Last weekend, I was down in southern Arizona, at a little place called Tumacacori. The main claim to fame here is that it was the site of a Spanish mission, founded by Jesuit missionaries back in 1691.
Mission church at Tumacacori
When the Spanish first arrived, the area was populated by the O’Odham people. The name Tumacacori is a Spanish phonetic spelling of the original O’Odham name, but nobody’s sure what that original name meant.
Over the centuries, this place has seen the O’Odham and the Jesuits, the Franciscans and the Apaches, the Spanish, the Mexicans, and the Americans. The southwest has such amazing history! And much of it is little known, like Tumacacori. 
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Today the old adobe mission church is in ruins. Adobe requires frequent maintenance and regular coats of mud plaster. What with all the conflicts and takeovers of the area, it fell into disrepair, losing most of the roof and interior. In 1916, Tumacacori became a National Historic Site, and now the National Park Service takes care of it. One of the rangers pointed out that their task is to “stabilize and preserve“, not to “rebuild”. The goal is for you to see the work that the local people did centuries ago – not work that the Park Service did last year!
December 6 was the day of the annual Tumacacori Fiesta, which is held right beside the mission. There were arts and crafts booths, historic costumes, demonstrations, and pinatas for the kids. Of course there were plenty of food booths too, including hand-made tortillas. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried this, but talk about labor intensive! There was lots of traditional dancing, too. Group after group came out, with different colorful costumes.
Dancing at the Tumacacori fiesta
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The event had an old-fashioned, small-town charm to it that I rarely see. It’s a great change from big-city Phoenix or Tucson. Such a wonderful way to spend a beautiful, sunny December day!
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Tumacacori is about 1.5 hours south of Tucson, Arizona. The fiesta is on a weekend in early December, but it’s worth a stop any time of year. If you’re interested in southwestern cooking, there’s also a nearby chile/spice shop with an *amazing* selection. It’s about a block from the park, so just ask for a point in the right direction.
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10 responses so far ↓
1 PatWells // Dec 12, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Your title intrigued me but the post was even more intriguing. I got particularly hungry when you mentioned the hand-made tortillas. I haven’t had one for quite some time. Glad you had a good time!
2 Matt // Dec 13, 2008 at 11:25 am
I couldn’t believe it when I saw your post on Tumacacori, I was there like 3 months ago visiting my aunt! I had no idea that they had a festival there, sounds like it was a blast. I agree that, although I didn’t attend any festival, there was a small town vibe about the whole thing that was pretty awesome. Like the little secret. It was a great little place to visit, I might have to try and make the festival next year!
3 Deanna Keahey // Dec 13, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Pat – Handmade tortillas are wonderful — as long as I’m not the one making them! I tried that once, and think that’s the last time.
Matt – How cool that you were just there!! If you’ve got an aunt near there, that sounds like a good excuse for a December visit — just in time for fiesta.
4 Amy // Dec 19, 2008 at 4:12 pm
This sounds like it was fun! From what the article was titled, I thought the dance would be done by Native Americans–I like to catch up their history more. If they made tortillas with beef, I would have enjoyed them–I tend to avoid pork.
5 Deanna Keahey // Dec 19, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Amy – They had a bunch of different events over a 2-day period, so there were some Native American parts too – that’s just not what I got pictures of. And a bunch of different tortillas!
6 Delores // Dec 27, 2008 at 9:37 pm
I was at the Fiesta this month too. If you’ve never had Indian Fry-Bread, it’s a ‘must try.’ They were making it there on large outdoor tin stove-tops, and you could have them dusted with powdered sugar or drizzled with desert honey. Cinnamon too, of course. Mmmm. . . Just be sure you have some wet wipes or a bottle of water to clean up with afterwards, especially if you’ve had the honey version!
7 Deanna Keahey // Dec 28, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Delores – Excellent tip about the fry bread, and another excellent tip about the handi-wipes! It’s delicious with the honey, but you don’t want to be walking around with honey hands the rest of the afternoon.
8 Sandy Weight // Jan 10, 2009 at 4:07 pm
It reminds me of the Alamo. I went there once. This makes me want to go there again. The fri-bread sounds good too.
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9 Deanna Keahey // Jan 13, 2009 at 12:13 am
Hi Sandy – I’ve never been to the Alamo, but it’s on my list!
10 Delores // Jan 13, 2009 at 8:37 am
Yes, Sandy, I see what you mean about the Alamo. The aura of the place is very similar. The difference is that this is just out in a quiet place, and unless the fiesta is in progress you may be the only person there, and can stroll in the gardens and through the church with only the occasional bird song to interrupt the silence. You can almost imagine yourself living there centuries ago. . .
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