¡Vivan Las Artes Con David Tineo! ¡Vivan Los Tamales!
If you like art and you like tamales, you don’t want to miss Vice Mayor Regina Romero’s
holiday celebration featuring local legend David Tineo and the 1st Annual Ward 1 Tamale Contest.
Romero has always appreciated the Chicano mural art movement and has always been impressed with the work of Tucson’s own David Tineo. When she learned the Tucson Museum of Art would be exhibiting a retrospective of 30 years of his work in February 2010, she decided to host an art opening in December at her City office displaying work she and her Council aides have purchased. She wants Tucsonans to have many opportunities to experience his art.
Romero feels Tineo’s work is important because he uses his art to express his feelings and create change in the community. Both Romero and Tineo grew up in difficult situations. Romero was raised in a struggling farm-working family near Yuma and Tineo grew up in Barrio Anita in the 1950s and early '60s, when you were forced into special education if you refused to speak English. Romero supports bilingual education and enjoys working with Tineo, who spends time working with children to express themselves through mural making in the schools and in neighborhood projects. Three of Tineo’s largest murals are located within a mile of Romero’s office. One is in the courtyard at the Tucson Museum of Art Downtown, one is in the Menlo Park neighborhood at 17 N. Linda Avenue and many can be viewed at the El Rio Community Center on W. Speedway.
Another of Romero’s passions during the holiday season is preparing and eating tamales with her family. She thinks her mother’s recipe might be the best, but she is encouraging the entire community to participate in the first-annual Ward 1 Tamale Contest December 10. The Ward 1 contest is immediately after Casino Del Sol’s annual weekend event (December 5), so she is hoping many of those contestants will make extra and participate in both. Celebrity tasters include KXCI’s Ernesto Portillo and restaurant owners Marita Gomez of Casa Vicente and Patricia Schwabe of Tooley’s Café. Anyone can enter one dozen tamales. You must rsvp by December 1st by calling 791-4040 or emailing ward1@tucsonaz.gov. Three categories will be judged: Sweet, Meat, and “Unique”, which could include Green Corn, Veggie, or Kosher tamales, in honor of Hanukkah. Prizes will be given in each category.
1st Annual Ward 1 Tamale Contest - 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Vice Mayor Romero’s Ward 1 Council Office is located at 940 W. Alameda, West of the Santa Cruz River at the corner of Grande and Alameda. To enter, you must rsvp by December 1st by calling 791-4040 or emailing ward1@tucsonaz.gov.
Reception with David Tineo – 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Ward 1 will have a free potluck of holiday favorites for the art opening of Muralist and Art Educator David Tineo’s unique art. This artwork will be shown as a sneak preview of a February 27, 2010 Retrospective of David Tineo at the Tucson Museum of Art.
