Angelo Joaquin, Jr.and Susan Kunz
Angelo Joaquin, Jr. and Susan Kunz met while working on the annual Waila Festival, which Angelo directs. Angelo is also executive director of Native Seeds/SEARCH, a group striving to preserve culture and history through indigenous plants. Susan is planning and development director for the Arizona-Mexico Border Health Foundation, and assists with the Waila Festival and Native Seeds/SEARCH.
BEST REASON TO STAY IN TUCSON
SUSAN: I like the sunshine. I'm an Arizona native, and my favorite time in Tucson is June when it's really hot and dry. You can go barefoot, and hear the cicadas. I like the monsoons, but I really prefer the heat.ANGELO: I'm Tohono O'odham, and this is part of our land. I belong here, and won't consider relocating. I have too many ties to this land and city. When I go back East I appreciate the greenery, but it hems me in. When I return to Tucson and see Baboquivari Peak, a sacred peak of the Tohono O'odham, the sight of that tells me I'm home. Tucson celebrates its culture, through all the different festivals, like the Waila Festival, which is a Tohono O'odham social dance. I grew up in a family of musicians; for 35 years my family had a band. When I was exposed to other cultures, it made me realize how rich this culture is.
BEST ROADSIDE RESTAURANT
SUSAN: Ha:san Ha:sa:gid, which means "amongst the saguaros."ANGELO: It's this restaurant on the Tohono O'odham Nation in Covered Wells, about 80 miles west of Tucson on Highway 86.
SUSAN: They have good food and a great view, in the middle of a saguaro forest. The red chile and tortillas are great.
BEST ORIENTATION TO THE TUCSON DESERT
SUSAN: In the new slide show at Saguaro National Park West, the narrator tells the story of the desert from a Tohono O'odham perspective of the desert. The Arizona State Museum's "Paths of Life" is great, too. It covers Native Americans, from central Mexico to here, in 10 groupings.ANGELO: It's a unique, nontraditional exhibit. The tribal groups were asked, "What do you think people should know about you?" It's a presentation as opposed to an interpretation. It took seven years, and it's dynamic. The present phase will change over the 15 years of the project, and will continually be updated.
BEST LOCAL ART
ANGELO: Leonard F. Chana is a Tohono O'odham artist who specializes in little dot art and acrylics. He captures the feeling and the essence of Tohono O'Odham life.SUSAN: The next time the city of Tucson needs public art, they should hire him. He's local and a wonderful artist. He's done T-shirts for different groups, like the Waila Festival.
BEST ROMANTIC OVERNIGHT TRIP
SUSAN: The nature conservancy at the Mule Shoe Ranch Preserve, northwest of Willcox in the Galiuro Mountains, is a great escape.They have beautiful hiking, quaint little accomodations, like casitas and camping, and you do need reservations. We've been sitting outside there and heard coatimundi cats. Sitting in the hot springs by the full moon, with the steam rising up, is pretty nice.
