This year marks the beginning of my fifth year as a Tucsonan, colloquially referred to as a T-loc. This big small town in southeastern Arizona seems to exist independent of the ordinary. The ever-expanding Phoenix metropolitan area is less than a two-hour drive away, yet its fast-paced and increasingly Southern California-like culture bears no resemblance to life here in the Old Pueblo. No doubt Tucson’s proximity to the border shapes its unique culture, which is rarely understood or accepted by outsiders yet is wholly appreciated by its endeared residents.
I will attempt to decrypt the inner workings of this crazy town. Partly for those of you happily surrounded by the Tucson lifestyle and most importantly for those of you who have not learned to appreciate it…yet.
For T-loc’s like me, we’re used to the animosity from first-time visitors. Maybe visiting family members have been aggravated by the strange smell that greets I-10 travelers at Tucson’s city limits, compliments of the strategically placed sewage treatment plant. Or, maybe visiting drivers have had one too many near-death experiences while navigating Tucson roadways, whether it is the unrelenting traffic, the laissez-faire drivers, or the green arrow that comes after the red light. Only in Tucson.
But those are only the surface-deep differences that set this city apart. What is at the heart of Tucson is a culture so rich and plenty that it sucks you in with the power of an overflowing wash during the monsoon season. The influx of Mexican culture through our desert border has forced an attitude of acceptance rarely found anywhere else. Acceptance not only for all walks of life, but acceptance of the arts, of unique music and food, and of way of thinking that differs from the hackneyed collective thought of the main stream. In essence, Tucson is a refuge for people and ideas that can call no other place home.
Come back each week to see why.
