Tucson Weekly May 5, 2022

CURRENTS: OSIRIS-REX HAS A NEW MISSION

MAY 5 - MAY 11, 2022 • TUCSONWEEKLY.COM • FREE

Get a Loaf of This!

Baker Don Guerra is up for a James Beard Award

By Nicole Feltman CHOW: Cob on Down to Tucson’s New Corn Fest

MUSIC: Soaking Up Royal Blood

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MAY 5, 2022

MAY 5, 2022 | VOL. 37, NO. 18

TUCSONWEEKLY.COM

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STAFF

CONTENTS CURRENTS

Rising Star

EDITOR’S NOTE

CONGRATULATIONS TO BARRIO BREAD

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Jan. 6 panel asks Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs, other GOP members to cooperate in probe

FEATURE

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A talk with bread-master and James Beard Award-winner Don Guerra

CHOW

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Pueblos del Maiz Fiesta celebrates corn in gastronormous proportions

ARTS & CULTURE

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ADMINISTRATION Steve T. Strickbine, Publisher Michael Hiatt, Vice President

baker Don Guerra, who is up for a James Beard Award next month. It’s Guerra’s third nomination for the prestigious foodie honor. The nomination is well deserved; Guerra has become a local superstar thanks for his use of ancient heritage grains grown in Southern Arizona. His bread is such a delight to eat that even Tucsonans on a low-carb diet are willing to break the rules for a bite. Don is on a bit of a tear, with new partnerships with the Flores family behind the El Charro team as well as plans to expand his Broadway Village bakery. Staff reporter Nicole Feltman tells you Guerra’s tale in this week’s cover story.

Elsewhere in the book this week: Managing editor Jeff Gardner tells you about how Fourth Avenue is rebounding from the pandemic, as well as the latest mission for the UA’s plucky space probe, ORISIS-Rex; Tucson Weekly staff reporter Alex Pere learns some disturbing statistics about education at a Future of Work conference; UA School of Journalism Don Bolles Fellow Gloria Gomez relays the hopes of activists that

Tyler Vondrak, Associate Publisher, tyler@tucsonlocalmedia.com Claudine Sowards, Accounting, claudine@tucsonlocalmedia.com

the Arizona Legislature will invest some of its surplpus in programs that could help people; States Newsroom senior reporter Jennifer Shutt digs into what the Jan. 6 House Committee wants from Congressman Andy Biggs as lawmakers did deeper into who did want on Insurrection Day; UA School of Journalism intern Jake O’Rourke shares a taste of what the new food festival Pueblos del Maiz has in store for you; music contributor Christina Fuoco-Karasinski lands an audience with Royal Blood ahead of their upcoming Rialto Theatre show; XOXO columnist Xavier Omar Otero tells where all the good rock ’n’ roll can be found this week; and calendar editor Emily Dieckman tells you where else to have fun during this glorious time of the year.

Jim Nintzel Executive Editor Hear Nintz talk about all the cool stuff happening in Tucson at 9:30 a.m.

Wednesdays during the World-Famous Frank Show on KLPX, 96.1 FM.

EDITORIAL Jim Nintzel, Executive Editor, jimn@tucsonlocalmedia.com Jeff Gardner, Managing Editor, jeff@tucsonlocalmedia.com Alexandra Pere, Staff Reporter, apere@timespublications.com Nicole Feltman, Staff Reporter, nfeltman@timespublications.com Contributors: David Abbott, Rob Brezsny, Max Cannon, Rand Carlson, Tom Danehy, Emily Dieckman, Bob Grimm, Andy Mosier, Linda Ray, Margaret Regan, Will Shortz, Jen Sorensen, Clay Jones, Dan Savage PRODUCTION Courtney Oldham, Production Manager, tucsonproduction@timespublications.com Ryan Dyson, Graphic Designer, ryand@tucsonlocalmedia.com CIRCULATION Aaron Kolodny, Circulation, aaron@timeslocalmedia.com ADVERTISING TLMSales@TucsonLocalMedia.com Gary Tackett, Account Executive, gtackett@tucsonlocalmedia.com Kristin Chester, Account Executive, kristin@tucsonlocalmedia.com Candace Murray, Account Executive, candace@tucsonlocalmedia.com NATIONAL ADVERTISING Zac Reynolds Director of National Advertising Zac@TimesPublications.com Tucson Weekly® is published every Thursday by Times Media Group at 7225 N. Mona Lisa Rd., Ste. 125, Tucson, Arizona. Address all editorial, business and production correspondence to: Tucson Weekly, 7225 N. Mona Lisa Rd., Ste. 125, Tucson, Arizona 85741. Phone: (520) 797-4384, FAX (520) 575-8891. Member of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN). The Tucson Weekly® and Best of Tucson® are registered trademarks of Times Media Group. Publisher has the right to refuse any advertisement at his or her discretion.

RANDOM SHOTS By Rand Carlson

Fourth Avenue businesses and events seeing increased traffic

MUSIC

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Tidal wave of sound led to Royal Blood’s Typhoons

Cover image courtesy of Nicole Feltman

Copyright: The entire contents of Tucson Weekly are Copyright Times Media Group No portion may be reproduced in whole or part by any means without the express written permission of the Publisher, Tucson Weekly, 7225 N. Mona Lisa Rd., Ste. 125, Tucson, AZ 85741.

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asteroid Apophis for 18 months.

In this second mission, OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) will be renamed to OSIRISAPEX (OSIRIS-Apophis Explorer.) The extension adds another $200 million to the mission cost cap.

OSIRIS-REx, led by UA professor Dante Lauretta, launched from Earth in 2016 and headed toward the asteroid Bennu. In 2020, the spacecraft briefly touched down on the asteroid’s surface, collecting an estimated pound of extraterrestrial dust and rocks. OSIRIS-REx is expected to return to Earth orbit in September 2023 and deliver the capsule of samples, which researchers will study for information about our early solar COURTESY PHOTO system and potentially the origins of life.

Now, the spacecraft is planned to University of Arizona-led OSIRIS-REx gets a new NASA mission head back into space on the Apophis mission only a month after returning the samples. to retrieve a sample from an asteroid.

