This is a book I won years ago in an Phi Alpha Theta student essay competition. Ill give the story of how I won the book, and then Ill give my review. Hint: if youre from Arizona or like Linda Ronstadt (Guilty!) then youll like the book, but more on that in a minute. I love history so much that I decided on a novel approach to selecting my classes in college. I took as many of my prerequisites as I could for my first two and half years, so could save the last few semesters for pure history. Id go from English history, to European, to Southwest, to Spanish history, all in one day. The kid was in the candy store, but eventually the time came to stop cramming in history and try to graduate. At that time I learned that a final senior paper was due. I had no idea. The requirement was written down in a manual or on a memo somewhere but Im not really a directions reader, so I discovered it as I was trying to get everything in place to graduate in spring of 92. Then, I found out about the senior paper requirement and I decided the time was ripe for a little revenge. I did my paper on the grossest subject I could think of, and since Ive always wanted to be a novelist, I knew I could make the paper descriptive as well as factual. So, I wrote about the aftermath of the Black Death in Europe, about 1348, bringing in the Danse Macare Phenomenon and the Flagellants. Descriptions of rats that would freak out Indiana Jones mingled with narratives that would daunt the most zealous Penitente. I wasnt going for any awards, I really didnt even care what grade I got so long as I passed. My aim was solely to create a gross paper. To this day I have no idea if any members on the history committee thought my paper was gross, but on the basis of it, I was nominated to Phi Alpha Theta, the History Honor Society, invited to submit my paper to the local chapter journal, and invited to the local and regional paper competitions, which took place in Tucson. So my mother drove down to Tucson and we sat at the awards banquet with a group of students who were as history obsessed as I was. One woman was all about the Salem Witch Trials. Somebody else was into the Irish Potato famine. We had to read and critique each others work, and none of their papers read like a horror novel, but at least they said mine was pretty narly (which didnt mean cool, it meant insane or weird, which I took as a compliment). I won second place at the regional competition and the award was this book. The author was a faculty member at UofA and presented the book to me, signed. I looked it over as we drove home and, at first, it seemed like the usual dry academic history reads Id been used to all the time. Then I discovered something that my mom knew was no-duh! but was a huge eye-opener to me. Not only was Linda Ronstadt born and raised in Tucson, but her family has quite a connection to the music scene of the area. Not only that, but shes the only one of many singers, including Wayne Newton and Waylon Jennings, who either got their start, or based for a time in Arizona (though not Tucson). That mad Los Tucsonenses a book I wanted to read. I love Linda Ronstadts music, including a collection of jazz songs that she made later on in life, as well as some of her Spanish tunes. So, here follows my review of Los Tucsonenses: As the title suggests, it is primarily an academic book, written by a professor and suitable for study in an upper-level college course about Arizona history. But that shouldnt deter the average reader. There are enough anecdotes and narrative in this book to make it interesting. Old Tucson (which is still locally called the Old Pueblo) dates back to 1692, when Jesuit missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino established nearby Mission San Xavier del Bac (the White Dove of the Desert) and a settlement was formed near what is now A mountain. By 1775, the Spanish had established the Presidio de San Augustin de Tucson. In the centuries since its founding, Tucson has seen its fair share of Indian raids and battles of all kinds, not to mention cameo appearances by various outlaws and other characters in Arizona history. And, as always, it has been at the center of tensions and debate on the Border. Then, theres the Ronstadt family, the story of which seems to tie the whole book together. Whether youre into Arizona history, or youre a Ronstadt fan, youll enjoy this book.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 12:26:19 +0000
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