TUCSON'S CULTURAL MIX

Mexican, Indian and Anglo…
the Southwestern lifestyle

Tucson has a rich cultural heritage with a mixed population that provides a fitting location for a major university. Spanish, Mexican and Native American influences. Tucson's history and traditions span centuries of habitation from prehistoric Indian cultures to recent immigrants.

The early Tucson inhabitants roamed the area hunting mammoth and bison between 12,500 and 6,000 B.C. Later the Hohokam lived in the area from around AD 600 to 1450. Spanish missionaries arrived in the late 1600s, hoping to convert subjects for the king, and discovered the Indian village S-tukson ("black base"). In 1775, the Spanish built an outpost, the Presidio of San Augustin in what is now downtown Tucson.

Spanish And Mexican Culture Goes Back to The
Arrivals of Europeans in the late 1700s

Over 35% of Tucson's population is Mexican. There are festivals throughout the year including one of the largest Mariachi Festivals in the country.

The Tucson International Mariachi Conference is one the largest conferences for mariachi bands in the United States. The conference has been held in southern Arizona for the past 32 years and showcases more than 500 elementary- college leveled mariachi groups.

Breaking from the past
Many female mariachi bands have formed recently in Tucson, breaking from the mold of the past.