By Jeff Gardner “Apophis is one of the most infamous But NASA announced last week that the jeff@tucsonlocalmedia.com asteroids,” said OSIRIS-REx deputy story won’t end there. NASA has extendprincipal investigator Dani DellaGiustiUPON A SUCCESSFUL RETURN to ed the University of Arizona-led misna, who is also a UA assistant professor.

Earth next year, the OSIRIS-REx space- sion, and after drop-off, the spacecraft “When it was fi rst discovered in 2004, craft will be the first American mission will continue on to study near-Earth

CURRENTS

SORENSEN

OSIRIS-NEXT

there was concern that it would impact the Earth in 2029 during its close approach. That risk was retired after subsequent observations, but it will be the closest an asteroid of this size has gotten in the 50 or so years… It gets within one-tenth the distance between the Earth and moon during the 2029 encounter. People in Europe and Africa will be able to see it with the naked eye, that’s how close it will get. We were stoked to find out the mission was extended.”

The university stated that OSIRISAPEX will not collect a sample on this next mission, but when it reaches Apophis, it will study the asteroid for 18 months and collect data along the way.

It also will make a maneuver similar to the one it made during sample collection at Bennu, by approaching the surface and firing its thrusters. This event will expose the asteroid’s subsurface, to allow mission scientists to learn more about the asteroid’s material properties.

“OSIRIS-APEX is a manifestation of a core objective of our mission to enable the next generation of leadership in space exploration,” Lauretta said. ■

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from serious illnesses like COVID-19, care year’s spending levels was rejected in a committee hearing last week, and negotifor ailing or new family members, and ations on how to spend the surplus dollars have adequate time to grieve if a relative are ongoing. is lost to the virus.

The unspent funding is an opportunity “It won’t take me only two weeks to to help hurting communities across the spend with a loved one and grieving (for) Education, housing, paid leave: Advocates demand record budget surplus be invested in state, Avalos said, but politicians have this loved one passing away,” said Alexis Arizonans’ well-being priorities that are out of touch with the Garcia, a community organizer for ACE. realities their constituents deal with.

Like Democrat led bills to address “Instead of addressing Arizona’s fastest affordable housing, two Democrat sponrising rent prices and 15th-highest cost of sored bills in each chamber proposing classrooms, Barron said, is the key to

By Gloria Gomez living, many lawmakers are advocating 24 weeks of paid leave failed to move ensuring success for the vast majority of Arizona Mirror for billions more dollars in tax cuts for the forward. students in the state who attend public Other initiatives proposed establishing rich,” she said. “And instead of investing in schools like he does—and, like him, many funds to help alleviate the uneven access public education, lawmakers and GoverTATYANNA DUCHENE PUSHED of whom will be the first in their families her 1-year-old son’s stroller around the to resources caused by citizenship status nor Ducey are too busy banning books to attend college.

State Capitol on Wednesday, following a and allocating more money towards or homelessness. An economic support The advocates also called for state crowd of students and volunteers as they charter schools.” ■ fund would provide assistance to everygathered to petition legislators to use the action on affordable housing. Investments body, in sharp contrast to COVID-19 in the state’s Housing Trust Fund to aid current $5.3 billion dollar budget surplus funds that were designated only for legal Gloria Gomez is a senior at the Univerwith growing homelessness, rent assisfor community needs. citizens, and the Arizona ID Project would sity of Arizona and the 2022 UA School tance, and the construction of affordable Her daughter, Khaleesi, is just 4 years give everyone free state-issued IDs. of Journalism’s Don Bolles Fellow. The old, and enjoying the one-on-one attention housing all are needed, they said, as is Lena Avalos, ACE’s policy director coor- UA School of Journalism started the she gets from her preschool teachers. But statewide rent control. dinator, denounced Republican lawmakfellowship in 1977 to honor Don Bolles, an Rents in the Phoenix metro area rose Duchene is conscious that her educational ers who so far have failed to mobilize the Arizona Republic reporter killed in a 1976 at the fifth-highest rate in the nation future is bleak in a state that ranks 47th record state surplus to benefit Arizonans. car bombing. This article was originally between 2020 and 2022, according to a in the nation in per-pupil funding. She A recent attempt at a so-called “skinny” published by the Arizona Mirror, an online recent Washington Post analysis. The decided to add her voice to the Arizona budget by Republican lawmakers that nonprofit newsroom. Find more reporting Center for Empowerment’s advocacy day average rent is now $1,550, an increase would have merely continued the current at azmirror.com. and call for budget initiatives that include of more than 28% since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. increased funding for education, among For Phoenix residents like 17-year-old other areas.

Victor Rodriguez, rising rent prices are “I just want a better future for her,” she an ever-present worry. A recent rent spike said. caught the Rodriguez family of four by Community advocacy organizations surprise a few months ago.

ACE and the People First Economy for “Housing has become a real problem,” Arizona called on legislators to ramp up he said. “I live in an apartment, and we education funding to mitigate the cuts used to pay like $800 a month, and now made during the Great Recession more we’re paying over $1,000, for just a two than a decade ago that haven’t yet been replaced. Advocates lobbied for the state’s bedroom and one bathroom apartment.

So, it’s getting pretty bad.” record-high surplus—an estimated $5.3 There were bills to address the growing billion, or about 40% of the state’s current crisis of housing unaffordability. One bill year spending—to be used to improve aimed to add $100 million to the Housing teacher retention in the face of an ongoTrust Fund and another sought to repeal ing shortage.

Arizona’s ban on rent control. But both Eddie Barron, a senior at Sunnyside were sponsored by Democratic lawmakHigh School, traveled from Tucson to the state Capitol to sound the alarm over ers, and were killed early on in the legislative session by Republicans, who control teacher losses in his district.

“This year, I have had so many teachers the legislature and determine which bills step out on me and my classmates, for no are considered.

Paid family and medical leave were other reason than the fact that they are overworked, underpaid and underappreci- among the budget priorities for ACE, which noted that the pandemic had ated by the Arizona GOP,” he said. strengthened the need for it. The group Arizona ranks near the bottom in the country in wages and working conditions called for 24 weeks of paid leave, which would ensure that workers can recover for teachers. Investing in public school

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PRIORITIES, PRIORITIES

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COURTESY PHOTO

University of Arizona president Robert C. Robbins speaks at the Eller College of Management’s MAP dashboard on Thursday, April 21.

