Jim Griffith’s book, “Hecho a Mano: The Traditional Arts of Tucson’s Mexican American Community”, includes several examples of evolving traditions—art forms that became reinterpreted as they crossed borders.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Don’t have Flash(TM)? Click here for the MP3 file.
For more than 40 years, Tucson based-Folklorist and Anthropologist James “Big Jim” Griffith has explored the customs and traditions found throughout the US-Mexico Border. His passion and commitment to the region led to the founding of the Southwest Folklore Center at the University of Arizona and the “Tucson Meet Yourself” festival, a celebration of Tucson’s ethnic and cultural diversity, annually attracting crowds of more than 100,000 people. In 2011, “Big Jim” was honored for his lifetime achievements by the National Endowment for the Arts with the Bess Lomax Hawes Fellowship –which “recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to the preservation and awareness of cultural heritage.”
