La Fiesta de Guadalupe

Corona de Tucson

December 13, 2022 

Friday morning 

This past weekend was packed full of fun.  But first I want to share good news about our oldest son James.  Last June, he made a huge move all the way from Georgia to Tucson.  

He has a job he really likes and met a very sweet "someone special".  Andra is a special ed Kindergarten teacher in Tucson.

(The photo was taken at Empire Ranch Cowboy Festival.)

We are so happy for him and way excited to have him close by.  The six months have flown by...what fun we have had sharing our neck of the woods with Jamie.  

Last Saturday, Tucson's winter street fair returned for the 53rd year.  

The fair hosts artists and craftsmen from all over the country, local entertainment, over 35 food vendors, and lots of fun ! Fourth Avenue is closed for several blocks as well as several side streets.  

This artists takes pictures of three different t-shirts all rolled up and spaced to make a complete picture...most college and professional teams were represented.  Jamie loves Navy (and Alabama) football.  

It was a beautiful day and we got an early start to beat the afternoon crowds.  We enjoyed lunch at Caruso's...an Italian restaurant that opened in the 1930s about a block from its' present location.  

The restaurant claims to have more efficient equipment than it did back in the 30s, but boasts that the techniques for making their pasta and homemade sauces are basically the same.  

I have read that Tucson has over 100 murals painted on walls all over the city.  There are several areas in town with a walking route to see some of the paintings and I keep telling myself to google them and download maps.  It is next to impossible to drive anywhere here and not see a mural.  Fourth Avenue, located near the University of Arizona, offers a variety of "hippie" and vintage shops.  There is a mural depicting Bob Marly, Jim Morrison, the Beatles and lots more music artists from the 60's...my high school days.  

Sunday morning dawned another beautiful day and we were up and out early again.  De Grazia's Gallery in the Sun Museum hosted La Fiesta de Guadalupe.  Both the event and the gallery were free of charge.  The historic 10 acre retreat was designed by Tucson's Ted DeGrazia beginning with the Mission in the Sun that DeGrazia dedicated to Father Kino in honor of the Lady of Guadalupe on December 12, 1953.

 There were two new to us exhibits on display in the gallery.  First, DeGrazia's Ballet created between 1950 and 1961 is a selection of drawings, watercolors and oil paintings inspired by classical and modern ballet.

Second, Rock Talk: The Prehistoric Art of Ted DeGrazia is a series of drawings, watercolors, and ceramics, inspired by ancient petroglyphs and pictographs.   Freely combining imagery from Native American petroglyphs with pictographs from European cave paintings and his own symbolic glyphs he developed a personal hybrid version of prehistoric art. 

Between 1952 and 1956, more than 20 0f DeGrazia's textual designs were printed by Fuller Fabrics of New York.  The cloth was featured in ready-to-wear apparel and distributed to fabric stores nationally.

I always enjoy our time at Gallery in the Sun and was so happy to have Jamie and Andra there.  

 

The Fiesta (a religious festival of celebration) was held outside.  Included in the festivities were a Student Mariachi Band, Ballet, Yaqui Deer Dance (no camera allowed) and The Domingo DeGrazia full Spanish-guitar band.  My favorite was the ballet...from the youngest to the oldest.  All were students from Ballet Folklorico in downtown Tucson. 

Admiration...

Afterwards, we had lunch at Guadalajara Original Grill.  

They have an "at-the-table" salsa cart.  A Salsa Maestra makes tailored to your taste  salsa with all fresh ingredients from her cart.  

Not only that, she cuts and mashes avocados for quacamole too.  The best guacamole I have had !

Back at the oasis, it was a beautiful moon rise Thursday night.  The December full moon is the Cold Moon.

 

It had a nice glow...

After the really nice week-end, we knew wind and rain was in the forecast with much colder temps to follow for a few days.  We enjoyed one more sunrise and coffee Monday.

 And then, the skies began to transform.

 

The highlight for the day was seeing this Cooper's hawk fly in and perch on the fence...

and touches of red to brighten the day.

We were happy to wake up to sunny skies this morning with temps just below 40 degrees.  Tonight it is forecast to drop into the 20s...yikes !

It's been a busy day (Tuesday).  I made cheese crisps this morning, put on a pot of potato soup, and baked cornbread.  

I also happened to be at the door at just the right time to see three Harris's Hawks.

He was quite noisy...

They were pretty far away before they flew.  Two flew to the pine tree in the field on the right side of the yard.

And the other one perched in the pine tree in the field on the left...much closer and easier to photograph.

I have never photographed a Harris's Hawk before.  He is very handsome and much bigger than the Cooper's.  He sure stands out with his dark brown, chestnut red, and white markings.  