MIND THE GAP

Report: Arizona needs to graduate more high-school and college students to fill available jobs ed, hired and moved into Arizona 19,000 people with four-year degrees to fill jobs that they couldn’t fill with the people in Arizona who were either unwilling but likely just not ARIZONA WILL BE ISSUING FAR qualified to fill,” Shoopman said. fewer bachelor degrees through the end Shoopman, however, doesn’t put the of the decade than are needed to fill jobs, blame on Arizonans. He said it goes back to according to a new report presented at what the Board of Regents found in 2019: ArThe Future of the Workforce, a discussion sponsored by the University of Arizona Eller izona has a 79% high school graduation rate.

One out of every five students in Arizona is College of Management’s MAP dashboard not receiving a high school diploma. on Thursday, April 21.

“We know … that if you don’t have a high “Arizona is at an inflection point in its school diploma, you probably don’t have a economic trajectory with a comparatively job,” Shoopman said. “Less than half of the low college completion rate and a growing people in the state that don’t have a high labor demand for workers with bachelor’s school diploma are unemployed.” degrees,” the Advancing Arizona’s EconoShoopman said this report made it clear my: Investment in Workforce Development that Arizona needs to be doing better by report noted. their students and preparing people for Ron Shoopman of the Arizona Board of the workforce. However, Shoopman said Regents warned that as a result of that low graduation rate, Arizona won’t have enough Arizona doesn’t need to funnel students into four-year universities. He said state people to fill the jobs created by development in Arizona’s private and public sector. leaders needed to also focus on certification programs, community colleges and trade The Advancing Arizona’s Economy: Investment in Workforce Development report schools.

Jennifer Pullen, senior research econestimated Arizona will issue 26,300 fewer bachelor’s degrees than the economy needs omist at Eller College’s Economic and Business Research Center, revealed that annually until 2030.

“Last year, companies in Arizona import- a surplus of jobs available in Arizona had

By Alexandra Pere apere@tucsonlocalmedia.com

dramatically increased from the early months of the pandemic. In January, Arizona had 241,000 open jobs in Arizona, which amounted to 80,000 more jobs than February 2020, according to Pullen. Although Tucson has been slower to recover these jobs compared to Phoenix, the statewide unemployment rate for March was 2.9%, a 23-year low.

“There are primarily two reasons that the unemployment rate falls: Either those unemployed individuals find a job or those unemployed individuals leave the labor market,” Pullen said.

Pullen speculated that many people chose to retire during the pandemic or left the labor market to take care of themselves or family. Skyrocketing housing prices also increased the equity of homeowners, which could allow them to stay out of the labor market for longer periods of time. Migration should also be considered a part of the equation, although international migration fell during the pandemic. Pullen noted that inflation may bring workers back into the labor force.

Pima Community College Chancellor Lee Lambert said the job market is changing to match new trends.

“We’re moving from a first-curve society, the industrial era, to a second curve era, which is a knowledge-based digital era and at the center of that is this notion of skills,” Lambert said.

The overwhelming statement from each presenter and panelist is the urgent need for preparing Arizona’s workforce to fill the jobs the state has created.

Mister Car Wash CEO John Lai said during his panel appearance that investment in early education is the obvious answer to the incoming increase in job openings.

“There’s a revenue issue,” Lai said. “We have to pay teachers more, or invest in our school systems, preK, K through 12, and we’re not doing that. The high school graduation rate was shocking. It’s a precursor to college.”

According to the Board of Regents report, Arizona is currently sitting at an inflection point where jobs are increasing too fast for people to fill the vacancies. Shoopman said it is imperative the state prepare Arizona’s next generation of students and workers by investing in the education system to retain students in the system. ■

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CURRENTS

THE PLOT THICKENS

PHOTO BY GAGE SKIDMORE

Jan. 6 panel asks Arizona Congressman Andy Biggs, other GOP members of the U.S. House to cooperate in probe

The Select Committee has heard testimony from other witnesses that “suggests that the discussion that day” included plans for Vice President Mike Pence to “unilaterally THE U.S. HOUSE COMMITTEE looking into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol refuse to count certain states’ certified elecsent letters Monday to Reps. Andy Biggs of toral votes” on Jan. 6 when Congress met to Arizona, Mo Brooks of Alabama and Ronny certify the presidential election results.

The panel wants to know if Biggs and two Jackson of Texas, asking them to share other unidentified members of Congress information about meetings and conversations they had in the days and weeks leading originally came up with the idea of bringing protesters into Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6. up to the insurrection.

The letter says that Ali Alexander, an “The Select Committee has learned that “early and aggressive proponent of the Stop several of our colleagues have information the Steal movement who called for violence relevant to our investigation into the facts, before January 6th,” has publicly said that circumstances and causes of January 6th,” Biggs and two other lawmakers crafted the Chairman Bennie G. Thompson, a Missisidea. sippi Democrat, and ranking member Liz The panel also wants additional informaCheney, a Wyoming Republican, said in a tion about conversations Biggs had with statement. state lawmakers and officials about claims “As we work to provide answers to the election was “stolen” and efforts to overthe American people about that day, we turn the election results. consider it a patriotic duty for all witnesses The Select Committee is also interested to cooperate. We urge our colleagues to in conversations Biggs and other House join the hundreds of individuals who have shared information with the Select Commit- Republicans had about receiving pardons tee as we work to get to the bottom of what for their actions related to attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election. happened on January 6th.”

“We would like to understand all the In the letter to Biggs, the panel asks for information about meetings that took place details of the request for a pardon, more specific reasons why a pardon was sought, in-person at the White House ahead of the Jan. 6 attacks, as well as remotely, including and the scope of the proposed pardon,” the letter to Biggs says. one on Dec. 21, 2020.

By Jennifer Shutt Arizona Mirror

A trio of lawsuits in Arizona that sought to disqualify Republican Reps. Biggs and Paul Gosar and state Rep. Mark Finchem from the ballot for their alleged roles in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol was dismissed in April.

The letter to Brooks is somewhat shorter, asking him to meet with the panel to detail comments he made this March that appear “to provide additional evidence of President Trump’s intent to restore himself to power through unlawful means.”

Brooks said during an interview and a statement that Trump asked him to “rescind” the election of 2020. In the statement, he goes on to write that; “As a lawyer, I’ve repeatedly advised President Trump that January 6 was the final election contest verdict and neither the U.S. Constitution nor the U.S. Code permit what President Trump asks. Period.”

