Writing Sample: history and culture article for Tucson visitor guide

1. HERITAGE & CULTURE
AMY HASKELL
ERIN BARNES
EXPLORE THE SOUTHWEST’S
SPANISH HISTORY ON THE
by Jennifer Yamnitz
Anza Trail as an outlying settlement by Father Kino and is one
of the oldest in Arizona. Tumacácori contributed a
herd of cattle to the Anza expedition, and Father
Font, a member of Anza’s colony, stayed here while
Anza marshaled his forces at Tubac.
The final destination on your tour has to be
Mission San Xavier del Bac, located just south of
Tucson. If you have time to visit only one Spanish
GILL C. KENNY
historic site, this is it. Established by Father Kino in
1732, Mission San
RICHARD CUMMINS
Xavier del Bac still
serves as an active
place of worship for
Mission San Xavier del Bac
the Tohono O’odham
congregation. Its beauti- States. The Anza expedition stopped here on October 25,
ful architecture and col- 1775, to mourn the only death on the expedition and to
orful interior artworks celebrate three marriages.
have earned it the nick- The cultural contributions of Anza and the Spanish
name, “the Sistine Chapel conquistadors can be felt throughout the Southwest, but
of North America,” and it it is in the skeletons of Tumacácori’s abandoned build-
is celebrated as the best ings, the historic streets of Tubac, and the gleaming saints
example of Mission archi- that watch over Mission San Xavier that the story of
Mission San Xavier del Bac interior tecture in the United Spain’s colonial ambitions truly comes to life.
Tumacácori National Historical Park
Spanish Colonial mission ruins in Tumacácori
In old adobe ruins and the melodies of gospel hymns, city in Arizona. From
the legacy of Spanish Conquistadors still echoes here, Anza staged
through Southern Arizona. Follow the Juan Bautista de two overland expe-
Anza Trail from Tumacácori to Tucson for a glimpse of ditions to California
RICHARD CUMMINS
life in New Spain during the 1700s. during his career.
Winding through the grasslands of Southern Ari- By the time Anza
zona, the Anza Trail commemorates the Spanish arrived in Tubac, the
Colonial expedition led by Juan Bautista de Anza II. village was already a Tubac
Crossing 1,210 miles of unsettled desert and coastal bustling Spanish outpost. Jesuit missionary Father
terrain, the Anza party traveled from Mexico to Cal- Francisco Eusebio Kino first entered the area in 1691—
ifornia in 1775–76, where Anza founded the city of converting the native people and building missions,
San Francisco in 1776. ranches, and farms. Visit Old Town Tubac for a peek at
While colonists joined Anza as he traveled from original adobe structures built by Spanish missionaries
Culiacan, Mexico, to present-day Arizona, the final and military men. While you are there, browse the
staging area for the cross-country journey took place galleries for fine art as well as local crafts. The historic
More historical in Tubac. Located 44 miles south of Tucson, Tubac is a district is now the heart of Tubac’s thriving arts scene.
and cultural good place to start a tour of Spanish-American Just a few miles south of Tubac are the abandoned
adventures can be history. Founded in 1752 as a presidio (military post) ruins of three Spanish Colonial missions located at
found online at to defend the village and mission at Tumacácori, Tumacácori National Historical Park (I-19, exit 29).
www.visitTucson.org. Tubac is known today as the oldest European-settled Mission San Jose de Tumacácori was first listed in 1691
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