Andrea Gallegos plays the violin during a Mariachi Sonido de México practice at Roskruge Bilingual K-8 Magnet School in Tucson, Ariz., Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. Gallegos has directed the group since 2005.
Carly Siegel
Featured on the May 8th, 2025 edition of ARIZONA SPOTLIGHT with host Mark McLemore:
- Explore how the Master-Apprentice program offered by the Southwest Folklife Alliance is preserving not just mariachi music, but the involvement of women in mariachi. The program pairs a promising newcomer with a music director who has more than 30 years of experience in the art.
Emilia Zepeda, Clarissa Salinas and Samyra Castillo speak during a Mariachi Sonido de México practice at Roskruge Bilingual K-8 Magnet School in Tucson, Ariz., Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. Zepeda is the group's vocalist and violinist. Captions Carly Siegel.
Carly Siegel
Andrea Palacio plays the guitarrón at a Mariachi Sonido de México practice at Roskruge Bilingual K-8 Magnet School in Tucson, Ariz., Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. Palacio joined the group to perform at the “Mariachi and Foloricio Festival”, an all-female performance celebrating International Women's Day.
Carly Siegel
Members of Mariachi Sonido de México rehearse “Blue Bayou” at Roskruge Bilingual K-8 Magnet School in Tucson, Ariz., Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. The band performs rancheros, corridos, huapangos, and more.
Carly Siegel
- Nature writer Rebekah Doyle offers a celebration of the annual arrival of the migrating elegant trogon to Madera Canyon, and explains why this small bird is one of the most eagerly sought-after subjects to bird watchers from around the world.
A male Elegant Trogon, as featured in Richard Cachor Taylor's 2022 book "Birds of Arizona".
Fred Forssell
Storyteller, Rebekah Doyle.
courtesy of Rebekah Doyle
- Cyclovia Tucson, an annual event presented by Living Streets Alliance, invites people to walk, bike, roll, connect, and play on car-free and care-free streets. The 2025 event was held at the beginning of April on Treat Avenue Bicycle Boulevard. In a new edition of “A Book I Love,” visitors to this year’s Cyclovia Tucson share about books that mean a lot to them.
VIEW LARGER "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White.
VIEW LARGER "We're All Wonders" by R.J. Palacio.
VIEW LARGER "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!" by Mo Willems.
VIEW LARGER "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr.
VIEW LARGER "Long Way Down" by Jason Reynolds.
VIEW LARGER "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" by J.K. Rowling.
- The return of “Sound Fiction” gives writer James Mustard from Hereford, Arizona a chance to share a short piece of science fiction called,"Homestead on Bellatrix Prime", asking the question, “if progress can be made, where do we draw the line?”
The main character's house in the story "Homestead on Bellatrix Prime" by James Mustard.
courtesy of James Mustard
The central character from "Homestead on Bellatrix Prime" by James Mustard.
courtesy of James Mustard
The gorgon birds from the story "Homestead on Bellatrix Prime" by James Mustard.
courtesy of James Mustard
Writer James Mustard in the AZPM radio studio.
AZPM
Arizona Spotlight airs every Thursday at 8:30 am and 6:00 pm and every Saturday at 3:00 pm on NPR 89.1 FM / 1550 AM. You can subscribe to our podcast on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, or the NPR App. See more from Arizona Spotlight.
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