The Select Committee wants to interview Jackson about why “Oath Keepers, including its leader, Stewart Rhodes, exchanged encrypted messages asking members of the organization to provide you personally with security assistance, suggesting that you have ‘critical data to protect.’”

“As you likely know from public disclosures, individuals in these groups have been charged with seditious conspiracy,” Thompson and Cheney wrote. “Several of these individuals are alleged to have plotted the violent overthrow of the United States and allegedly staged weapons at a location near

CLAYTOONZ By Clay Jones

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Washington D.C. for that purpose.”

The panel would like to know why members of the organization were interested in Jackson’s location, why they thought he had “critical data” that needed protection, why they wanted to keep Jackson safe and whom he spoke with on his cell phone that day.

The Select Committee said it also wants to record Jackson’s “firsthand observations” of the attack on the U.S. House chamber, during which Jackson was one of the people who barricaded a door to try to stop rioters from getting in.

The letter said panel members would like Jackson to include “the reactions and statements of other members of Congress to the violence at that moment.”

The panel suggested each of the three Republicans meet with the committee the week of May 9, but said other days were an option if the members’ schedules were too packed that week.

The Jan. 6 Select Committee plans to begin holding public hearings on its findings into the insurrection next month. ■ Jennifer Shutt covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom.

This article was originally published by Arizona Mirror, an online nonprofit news agency. Find more reporting at azmirror.com.

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genetic makeup is this bread.”

Dough boy: Don Guerra in the kitchen.

PHOTO BY NICOLE FELTMAN

GET A LOAF OF THIS!

Thanks to his astounding Barrio Bread, Don Guerra is up for a James Beard Award next month

Guerra is up for the award based on his Natural Love and Bread, which uses local grains and an ancient French sourdough technique without sugars or DON GUERRA, WHO HAS EARNED A oils. The result is deliciously fluffy and reputation as one of the most celebrated hearty loaves that sell out at his shop in Broadway Village at the corner of Counbakers in the nation, is up for a James try Club Road and Broadway Blvd.

Beard Award next month.

Guerra and his bread have been celeGuerra, founder and owner of Barrio brated in national publications, with The Grains and Barrio Bread, has come a New York Times calling him “a leader long way since baking bread out of his of the local-grain movement in Tucson” garage in 2009. Besides a planned expansion of his midtown bakery, Guerra who “challenges others to reimagine craft baking with an eye towards Latino has launched two projects with the and Indiginous roots.” celebrated team behind El Charro.

As he wants to find his ingredients This is the third time Guerra has been within 100 miles of Tucson, Guerra’s nominated for a James Beard Award, need for local grains has helped Souththe “Oscars of food.” ern Arizona growers develop a market “There is something to this three, three is my lucky number,” said Guerra for locally grown grain. He recruits farmers to plant grain through a U.S. who was previously nominated for a Beard Award in 2019 and 2020. Guerra Department of Agriculture grant under the Sustainable Agricultural Research is up against four other contenders in Education (SARE) program. the outstanding baker category. The By seeking local ingredients, Guerra winner will be announced on June 13 at says he’s proud to support a local and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. greener economy.

“I am super pumped for this,” said “I am most passionate about the work Guerra. “It’s exciting. I love this thing I do, connecting people and being a because I love to see energy in our part of a community,” Guerra said. “My community.”

By Nicole Feltman nfeltman@tucsonlocalmedia.com

GUERRA, 51, HAS BEEN MAKING this style of bread for roughly three decades.

After graduating high school in Phoenix, he got an academic scholarship for the University of Arizona. He was the first in his family to go to college and described himself as a kinesthetic visual learner, so attending traditional university courses was challenging at times and he ended up dropping out, although he says that his self-development at the university was helpful for his future.

Guerra started baking bread professionally when he was just 20 years old, landing a job at Boulders Resort in Scottsdale in the early ’90s. Guerra got an itch to learn about making European-style bread. He spent hours in the library searching for books on bread and baking.

Guerra eventually found Arizona Bread in Scottsdale and helped build a bakery for a family that wanted to incorporate European style bread. While assisting with this project, he enrolled in Paradise Valley’s Community College’s one-year intensive business program.

Guerra would wake early in the morning to attend his classes, then would bake bread all throughout the night on four hours of sleep.

After he graduated from the business program, he moved to Flagstaff to start a bakery with a business plan that he wrote when he was 23 years old. By the time he was 27, Guerra was the owner of two bakeries with 40 employees in two states, Arizona and Oregon. He ended up selling both bakeries because he was overwhelmed running two businesses at such a young age.

Guerra moved back to Tucson in 2001. He missed the sunsets, sunny weather, and, most importantly, the people. He had a vision for a new bakery in Tucson.

But when Guerra moved back here, he took a detour from baking. He went back to the UA to study teaching. His wife was a teacher, so he thought he would give it a try. He went to work for the Tucson Unified School District in 2002. It was one of the best things he

could have done, he says. Working as a teacher made him realize that he really wanted to be a baker.

IN 2009, GUERRA LEFT HIS teaching job and founded Barrio Bread in his garage. He was making about 900 loaves of bread a week using an Italian deck oven.

“Everyone thought it was this crazy idea, but I am a dreamer,” Guerra says.

“What you can think of and dream up, I want to live as a reality.”

The business took off. Soon he had his Broadway Village storefront (which he’s looking to expand in the near future.)

The bread on the bakery’s shelves sold out regularly and before long, he was supplying it to local restaurants.

He recently joined forces with the Flores family that runs Tucson’s El Charro restaurants for two projects: Barrio Charro, which features “tortamano” sandwiches, as well as The Monica, a new downtown venture.

Carlotta Flores, the owner and executive chef at El Charro Café, had a simple answer when asked when she wanted to go into business with Guerra: “Why not Don?” Carlotta Flores says Guerra shares her love of giving back to the community.

“He is not only a master at what he does, but a gentleman.”

Guerra anticipates more side projects and is increasingly eager to work with other people.

“I’m usually one step ahead,” he says.

“I get on that wave just right and I ride it.”

WHILE MANY RESTAURATEURS struggled during the pandemic, Guerra says it actually helped his business.

Nine months before COVID hit, Guerra had video modules up and running on his website for people to learn about how to make Natural Love and Bread.

