Our Mexican American Community
Pima Community College Community Education Lecture Series Discovering Southern Arizona "Journeys through Barrio Anita." Hear the history and stories of Tucson's historic Barrio Anita. Friday, March 28, 2008 6:00 p.m. Tucson Chinese Cultural Center, 1288 West River Road, Tucson. [map]
In the years before 1853 when the Gadsden Purchase added the lands south of the Gila River to the United States' Territory of Arizona, this area history's was reflected by the experiences its Native peoples, the Spanish military and religious expeditions, and with its independence from Mexico, Mexicans.
In terms of its history, this region's history is drawn from being northwestern part of Spanish Colonial rule following the end of the Mexican American War in 1848 and then northwestern Mexico.
The original Tucson presidio, founded on the northwestern extreme of the Spanish frontier, was a Mexican community before the influx of Anglo settlers in the early 1900s. This section of Through Our Parents' Eyes reflects the Mexican experience in this area by telling the history and sharing culture and traditions of our Mexican American community.