I have been exploring Barrio Viejo for a few weeks now and it truly amazes me the amount of history hidden in this neighborhood. Every time I walk through here, I find another park dedicated to someone of the past. I think this history is part of what makes the Barrio such a neat area of Tucson.
This week I found the Rosendo S. Perez Park. Another park, covered with unique and personal artwork, it is a must see part of Tucson's history.
Check out this video to learn what else I discovered about the park:
Click here to learn more about the Tucson Parks and Recreation website.
El Tiradito translates as the castaway or the outcast. It is said that an individual of the Catholic Church once committed such a sever sin before dying that they would not allow him to be buried in the Catholic Cemetery. He was buried at this site instead.
Today the site remains as a city park. The adobe wall, which lines the back, contains holes and pockets stuffed with notes and prayers of well-being. In the front of the shrine is a large candle umbra adorned with flowers and the drips of melting wax from the thousands of candles lit over the years.
Going to the shrine today was really interesting because there was still a lot of memorabilia from the Jan. 8 shootings. Numerous photos of Gaby Giffords were displayed, with candles and prayers. It was also sad to see, that like many other places in Tucson, the near by cactus froze in the deep freeze we had a few weeks back. They poor cacti are hanging, drooping along the side of the shrine.
I can tell the shrine is still visited often. In my time there on Sunday I saw three people stop and take pictures, and there were even a few candles lit when I arrived.
So last week I blogged about Tanias 33 and how amazing it was, but what I didn’t mention, was the reason that I went there. A fellow Border Beater, McKenzie Sheldon, and I decided to do a joint project profiling the well-known restaurant.
We wanted to put together a video piece with still photos, b-roll, and an on camera interview with owner Rudy Lira. McKenzie and I ventured down there, (after calling twice to ask where they were…what can we say, apparently directions aren’t really our thing,) but anyway, despite our sense of direction, or lack there of, we found it.With my video camera, and her still camera, we went in to get our story.
Let me just say that it didn’t take long to notice that restaurant/kitchen lighting kind of stinks for photos and video. After adjusting the settings on the video camera a number of times, I thought I had it. The LCD screen showed a well-lit image, but the video footage turned out a little darker than expected. Then for some reason, it got even darker after putting the video on YouTube, which was a bit frustrating to say the least! Oh well, at least it is still visible, and I learned how to brighten footage in Final Cut, so that I can avoid this problem in the future.
Watching McKenzie take photographs I also realized something I had never thought about before. Food photography is hard. I had never realized how it is a science all its own. In fact, she blogged about it last week. Capturing the details of the food, like the colors and textures, is not easy, but she did an awesome job. The photos she took turned out great and really added to the overall quality of the video.
We also had a great time talking with Rudy, the owner. I know I mentioned this last week, but he is so friendly and welcoming. It made our film making experience even more valuable. Plus, all his talk of menudo sparked our interest. It is their best selling item and neither of us has ever tried it… Needless to say, we decided that is going to be our next adventure. I will let you know how it is!
On Grande Ave, just north of St. Mary's Road is Tanias 33, a wonderful little Mexican restaurant specializing in Sonoran style Mexican food. This little gray building, adorned with a purple awning, is home to one of the best breakfast burritos I have ever had. Of the over 32 breakfast burrito options, I went for the one with green chilies, ham, eggs, and cheese...oh was there cheese! And the best part, it came in the most delicious homemade tortilla I have ever had.
When I first walked in I was surprised by the huge menus lining the wall above the register. Then I was greeted by Rudy, the incredibly friendly owner. I was invited back in the kitchen to watch them make the delicious tortillas, and let me just say, there is something amazing about watching the thin, crisp, flour bubble up on the hot stove before being flipped over. It really gave me the feel of authentic Mexican food. It was so neat to see the whole tortilla making process.
In the back of the restaurant, in the large supermarket style fridge, there is another awesome element to Tanias, The Cold for Less section. This area contains pre-packaged meals such as burritos with rice and beans, tamales and even fresh salsa you can take home with you. This allows people to pick up food to go that they can simply reheat later.
Another unique element to this Mexican restaurant would be the owners side job, real estate. I don't know any other restaurants where you walk in for food and can leave with a house hunting appointment. Rudy is an excellent sales man... I heard him pitch to four different customers in an hour. The biggest selling point is that if you buy a house from Rudy he provides free catering for the Housewarming party. Note to self: When it's time to buy a house go to Rudy, the free catering alone would make it worth it!
I have been exploring Barrio Viejo for a few weeks now and it truly amazes me the amount of history hidden in this neighborhood. Every time I walk through here, I find another park dedicated to someone of the past. I think this history is part of what makes the Barrio such a neat area of Tucson.