With a shortage of bread on store shelves at the beginning of pandemic, those lessons were embraced by Tucsonans who were mostly stuck at home, so they had time to experiment with baking. He had hundreds of thousands of pounds of flour to share with the

MAY 5, 2022

Customers line up outside Barrio Bread.

community.

Guerra is a big supporter of hyper-localism and simply prepared foods with fewer ingredients. The pandemic and, more recently, problems with supply chains have put a focus on locally prepared alternatives.

Guerra has also found time to spread the gospel of his bread-making techniques. He’s given talks around the world in Mexico, Taiwan, Poland and elsewhere on his baking process and lessons he’s learned about cultivating local grains.

Guerra says that his biggest goal is to leave a legacy of grain growing and food production with local grains in Tucson with the hope that people embrace those techniques long into the future.

“It’s important to be a knowledge keeper, but also give other people knowledge and share it forward,” he says.

Guerra says hard work and passion started his journey, but it’s the support of the Tucson community that has brought him success. “I was the creator of it,” he says, “but it has to live on its own.”

While the last five years has been a whirlwind, Guerra expects the next five will be even bigger.

“I have this beautiful career,” he says.

“I had no idea what happened. It was all bread.” ■

PHOTO BY ALEXANDRA PERE

Listen to Don Guerra talk about his path to success on The Prickly Pair, a new Tucson Weekly podcast featuring conversations about food in Southern Arizona hosted by Tucson Weekly staff reporters Nicole Feltman and Alexandra Pere. Find it on the usual podcast platforms as well at TucsonWeekly.com.

Follow Don Guerra on Instagram @ barriobaker. Visit Barrio Bread’s website at barriobread.com to get more information on Guerra’s bread and grain.

PHOTO BY NICOLE

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Instead of looking at the timing as a conflict, these events are working together to promote one another and extend their celebrations.

“We wanted to create some synergy with the Agave Heritage Festival and with other festivals like the Arizona International Film Festival, the Tucson International Mariachi Conference, and the 23 Miles of Mexican Food Festival all happening around the same time,” said Jonathan Mabry, executive director for Tucson City of Gastronomy. “It will give visitors even more reason to come to Tucson and stay longer.”

Here are the events taking place in Tucson.

CHOW

THURSDAY, MAY 5

CORN BALL

COURTESY PHOTO

Pueblos del Maíz Fiesta celebrates corn in gastronormous proportions

By Jake O’Rourke tucsoneditor@tucsonlocalmedia.com

SPRINGTIME IN TUCSON BRINGS NUMEROUS events to engage the community, celebrate local cultures and enjoy local foods and beverages. A new event this week revolves around one simple ingredient that has nourished communities in Arizona, Texas and Mexico for generations.

Pueblos del Maíz Fiesta is the brainchild of Tucson City of Gastronomy and their counterparts in multiple Texan cities.

TCoG manages Tucson and Southern Arizona’s UNESCO designation as a creative city of gastronomy and wanted to work with other UNESCO-designated cities to create an event they all could experience in their own communities.

Through federal grant money awarded to Pima County Attractions and Tourism under the American Rescue Plan Act, Pueblos del Maíz Fiesta has been brought to life.

“We were devastated by COVID: restaurants, tourism, travel, hotels,” said Diane Frisch, director of Pima County’s Attractions and Tourism Department. “As we try to gear back up and get tourism back to Pima County, we were looking for events that would play into all the unique features we have here.”

The full fiesta will be a month-long celebration of maíz, or corn, in multiple cities. It starts in Tucson from May 5-8, and will move to Mérida, Texas on May 13-14, then to San Antonio on May 16-22, and it will finish in Puebla on May 27-28.

With local food and heritage at the core of this event, there will also be a push for sustainability through the use of eco-friendly materials and extensive sorting of waste to maximize recyclability and food compost.

“Coming out of the long pandemic break, we got to think about why we really operate in this community events space, and it’s to shine light on the things that are important,” said Matt Baquet, owner of Ranch House Media and the organizer of Tucson’s Pueblos del Maíz Fiesta. “To me, it’s sustainability, it’s closed-loop economics, it’s food security and it’s common ground you find with your community members to see each other eye-to-eye.”

Pueblos del Maíz Fiesta fits snug in the calendar among several other events taking place in Tucson in the spring.

Tontitos y Bataretes: El Maíz en Sonora. Join José René Córdova Rascón via Zoom from noon to 1:15 p.m. He’s a professor of anthropology at the University of Sonora and the Escuela Normal Superior who also received one of his master’s degrees in Public Health with a specialty in Public Policy from the University of Arizona. His presentation will explore the history of corn and ideas and dishes to make with corn. The presentation will be in Spanish with English interpretation. Register for this free Zoom presentation at pueblosdelmaiz.com.

Photography Exhibit: “Maize Traditions in Puebla” by Andrés Lobato. This is a free event for guests 21+ at The Citizen Hotel from 5 to 6 p.m. The exhibition documents rites, traditions, and ceremonies around central Mexico’s agriculture cycle. RSVP for the free exhibition at pueblosdelmaiz.com.

Movie Screening: “Maize in Times of War” by Alberto Cortés. Fox Theatre will showcase a free viewing of this film about a family in Jalisco and their connection to corn. After the film will be a Q&A session with Carlos Rossini (Producer) and Carlos Gutierrez (Director of Cinema Tropical). Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the showing starts at 7 p.m. with the Q&A going until 9:30 p.m. RSVP for this free movie screening at pubelosdelmaiz.com.

FRIDAY, MAY 6 Pueblos del Maíz at San Xavier Co-op Farm. This event will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the San Xavier Co-op Farm.

There will be educational courses about crop growing, harvesting, and processing along with cooking classes to learn traditional native recipes involving corn. There will also be several other farm-based experiences throughout the day.

RSVP for a day on the farm at pueblosdelmaiz.com.

Ixi’im: An Indigenous Maíz-based Philosophy for the Americas. The Century Room at Hotel Congress will host Roberto Rodriguez, Ph.D., also known as Dr. Cintli, from 5 to 6 p.m. Dr. Cintli is an emeritus associate professor in the Mexican American Studies Department at the University of Arizona. His talk will focus on maíz culture in America.

Doors open at 5 p.m. and Dr. Cintli will start at 5:30 p.m.

More information about Dr. Cintli and the event can be found at pueblosdelmaiz.com.

