Downtown Tucsonan - December 2007 - (Page 30)

D I S C O V E R I N G “ C O O L” I N DOWNTOWN TUCSON by Tom Whittingslow young music producer from La recently told me that downtown tucson is cool. I wasn’t so sure, but wanted to find out for myself, so I spent a day downtown, looking for it. Everyone is treated the same at El charro, except those who sit in the center table in the Mo udall Room. “You’ve go to evolve in this business or die,” says Marques.” we have a gluten-free menu, a vegetarian menu and all margaritas are made with fresh squeezed lime. we use organic items and vegetables that weren’t even known ten years ago. You can’t find any transfat in the house. Even the salt came off our chips.” Jácome Plaza cultural de las americas is presenting a series of cross-cultural events called Fiera de Navideña, or the nativity Fair. the first sala to the right is dedicated to the traditional nativity scene created by Professor Mike weber — large as life, hand-painted figures in silver trim, reminiscent of Russian icons. If you’re lucky they may be serving tamales and hot chocolate in the courtyard. come back with the family on saturday, december 15 for the community christmas tree decorating ceremony with Mayor Bob walkup. You can easily spend an hour, visiting the artisans shop and strolling beneath the great trees of the courtyard, bursting with flowers, piñatas, giant flowers and music. Every sunday before christmas day, local artisans will be displaying their wares. and the christmas puppet show on december 8th is a cultural and educational experience that you will want to share with your entire family. the center’s founder, Elva Flores, is almost as much of a downtown fixture as the navideña itself. the center is a manifestation of traditions that she does not want to see die. a self-made woman, who rose to the executive level of Hughes corporation, then turned her dedication to starting a foundation that teaches and preserves some of our most meaningful cross-cultural events. Is tucson cool as the producer suggests? Perhaps, but only some of the cool aspects of downtown are right in front of you. some of downtown’s cool places and things you have to work a little bit to find. THE NEW AND OLD CITY: a Ground Zero I started at the southwest corner of church and washington where tucson began. an obscure parking lot has been meticulously developed into a fragment of the original spanish outpost called Presidio san agustín. Portions of the walls include mud from the original settlement. there are no crowds, no ticket lines. standing in the middle of the earthen courtyard, looking above the large mural or tromp l’oeil you get an idea of what the presidio looked like in 1775. artist Bill singleton has blended the mural’s background so carefully that it becomes seamless with the sky. the visual experience is heightened by the backdrop of three reflective skyscrapers. For a humbling experience, check out the simple ramada that covers the sunken pithouse. all that remains is a circular dirt floor with grinding holes that whisper that this was the center of civilization 1,000 years ago. a few blocks away is a form of art that borders extinction. sequestered in a room of the casa cordova on the “Historic Block” of the tucson Museum of art, El Nacimiento is a three-dimensional display that blends the mundane and divine. composed of more than 400 figures that represent shepherds and saints, intermingled with fragments from traditional Mexican culture, the tradition dates back to the early 1500s. when you look at a nacimiento, you look with your heart. The El Charro Experience Located at 311 n. court avenue, El charro is 85 years old and the oldest Mexican restaurant in the united states. It is a “rite of passage” kind of place. the hot-looking hostess in form-fitting black jeans has set up a little podium for reservations right on the street, just like they do on ocean avenue in south Beach. when they’re not busy, a couple of buzz-cut young waiters in black tee-shirts that say “we’ve Got Huevos” hang with her. In new York they might describe the scene as “metrosexual,” but it just seems to be de rigueur at El charro. the tortilla soup was everything I expected, little dabs of creamy casero cheese in a subtle broth, served with tiny chicken and with a side of curly tortilla chips. all served on the retro pastel colored flatware called Fiesta ware. the soup followed with the Baja tacos, three little taquitos with grilled shrimp and fresh pico de gallo. If you ignore the rice and beans, it could pass for spa food. when he couldn’t answer my question about their celebrity clientele, the waiter reappeared with his boss, Marques crawford Flores, the owner’s son, who told me with great pride that his mother was named “carlotta” after the Empress of Mexico (Maximilian’s wife). Marques doesn’t just visit your table, he commands it. “Billy Joel, Yvana trump, Janet Jackson, Michael douglas, and the whole cast and crew from the movie ‘tombstone’ have dined here,” said Marques. “when I was a kid I served wolfgang Puck on table two. andy warhol signed the back of a menu here. My mother had to tell him what a tortilla was.” Moscow has its Red square, Beijing has tiananmen square, and Mexico city has its Zócalo. tucson has Jácome Plaza, a vision out of a Hollywood fantasy movie. It is also the home of several interactive art installations. directly opposite the old county courthouse, sculptor david M. Elliott has installed three steel pedestals with viewable devices mounted on the top. they are surrounded by a circle of carved stone balls that make you think of stonehenge. If you spend some time playing with the sculpture, you soon will realize that the artist “got” what downtown is all about. the sculpture that looks like an empty picture swivels around so the viewer can “frame” his own image of the downtown skyline. another piece, “sonora” by david Black stands near the stone avenue entrance to the Main Library. the huge steel structure is designed like a Yaqui gazebo but most people treat it like an open ladder and refuse to walk beneath it. Got tofukyi? sometimes things are not what they seem. take the hot dog stand near the corner h one of the inter act oug of stone and Pennington. It’s actually a thr ive g gourmet vegan establishment owned in ar e t se by Lovin’ spoonfuls, offering gourin st met tofu hotdogs. Brian, the guy a who runs it is a part-time actor, originally from new York. He thinks tucson is “awesome.” Brian gets off on our meteorological components like the monsoons and rainbows. He also likes the people because they’re intellectual without being pretentious. It must be the detoxifying effects of a vegan diet. Everything is cool in Jácome Plaza. Pancho Claus If you’re looking for the antidote to the over-commercialization of the mall, head over to the little pink and grey bungalow with the Victorian trim at 40 w. Broadway. It’s the historic charles o. Brown House, one of the oldest structures in tucson. El centro ll at io n at jác om aza. e pl photo: d avi do ls en 30 downtown tucsonan.december.07

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Downtown Tucsonan Contents From the Editor Downtown Lowdown Vital Signs Holiday Shopping Downtown Live Arts Galleries Performance Events and Film Holiday Events Museums Historic Downtown Billboard Classifieds

Downtown Tucsonan - December 2007

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