White Dove of the Desert

In Tucson and its environs, diverse cultures have melded yet retained distinctive elements that create a unique multi-faceted ethnography.  The Arizona-Sonora desert region has been home to indigenous peoples for thousands of years who have been impacted by European missionaries, politicians, treasure seekers, ranchers and miners, among others. The region has been able to maintain its geographic and cultural authenticity.

Mission San Xavier del Bac, the "White Dove of the Desert" about ten
miles south of downtown Tucson, on the Tohono O'odham Reservation

Founded in 1692, Mission San Xavier del Bac was one of a series of missions founded by Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, who wished to bring Catholicism to the indigenous people. The current structure was built between 1783 and 1797 by the Franciscans.  The missionaries were forced to leave in 1828 but returned in 1911.  San Xavier, the White Dove of the Desert, is still maintained as a parish church and school on the Tohono O’odham (or Papago, an English word translated from Spanish, after the conquistadores heard other Piman bands calling them this) reservation.

Detail of the craftsmanship on the exterior of the church

The main altar.  The church is still in use as a parish church of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson, and includes a K-8 school 

The handle on the church door.  In Christianity, a serpent symbolizes evil,
but many Native American tribes thought the snake represented life,
change and longevity, and the rat represented security and survival.

View of the church taken from a nearby hill.  The right bell tower is not missing
its domed top.  The top was never added to that tower during construction

The enclosed courtyard beside the church,  Despite being constructed as a
mission in Spanish held territory, the church is entirely European; its 
Baroque style is a mixture of Moorish and Byzantine architecture.

This chapel, a short distance away from the church, contains candles
lit in intercessions and gifts of thanks for special favors received.  While
we were there, the statue in the very front was brought in and placed.

The 35^th annual Wa:k Pow Wow, an inter-tribal pow wow, which is a North American Native ceremony involving feasting, dancing and singing, took place at Mission San Xavier on March 12-13, 2017.  Traditional dress, songs and dances are celebrated in a series of competitions over two days.

Dancers in traditional costumes line up waiting to be called to perform.
Note the man's American flag shirt.  We were impressed by the many 
symbols of patriotism displayed at the powwow.

All ages participated and competed, from this man...

...to this child, shown with her mother.  The man seated to the right is
one of the drummers, sitting in a drum circle under the Arizona state flag

Some of the dances featured individuals or maybe two
competitors.  At other times, everyone was invited to participate.

Even Native Americans who were not dressed in traditional
costumes sometimes felt the urge to join in the dancing.

The costumes were beautiful and were obviously
made - and worn - with a great deal of pride

The legacy of indigenous and early pioneers is preserved in several historic institutions.

The Arizona State Museum was established in 1893, making it the oldest and now the largest anthropology museum in the region.  The museum houses the world’s largest collection of Southwest American Indian pottery.  The cultures featured include Apache, Hopi, Navajo, Tohono O’odham, and Southern Piate.

The Arizona State Museum, on the campus of the University of Arizona, is housed
in one of about eight or ten buildings on the campus that were constructed by
the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Great Depression

Only a small fraction of the world's largest collection of Southwestern Native
American pottery is on display.  All of the displayed pieces are in climate-controlled
glass cases; the rest of the collection is kept in climate-controlled storerooms

Close-up of several of the pottery pieces on display.  No flash photography is allowed.

Baskets from the southwest U.S. / northern Mexico area

Tribal masks.  The Arizona State Museum is an affiliate
of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.

The Arizona History Museum allows visitors to step back into the daily life of the 1870’s.  Clothes, tools, and other implements needed for daily existence are displayed in context.  One of the highlights of this museum is a turn-of -the-century underground copper mine.  Another feature is memorabilia associated with the Apache warrior Geronimo.

Wedding dress from the late 1800's.  Note the placement of the
mirror that shows the bustle on the back of the dress.  All of the
items in the museum were donated by local families or businesses.

