Refugee Drummers Visit Tucson School Children

Children at First Southern Christian School in Tucson, Ariz. experienced the drumming and dancing of Komezakaranga, a group of Inkomezakaranga refugees, united by an instrument.

By Audrey A. Fitzsimmons 04 April 2012 Read Article

A Cemetery Full of Life

Some people may think of cemeteries as eerie or dark places. Most American cemeteries span for many acres and are covered in cement headstones, biblical statues and often times, fresh flowers. Cemeteries in Mexico and many other Hispanic communities, however, are very different from what one may have ever imagined.

 

By Jessica Hoerth 04 April 2012 Read Article

Exhibit Honors Emerging Mexican Artists

Learn about the exhibit, Apariciones Apparitions, and the artists, Adriana Gallego and Claudio Dicochea.

 

 

 

By Hope Jamieson 04 April 2012 Read Article

A Trip South of the Border to Puerto Vallarta

 

Each school year students are granted one week of freedom known as Spring Break. Students often spend months putting together trips with friends or may just have a relaxing weekend at home. This year, I was able to travel to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

By Emily Kjesbo 31 March 2012 Read Article

The Chicano Movement in Tucson/Arizona

The University of Arizona's Chicano/Hispano Student Affairs will be hosting a discussion panel called "The Chicano Movement in Tucson/Arizona" tonight from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the UA. Guest speakers leading the discussion will be Professor Guadalupe Castillo from Pima Community College and Gustavo Gutierrez from Phoenix, Ariz.

It will be hosted in Room 205 of the Cesar E. Chavez building for those who want to join the event.

By Melissa Guz 28 March 2012

Cover it Live: Photojournalist José Galvez Talk

Hailing from the Mexican-American barrios in Tucson, Ariz., José Galvez began his career with nothing but a curiousity for photography sparked  at the age of 10 after a visit to a newsroom. During high school he became a familiar young face at the Arizona Daily Star after pulling enough cash together to purchase his first camera at a pawn shop. Eventually, his mentors at the daily newspaper encouraged him to study journalism and he took their advice by enrolling in the program at the University of Arizona. After graduating, he became a photographer at the Star, where he focused his photography on Mexican-American communties.

Eventually, lots of time spent documenting the Latino communities landed him a gig at the Los Angeles Times, where he became the first Hispanic photographer to be staffed there. He was part of the team of reporters and photographers that won a Pulitzer Prize for a series on Latino life in southern California. They made history by being the first Chicanos to win the Pulitzer.

Galvez has gone on to write books, have his work featured in exhibits, and is now a speaker. (For a complete list of his honors and accomplishments, see his resume).

Tonight at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, the photojournalist will talk about his career documenting the Latin-American community in the United States, with special focus on his new work from the South.

The event begins at 5:30 p.m. and is free of admission. I'll begin live blogging the event via Cover It Live as soon as Mr. Galvez begins his talk.

By Lucia Valencia 19 March 2012

A Taste of Tucson Tango

Amy VanKirk, a graduate student at the University of Arizona studying dance, got her first taste of tango as an undergrad and her appetite for the sensual style has only gotten bigger since.

 

 

By Hope Jamieson 07 March 2012 Read Article

Irish Dance Takes Over the Month of March

Tir Conaill Academy of Irish Dance is run by a world famous dancer and musician from Ireland named Chris McGrory, who lives here in Tucson, Arizona.

By Rachel Kolinoski 07 March 2012 Read Article

Basket Weaver Stands Out At Indian Art Fair

What some may call “unmanageable” or “taboo for men,” Art Wilson calls his passion. Wilson is a basket weaver. As he thrusts the bear grass and intertwines the yucca, he stabs his half-made basket with the confidence and determination only a true basket weaver could emanate.

 

 

 

 

By Steven Schiraldi 07 March 2012 Read Article