Maíz Showcase. This will be one of the premiere events over the weekend and one of the few ticketed events. From 7 to 9:30 p.m., join local award-winning chefs, restaurateurs, and food artisans for a bocadito dinner experience at Hotel Congress. John Martinez (Tito & Pep), Don Guerra (Barrio Bread), Mateo Otero (Rollies Mexican Patio), and Janos Wilder (The

MAY 5, 2022

Carriage House) are some of the chefs who will be bringing their unique twists on maíz to this immersive, culinary experience.

Wilder is also the president of Tucson City of Gastronomy and curated the list of chefs he thought would make the evening one like none other before.

“It’s going to be a really wonderful cohort of local chefs who are going to celebrate our corn heritage with a lot of different foods we’ll be serving,” Wilder said. “This particular group of chefs has never been put together before.”

In addition to the mass of food set for the menu, there will also be local beer. Brewers in each city are incorporating maíz into the brewing process to create beers specifically for the Pueblos del Maíz Fiesta. Here in Tucson, Ayla Kapahi, Director of Production and Head Brewer at Borderlands Brewing Co. is collaborating with her team on their featured beer.

Borderlands was one of the beverage artisans to receive a certification from TCoG for their efforts to use local and sustainable ingredients and practices, so it would seem a natural fit for them to be incorporated into this event.

“We’re using a 60-day maíz from the San Xavier Co-op Farm,” Kapahi said. “It’s a less mature corn than other varieties, and because the corn is able to be processed and used in 60 days, it really saves on water practices for growing the crop but also the manufacturing process they have for processing it. From my understanding, it should be able to produce very earthy and sweet flavors. We decided to brew a light blonde ale to really showcase the profile of the ingredient.”

Purchase of a $50 ticket to the Maíz Showcase also gains entry to the annual El Tambó Fest immediately following the showcase.

Tickets for this event are selling quickly and can be found at pueblosdelmaiz.com.

El Tambó Fest. This event is the official afterparty of the Maíz Showcase and will take place on the Hotel Congress Plaza from 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. the next morning. It is a 21+ event, and if you don’t purchase a ticket to the showcase, tickets to El Tambó Fest are $15. This dance party will celebrate the cultural fusion of the borderlands and host local and international bands and DJs throughout the night.

Tickets for El Tambó Fest are available for purchase at pueblosdelmaiz.com.

SATURDAY, MAY 7 Sonoran Desert Corn Traditions at Mission Garden. Spend Saturday morning planting 60-day corn, learning about

traditional methods of harvesting, roasting, and grinding corn, and participating in cooking demos and tastings at Mission Garden.

This event is open to all ages and has free entry, although donations are accepted upon entry. The activities will be informal and educational with the goal of learning community and cultural exchange. Activities start at 8 a.m. and will wrap up at noon. RSVP for the event at pueblosdelmaiz.com.

Maíz Fiesta. After a morning in the garden, party it up at this free block party taking place at Hotel Congress and on Fifth Avenue.

The block party is scheduled from 5 to 10 p.m. and will feature musical entertainment in the Plaza and in Club Congress along with over 15 local food and artisan vendors strewn throughout the street. Vendors will be celebrating the cultural and agricultural significance that maíz holds in the Tucson community and Sonoran Desert as a whole.

RSVP to this free event at pueblosdelmaiz. com.

Let’s Talk about Maíz. During the Maíz Fiesta, there will be a panel conversation in The Century Room completely dedicated to discussing maíz. Panelists will include Alexandra Zamecnik (Native Seeds/Search), Carolyn Niethammer (local author), Jeffrey Silvertooth (UA School of Plant Sciences), and Emily Rockey (Mission Garden). Join the panelists and ask maíz-related questions from 5 to 6:30 p.m. RSVP for this free event at pueblosdelmaiz.com.

SUNDAY, MAY 8 Maíz Mother’s Day. Restaurants and food and beverage artisans certified by Tucson City of Gastronomy will offer Mother’s Day specials throughout town. RSVP with your name and email to find out more at pueblosedelmaiz.com.

Needless to say, the Pueblos del Maíz Fiesta is shaping up to be an eventful weekend in Tucson. From The Old Pueblo to Puebla, Mexico, maíz is a staple ingredient that has sustained the tests of time and has proven to be adaptable to the human influences it has seen over generations of use.

“It’s long overdue to celebrate a food that’s at the heart of our community’s story which we share with these other internationally famous food cities,” Mabry said. “I think that the event’s subject, the location on the calendar, the broad program, and strong partners provide the ideal foundation for immediate and long-term benefits to Southern Arizona’s tourist and hospitality industries.” ■

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Where the Wild Things Pour. This weekend, there’s no need to wait until Saturday night to get wild. You can live it up all Saturday long at this Tap and Bottle sour fest, with a broad selection on tap, including a Casa Agria cherry and plum sour and a Pontoon Double Cup Ruby Wrist. As the famous Maurice Sendak novel so beautifully says, “Let the wild rumpus and consumption of craft sour beers start!” 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Saturday, May 7. Guided tasting at 11 a.m. for $35 and a bottle tasting at 4 p.m. for $35. 404 N. Sixth Ave. Pueblos del Maíz. There’s never a bad time to celebrate the fantastic food scene in Tucson, but this month is extra special. In conjunction with three other designated food heritage cities – San Antonio, Texas; Merida, Mexico; and Puebla, Mexico – Tucson is hosting the first weekend of a monthlong international food and culture fest. We’ve got regional food vendors, chef demos, live music, panels, movie screenings and more. Check out Andrés Lobato’s photography exhibit in the Citizen Hotel, see Alberto Cortés’ film “Maize in Times of War” at the Fox, hit the Maíz Fiesta at Club Congress, and plenty more. Thursday, May 5 to Sunday, May 8. Various times and locations.

Paranormal Cirque. Part horror, part theater, part circus, part cabaret, this new show by Cirque Italia is not for the faint of heart. In town for just 10 days, this show has you enter a parallel world where you are surrounded by freaky monster things who all have hidden circus talents, including aerial arts and magic. Those under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, and people under 13 aren’t even allowed in, because this is truly not your grandma’s circus. Unless maybe your grandma was a dominatrix or something. Come on down for a thrilling time. Thursday, May 5 to Sunday, May 15, with shows every day except Tuesday, May 10. Weekday shows are at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays are at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. and Sundays are at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. Tucson Mall parking lot, 4500 N. Oracle Road. $10 to $50. Call 941-704-8572 for a $5 coupon code.