Close-up of one square of a quilt.  Each block is a scene made by a
different quilter, and the hand-signed name is then embroidered

The museum contains a full-scale replica of an underground
copper mine which visitors can walk through.  Copper mining
was very prevalent in the mountains around Bisbee, Arizona

Rifle that belonged to Geronimo, a prominent leader and
medicine man of the Chiricahua Apache tribe

The Tucson Rodeo Parade Museum houses historic artifacts from the pioneer days with emphasis on buggies, wagons, surreys, and coaches.  One unique aspect of this museum is the historic vehicles are still very much a part of the community as many of them are still used on the streets of Tucson each year during the famous Rodeo Parade.  They are rented by or sponsored by local businesses, churches and civic organizations, whose names are displayed on these historic “floats.”

Trailer that belonged to Duncan Renaldo, television's "Cisco Kid."  Renaldo was a
man of small stature, so he rode a very small horse to make him look bigger, and
therefore, only needed a small trailer for his horse when he went on tour

The banner on this calliope in the Parade Museum says La Fiesta de Los Vacaros
but the graphic of the monkey climbing the giraffe's neck suggests it may have
originally been built for and used by a circus.

Since 1925, the Parade Committee has acquired over 125 horse-drawn
vehicles of all types, most of which were donated to the Parade Museum 

Dresses from the 1950's displayed at the museum.  

Several prominent families, including the descendants of Noah Webster and Seth
Thomas donated carriages to the museum.  Many of the pieces have appeared in
movies, including Oklahoma and the John Wayne / Maureen O'Hara film McLintock

The Tucson Rodeo Parade has been a part of community life for the last 92 years, and one of its claims to fame is that it is the largest non-mechanized parade in the world.  No motorized vehicles of any kind participate; all of the floats are pulled by horses or mules.

The United States Flag, the flag of Mexico, and the Arizona
state flag lead the 2017 Tucson Rodeo Parade on a bright

and crisp February morning

One of the wagons rented from the Parade Museum for the 2017 parade.
This one is sponsored by Fry's Food and Drug, a large Tucson-area
supermarket chain.  Cost to rent a farm wagon: $925

A large local high school band marches in the parade

This float, sponsored by the League of Mexican-American Women, was the
winner of the Curt Sullivan Sweepstakes Award in this year's parade

This high school band performed in front of the reviewing stand for about a
half-hour in the pre-parade entertainment, then marched in the parade

For more about the Parade Museum, visit www.tucsonrodeoparade.com


The Tucson rodeo, officially named La Fiesta de Los Vaqueros, is a classic professional rodeo that has taken place since 1925.  It celebrates the skill and talent of the vaqueros (cowboys; cattle-drovers) in events including barrel racing, bronco riding, roping and bull riding.  To help ensure the continuance of the rodeo tradition, children are encouraged to participate in events including roping and sheep-riding, referred to as mutton bustin’.

Opening day of the rodeo; view from our seats of the judges' stand and the
"chutes" from which the bronco and bull riders will emerge.  We were there on
opening day and the rodeo went on despite downpours that lasted most of the day.

"Mutton bustin'"   Youngsters four to six years old compete in sheep riding.
Note the little "rodeo clown" in the lower left corner of the picture

In a tribute to active duty military and veterans, flags of all five branches
of service plus the POW flag presented before the rodeo gets underway.

Barrel racing

Young competitors roped and tied goats.  Now we can truly
say that "we've been to a goat-roping"

Steer roping

Bronco riding

Riders ready to assist the competitor once he completes his
8-second bronco ride, or if he is thrown

Bull riding.  The man standing in front of the chute is a 'bull fighter" whose
job is to distract the bull once the rider is off.  He is not a typical rodeo
clown, whose primary function is to entertain the spectators

The rodeo grounds took on the air of a county fair, with vendors selling all
kinds of food and drinks, hats and clothing, trucks and trailers, and equipment
of all types.  We thought this tongue-in-cheek "kissing booth" was unique.

Most of the livestock was supplied by one ranch, which specializes
in providing stock for rodeos all over the United States

The horns may have been cut off to make it a little safer to ride these bulls,
but they are still big, dangerous animals that can easily hurt a rider, especially
if he is thrown to the ground.

Honoring traditions and cultures and respecting the individual and his beliefs are part of the foundation for a heterogeneous community’s growth and development, even as it welcomes the challenges of the future.  Tucson has a long history of doing just that, and when combined with its colorful past, it does, indeed, provide some wonderful Road Stories.