EMPOWER TUCSON

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HISTORY : SCIENCE : CULTURE

Biosphere 2 testing environments
Biosphere 2 testing environments
Tucson garden with Adobe house
Tucson garden with Adobe house
Tucson petroglyph
Tucson petroglyph

TUCSON'S IDENTITY - as I see it:


I am a Tucson native. I love the sunlight, the mountains and our clear skies. I was brought up in the western tradition of individualism in one of the youngest states in the Nation. Our history and culture surrounded me. Mexico is 60 miles down the road, and Native American lands are just outside the city limits.  We can get 'fry bread' every Sunday San Xavier Mission, and a 'Sanoran Hot Dog' everyday on many street corners.

Lately I have been very upset with rhetoric which  disparages members of my community and a the proud history and culture that we share with Mexico.  

Tucson is, and can be used an example to other cities. We have a seamless integration of cultural and a western history including living under the flags of Spain, Mexico, and the Confederacy. Our legendary skirmishes between soldiers and Indians, cowboys and rustlers, the law and the lawless are immortalized in films, many shot in Tucson. We are The first city in the United States to be recognized as a UNESCO world city of gastronomy. We have some of the oldest continuously farmed land in North America. Native cultures have been here for 4,000 years. There is much much more.

The rewards of having this  history/culture 
  • Promoting history/ cultural / science/ tourism
  • Promoting other tourism : sports, resorts, etc but adding our unique identity to give us a competitive advantage 
  • Creating local events 
  • Inspiring new business development 
Perhaps it is easiest to begin by suggesting examples that seamlessly link our past and present to make Tucson special.






vicki schwager, a Tucson native