The most social of North American raptors, these birds nest in social units that vary from a single pair to as many as seven individuals.   They also hunt together as a team and figured out that with more than two members in their group they have a higher success and survival rate.  This hawk's social nature and relative ease with humans has made it popular among falconers and in education programs.  

The pups...

Until next time,

HAPPY TRAILS !

Ted DeGrazia...Gallery in the Sun

Tucson Lazydays KOA
Tucson, AZ
March 15, 2019

Born of Italian immigrants, Ettore DeGrazia (1909-1982) grew up in a mining camp in Territorial Arizona.  His early childhood experiences in the ethnically diverse community evolved into a lifelong appreciation of native cultures in the Sonoran Desert and a passion to create art depicting their lives and traditions.


In the early 1950s DeGrazia purchased a 10-acre plot in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains. 





 
One of the first buildings DeGrazia designed and built on this property he named Mission in the Sun.  

Adobe bricks were made on site with water DeGrazia hauled up in his Model A.

DeGrazia was inspired by the life and times of Padre Kino (who arrived to Arizona in1687 and traveled on horseback to map out the region).  

Padre Kino (who brought a simple cross to introduce Christianity without destroying the native cultures),  built 24 missions in 24 years with the help of Native Americans.  DeGrazia traveled to every Kino mission as he studied the life of the Padre.  

Designed with rock floors, interior murals, and open air roof, the Mission in the Sun was dedicated to Padre Kino. DeGrazia was quoted to have said "... you can't close up God in a stuffy room".

The Mission in the Sun is not open to the public now as it is undergoing some renovations.

What turned out to be a small construction project in the early 1950s developed into a 10-acre National Historic District.  This is actually the second gallery on the property.  As his fame, finances and collections grew, a bigger gallery was needed.        

"The gallery was designed by me.  I wanted to have the feeling of the Southwest.  I wanted to build it so that my paintings would feel good inside." Ettore "Ted" Degrazia  

The iron gates are a replica of the Yuma Territorial Prison gate.  






The entrance resembles a mine shaft reminding him of his youth.   




















A small gift shop is the first stop.  There you pay an $8 fee per person and receive a map and brochure.  The rest of the gallery is a self guided tour.  

DeGrazia's studio

There are six permanent collections of paintings in the gallery and rotating collections.  Rotating exhibitions showcase treasures form the vault.  "The Way of the Cross" exhibit is an annual showing every year at Easter through May and "Desert Blooms" is on exhibit now through August. Including the rotating exhibit only some of DeGrazia's 15,000 originals are housed in the gallery including oils, watercolors, sketches, lithographs, sculptures, and ceramics. 

One of my favorite paintings from the Padre Kino permanent collection...Kino's Indian Wedding

A permanent collection of 40 paintings done in 1967 that depict the Yaqui Easter...their biggest celebration of the year.

A permanent collection created in 1975 depicting Papago (the name officially changed to Tohono O'odham in the 1980s) Indian legends.  One of the legends (there were 4) is Ho'ok.  Ho'ok was a wicked witch with talons of an eagle and a large appetite for children. 

A few pictures from the rotating collection "The Way of the Cross"

 

Watercolors from the 1950s..."colorful" and "playful" paintings of cactus flowers and desert critters...part of the rotating collection.

There is a great video of DeGrazia...not to be missed.  It shows him attending festivals, talking with children, going to bullfights, painting, building the mission and gallery, and he explains his vision.    

There is a small courtyard just outside the gift shop.

DeGrazia was an accomplished trumpeter.  In 1945 he completed a Masters of Arts in Music.  His thesis "Art and Its Relation to Music" explored the connection between music and visuals.  His music plays in the gift shop.  

The Deer Dancer...an important part of the Yaqui Easter ceremony  inspired DeGrazia to create the seven-foot statue of the Deer Dancer in the gallery's courtyard.

Well, I could go on and on...it was such a beautiful place to visit.  Even though Joe and I took our time and read about and enjoyed and discussed the paintings, we both agreed we probably missed a lot...there is so much to take in...and a return visit someday would be just as enjoyable.

I'll close for now with just a few more favorite pictures.  Until next time, enjoy and...

Little Indian with Olla lithograph...hand printed in 1980.  Also, notice how DeGrazia used hay in the wall mud for texture.

The bell on top of Mission in the Sun

Love the colors and textures in the photo.  The walk is made with cholla cacti cut in discs...amazing!

Joe's favorite from the Padre Kino collection.

HAPPY TRAILS !

"It's not how much paint from the tube I put on the canvas, or even how much paint I leave out. I work for the feeling of a piece." DeGrazia