First Saturday Art Walk at Untitled Gallery. Speaking of the last event of the season, Untitled Gallery is also closing down for the summer (well, open by appointment only) to give artists a chance to rest and focus. So this weekend is a great chance to see some of the works before they wind things down. This walk will feature new works by the five member artists, and will also include some snacks.

Their shows always feature excellent work, so if you can’t make it down, be sure to check out the art online instead. 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday, May 7. Untitled Gallery, 101 W. Sixth St. #121.

by Emily Dieckman HUMP! Film Festival. This festival of short erotic films is curated by Dan Savage, the man behind the Savage Love column we all know and love. What makes it incredible is that it’s just a bunch of porn made by whoever the hell wants to make it, rather than highly paid porn stars. That means the films represent all sorts of shapes, colors, genders, ages, sexual orientations, and (of course) kinks. The films range from hardcore to animated to musical, and will have you wondering why you don’t go watch porn at the movie theater more often. 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday, May 7. The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress. $20. 18+.

Derek Monypeny and Gabriella Isaac at Solar Culture. Solar Culture is serving up a heaping helping of pure vibes this weekend with a double-billed show. Derek Monypeny was born in the Arizona Desert, and now plays music on what he calls the “desert continuum,” featuring guitar, shahi baaja (Indian electric banjo) and oud. Gabriella Isaac is a computer musician whose background in classical piano and interest in punk music led her to earn both a bachelor’s and master’s in digital culture at ASU. 8 p.m. Saturday, May 7.

Solar Culture Gallery, 31 E. Toole Ave. Free.

I Dream in Wide Screen. At this event, BFA students in the UA School of Theatre, Film and Television will be displaying their senior thesis films!

These 12 films range from a public access television spoof to a documentary about the journey of the Arizona women’s basketball teams! There is telenovela-esque sci-fi, a struggling drag queen, internet fame, romance, and a tale of two brothers.

These films are beautifully done, and you don’t want to miss a chance to see these students’ work, so when they all become famous you can brag about how you were there at the beginning. Doors at 6 p.m., show at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 7. Fox Theatre, 17 W. Congress St. $ 5GA. Mercado Flea. Can you believe we’re already at the last Mercado Flea Market of the season?! These second-Sunday events happen from October through May, during the months where it’s not too hot to leave the house. So enjoy it one last time while you can! With dozens of vendors selling antique, vintage and collectible items, it’s the perfect place to take your mom for Mothers’ Day. While you’re there, you can treat her (and yourself) to a coffee from one of the local shops and a snack from Westbound Bar or La Estrella Bakery too. 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, May 8. Parking lots and sidewalks on Avenida Del Convento between Congress and Cushing Streets in the Mercado District.

Community Day at Tohono Chul. Hooray for free days at the public gardens!

Tohono Chul is opening to the public for a free day of family-friendly activities and entertainment, to encourage more guests to visit and learn about the Sonoran Desert. It’s part of the American Public Gardens Association’s “Go Public Gardens” initiative this month. You can build a native bee habitat, paint with a yucca paintbrush, plant a seed, make insect antennae and watch the live pantomime talents of the Desert Players. 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 7. Tohono Chul, 7366 Paseo del Norte. Free.

MAY 5, 2022

ARTS & CULTURE

JEFF GARDNER

Pop Cycle, which sells a variety of local and recycled art, is seeing their best sales since the pandemic began.

BUILD BACK BUSIER

Fourth Avenue businesses and events seeing increased traffic

By Jeff Gardner jeff@tucsonlocalmedia.com AFTER NEARLY TWO YEARS, VENDORS AND patrons filled the colorful streets of Fourth Avenue for the Winter Street Fair in December 2021. Following that successful winter fair, the larger Spring Street Fair returned just last month to an even larger turnout. The events, which annually draw hundreds of thousands of attendees, were delayed multiple times due to the pandemic, bringing fewer patrons to the already-impacted local businesses lining Fourth Avenue. With the return of these large events, plus an increase in daily traffic, the avenue is looking bright — albeit with some remaining roadbumps and potholes.

Fourth Avenue might have the strongest ratio of personality-to-square-feet in all of Tucson. North of the Fourth Avenue underpass, the corridor contains multiple coffeeshops, record stores, boutiques, art stores and bars.

Geographically and culturally, it is the intersection of the university district and downtown. However, that culture has suffered multiple losses over the past few years, including the closure of the Flycatcher bar to be replaced by an apartment building. The pandemic certainly didn’t

help, with multiple small businesses closing. But for some, including the eclectic art store Pop Cycle, things are well on the road to recovery.

“This last year has been our best year ever. It’s kind of crazy, and we’re blown away by how lucky we were. There’s been so much support, not just from the Tucson community, but also from visitors from out of town,” said Shannon Riggs, co-owner of Pop Cycle and chair of the Historic Fourth Avenue Coalition. “The avenue’s busy. I know the retail is doing well, and of course the bars and restaurants struggled a lot more, but when I look around the avenue, it always looks pretty hopping these days.”

Pop Cycle, which sells a variety of recycled and local art, closed for six months in 2020. Not only did this impact the staff, but also the local artists whose work is sold in the store. Though Riggs admits the pandemic was very difficult for the avenue, she says it could have been worse.

“We’re super lucky to not have lost many businesses,” Riggs said. “We did lose a few, but all the people that I know of who were running those businesses have bounced back and are doing something else. That’s really rad.”

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BUILD BACK BUSIER

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But now with restrictions lifted and business back up, there was also an opportunity to bring back the Made In Tucson Market in addition to the Street Fair. On a smaller scale, the Made In Tucson Market is exclusively for vendors from the area. With 165 vendors and thousands of attendees, this April saw the largest ever Made In Tucson Market.

“Something we hear from people is that the Street Fair should have more local vendors. Of course there are local artists who do Street Fair, but we wanted to do an event that was exclusively local,” Riggs said. “And I think it just has a funkier, grassroots vibe. All of the signs were handpainted, and I feel like that matches the funky vibe of Fourth Ave that is important.”

