Economic Literacy and Community Murals

Economic Literacy isn’t the most exciting subject on the planet, and you might wonder what it has to do with community art. The bottom line is that either we learn to control our finances, or they will control us. Most of the work of Tucson Arts Brigade is in areas where poverty is a stress factor, and a barrier to comfortably developing one’s creative voice. For that reason we felt it important to incorporate economic literacy into our overall curriculum.

For this project we were fortunate enough (thanks to Kresge in Tucson/Tucson Pima Arts Council, Pro Neighborhoods, Union Pacific and members of the Tucson Arts Brigade) to be able to provide stipends for 13 youth. We broke the news to them late in the project to insure cash wasn’t an incentive, rather a reward for putting in well over 100 hours of community service.

In a moment of synchronicity Evelyn Madrid of the Bank of America had recently contacted TAB. We were able to arrange a training complete with gifts. It was a great training covering the basics of creating a basic budget, savings and checking accounts.

There are a variety of resources available for people seeing financial literacy training opportunities the Jump Start Coalition and the National Endowment for Financial Education and locally at Hughes Federal Credit Union and the Credit Wise Cats at the University of Arizona.

The youth in this project are extraordinary, and are really a beacon of hope. Part of that bright future means expanding financial learning and literacy opportunities.

More to come on the subject of economic literacy – even if it is just a tad bit boring.

Barrio Centro Mural gets more great press

Check out this fantastic new video about the Barrio Centro Neighborhood Mural Project created by Luis Carrion and aired on Arizona Public Media.

Community Paint Day!

Well over 75 people participated in the Barrio Centro Community Paint Day on Sat. April 2 marking a colorful start to our mural project.

Lunch time!

Paint Day was a huge success with food, music, and of course lots of paint. We were really happy to have been joined by so many neighbors and local leaders including Congressman Raul Grijalva.

Congressman Grijalva with Eddie and Angie Flores and friend.

A very busy day for our paint station experts!

We had live music all day thanks to Onofre!

Tempest cleaning brushes.

Barrio Centro Association President German Quiroga painting in Food Giant.

Mark Kerr from Ward 5 handing out certificates to youth artists.
(And he painted with us!!)

Check out our TV New Coverage: Click Here

Several news outlets covered paint day including the Arizona Daily Star, Channel 11 and 4!
You can also see a time lapse video of paint day created by Martin Linsenbigler.

Neighbors are painting every Tuesday and Friday from 3-5pm through the end of April, come join us!

Barrio Centro Association Approves Mural Design

On Thursday February 17 youth presented our final mural design to the Barrio Centro Neighborhood Association. There were several suggestions for minor changes, and students were asked questions about the content and process. The design was unanimously approved.

The following week we started the process of cleaning and priming the wall. After we measured out our grid we began to transfer our design to the wall using charcoal. Over the next few weeks we will be preparing for Community Paint Day. We are inviting residents of Barrio Centro to join us as we paint in the first layers of this 176 foot long mural. There will be a planning meeting for community paint day Thursday March 24, 7pm at the Potter House.

Community Paint Day will be Saturday April 2 from 10 am - 2pm at Lucky Wishbone 2712 E. 22nd Street. Please bring a hat water bottle and sun screen, we will provide the paint, directions and refreshments.

TUCSON WAS A RAILROAD TOWN

We were thrilled to have Tucson rail historian and author William D. Kalt III present to attentive neighbors, youth and staff at Howenstine High School on February 15. His presentation was fascinating and cast a new light on Tucson from 1850 to the present. He is author of a fascinating account of Tucson history entitled “Tucson Was A Rail Town” that is published by and available from VTD Rail Publishing.

“The grandson of a Tucson SP accountant, William Kalt, grew up in a proud pioneer Arizona family. History lessons began early for the career public educator, as relatives shared tales of the rough and tumble days of their youth. Smitten with stories of life in the southwest, Kalt began his studies of the SP in pursuit of family history. The quest soon evolved into a broader search for the railroad's role in Tucson during the steam era. Proficient in Spanish and imbued with a passion for history, Kalt sought out people of every heritage, who lived the glory days of steam. Capturing oral histories of Tucson 's railroad men and women, in combination with archival research across the southwest, he found deep and lasting friendships, amusing accounts, and a cherished understanding of the people who called themselves “rails.” Kalt's “I'll Meet You In the Cornfield: the Tragic Train Wreck of 1903” appeared in the winter 2004 issue of the Journal of Arizona History . That journal also ran his story, “ Epes Randolph : Railroad Man of the Southwest,” in its summer 2006 issue.” - From "Tucson Was a Railroad Town"

“This profusely illustrated history is more than just another train catlogue: it is a flesh-and-blood book about railroaders themselves. It narrates how the railroad affected the lives of its employees as well as local citizens. For example, several locomotives engineers who had lost vision in one eye could no long make regular runs, but they were allowed to keep their jobs and work the spur line that ran from Tucson to Nogales betwseen about 1910 and 1950. The book is filled with human faces and interesting stories about those who proudly served the railroad. To understand Tucson, you must know the railroad, and this book is a fascinating place to start.”- Bill Broyles.

We learned that parts of Barrio Centro and Julia Keen neighborhoods were stockyards for cattle. These yards had been closer to downtown Tucson, but residents took exception to the stench and they were moved far out of town. The second important development in early Barrio Centro history was the development of pumps powerful enough to direct water uphill, and out of Tucson to what is today Barrio Centro. The rail yards were where many original BC residents worked. It was a short walk and allowed workers to return home for lunch. On paydays workers would frequent the local pub, such as the Cactus Saloon pictured here.

Bill’s presentation really helped answer some of the pressing questions we had about early Tucson history, and the development of our city. You can see many of his influences in our mural design.

Youth Artists Prepare for the Mural design review,

with support and praise from neighborhood elders.

Mr. Kalt, a teacher for many years, spent the rest of the session working with us on the design, and prepping youth for the upcoming presentation of our design to the Barrio Centro Association.

We hope to work with him often as we learn more about the history of our area, he is truly a Tucson gem.

Bill Rose and Eddie

Chugging Along on our Mural Design

We have so much to report on the progress of our mural project. We have been doing a great deal of research into the neighborhood history, and learning some great things. For example during a recent Elder Share we learned that many rail workers lived in the neighborhood. The work siren world be used by everyone to know what time it was. The rail crossings were only marked with a simple sign like the one pictured here. You had to be careful! The railroad plays a big part in the design you will see in a few weeks.

Our second Elder Share was attended by ten neighbors who shared memories about people and places in the neighborhood. As they painted a landscape of life in the area over the past 50 years it struck me how a single person or incident could dramatically alter the life and history of an area, for better or worse. Did you know that there was an artisan spring where the 22nd Street overpass now is? I loved when we found out that the 29th Street Overpass, where TAB is working on another project, was initiated by neighbor and teacher Angie Flores. She wrote a letter to the city requesting the bridge in consideration of the students safety as they crossed the busy intersection.

Onofre up for bat in Bristol Park, 1970's

We learned about numerous business from Put-Put Golf, Hasty Tastey's, Gooney Golf, Mr. Lee's Market, El Conquistador, and the Olympic size pools at Reid Park.

Sports of all types are still popular in the neighborhood.

Each week our project advances. We have been on field trips to the Arizona History Museum and visited by long time neighborhood residents.









Our most recent visitors were Eddie Flores and Ivo Ortiz. They shared some great details about
neighborhood life and history, and reviewed our design in progress. Mr. Flores reminded the students the importance of staying engaged in civic life and service projects.

We continue to develop our technical skills as well, studying some advanced color theory while adding color to the hand drawn design. The wall is over 180 feet long, so there are numerous details to consider.


Over the next few weeks we will finish our design in preparation for a Design Presentation on Thursday Feb. 17, 6pm at the Potters House 2922 E 22nd St..

On Wednesday, January 26, the Barrio Centro Mural Committee will host an elder share session at the Lucky Wishbone starting at 6:30pm.

Please encourage anyone who has lived in this neighborhood for any length of time to share their memories along with any photos or memorabilia from the neighborhood.

Barrio Centro Elder Share

Join us in sharing your stories and memories of Barrio Centro.

These ideas will be woven into our mural design.

Please bring photos, articles or anything else you might like to share.

Wednesday Jan. 26th, 6:30pm

Lucky Wishbone 2712 E. 22nd St.

Images from Arizona Historical Society