While many stores are doing better, that’s not to say others haven’t been forever changed by the pandemic. Just down the avenue, Antigone Books is another beloved shop that survived. However, co-owner Kate Stern says they are a smaller operation and that pre-pandemic time was almost like operating a different business.

“I wouldn’t say that we’re back to where we were, even without the inflation. It’s hard to gauge,” Stern said. “It was actually kind of slow here for the Street Fair. Traditionally, it’s always a lot of people browsing, and not everyone is shopping. But overall, it’s good for us. Our sales are not amazing. Usually, the winter fair is bigger for us. We didn’t notice a huge uptick in sales, but it’s always good for the avenue as a whole. The Fourth Avenue Merchants Association relies on

that revenue, and we rely on them. So it’s systemic in that way.”

Stern says there are a number of difficulties in the world we now find ourselves in. Beyond record inflation, there are also lingering staffing issues and the pervasive supply chain problems. As a result, Antigone has been forced to raise prices on their gift items like calendars, while list prices of books have also increased.

Because of supply chain backups, some of the bookstore’s orders have either not shown up, or showed up months later. Stern says it’s been difficult to keep their displays stocked, and people have even asked if they’re going out of business because their shelves might be empty, even if an order had been placed months prior. This has also impacted special book orders, as it’s difficult to give customers an estimated time of arrival.

“People have been pretty upset at times, not understanding we have no control over it,” Stern said. “People have learned to be more flexible over the past year, but not everyone is quite used to it.”

Over the pandemic, the rate of shipping a 40-foot container across the Pacific has surged more than 500%, breaking $20,000, a record price. This type of increase has even impacted stores like Pop Cycle, which use many recycled materials for their products.

“Almost across the board, our artists have had to raise their prices,” Riggs said.

“Even though it’s recycled and handcrafted, there’s always something you have to buy. And we make a lot of the things ourselves in our studio in the back, and the magnets we use, the price and shipping has doubled. So we’ve had to raise prices on things that we’ve never raised prices on ever.”

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Riggs says that she doesn’t know of people who can’t get what they need, it’s just that there are delays and price increases on everything, and that can be difficult for artist deadlines.

Despite all this, merchants like Riggs and Stern say they feel that Fourth Avenue business owners are hopeful.

Antigone plans to bring back their own community events later this year.

“It’s been a really rough couple of years for everyone, and it’s definitely better now. But we’re all still dealing with the repercussions of the pandemic,” Stern said. “Even though a lot of people in the world have moved on and are ready to be done with it, I think there are longer term effects from it. But we’re all in it together and it’s been refreshing to see that other businesses are in the same place as us.

And I think the general attitude of the merchants is support. It’s made people closer, more understanding and neighborly.”

The pandemic hasn’t stopped some Fourth Avenue stores from even expanding. On Thursday, May 5, the Food Conspiracy Co-op broke ground on an additional entrance on the back of their store. The finished expansion will add an entrance on their store’s east side, 2,000 square feet of retail space, 33 parking spaces and solar panels. Andrea Buttrick, communications coordinator for Food Conspiracy Co-op, says the expansion has been planned since before the pandemic.

“Our sales are now growing exponentially, and shoppers are showing back up,” Buttrick said. “There’s a feeling of

excitement and interest to be back out.

Of course, there is still some hesitancy, but people are excited.”

Buttrick says the Food Conspiracy Coop was in a unique position to weather the pandemic as compared to other grocery stores, because they get much of their produce from local farmers. As a result, they were able to stay open through the pandemic. However, she confirms they are suffering from inflation like everyone else.

“It really shows the caliber of our staff that they showed up and continued working,” Buttrick said.

In total, the Winter Street Fair had approximately 300,000 attendees. The Fourth Avenue Merchants Association says they made little revenue on the first one back as the event was primarily “to make good from all the cancellations due to COVID.” However, the following Spring Street Fair saw an estimated 600,000 attendees, and vendors reported it being one of the best ever. Because the fair was shuttered for three instances, the Fourth Avenue Merchants Association estimates it will take one more fair to get “back on its feet.”

“We just want to remind people that Fourth Ave. has been this hub of localism and community fun for all these years, and we’d love to do more cool stuff,” Riggs said. “With the money we’re making from events, I think that is going a long way to helping us put on more.

We just want people to come down to the avenue and remember what they like about it.” ■

MAY 5, 2022

MUSIC

Royal Blood w/Cleopatrick 8 p.m. Monday, May 9 Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. Tickets start at $30 rialtotheatre.com

DEAN MARTINDALE

Royal Blood vocalist/bassist Mike Kerr, left, and drummer Ben Thatcher are on a worldwide tour in support of their latest album, “Typhoons.”

BLOOD BROTHERS

Tidal wave of sound led to Royal Blood’s ‘Typhoons’

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski tucsoneditor@tucsonlocalmedia.com THERE’S NOTHING SIMPLE about the English duo of vocalist/ bassist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher, who create a whirlwind of sound as Royal Blood.

But Kerr shared the basics of Royal Blood’s show that comes to the Rialto Theatre on Monday, May 9.

“If you’ve been to a rock ‘n’ roll show, you know half of it,” Kerr said with a laugh. “Seriously, our new record, ‘Typhoons,’ is nearly a year old but we haven’t really toured it. It’s been a long time since we played in the States.

There’s a lot of new music and it’s an exciting setlist. There’s no time to go and use the restroom at our shows.”

The shows are as commanding as the record. The 38-minute “Typhoons” kicks off with the wave of synthetic fuzz tone in “Trouble’s Coming.”

“I think that track was the first song we had written that had that sound to it,” Kerr said. “It was a good segue because it’s bold as well. We’re not pussy footing around. We’re fully committed to the sound of the record.”

That said, “Typhoons” fits perfectly in Royal Blood’s catalog, according to Kerr. He contends fans and musicians are sometimes concerned about how old and new material will mesh.

“I think those concerns might have some validity,” he added. “But once we started playing, we realized these songs were really heavy and have a raw energy that we bring to them when we play them live. It all works together. In fact, it gives our set real variety as well, which, perhaps was missing before.

“When we started piecing the set together, having the luxury of three albums, you get to have a stronger setlist by default. You end up playing

the best songs.”

Thatcher and Kerr formed Royal Blood in Brighton, England, and released their self-titled debut album in 2014. Playing the bass like a lead guitar, Kerr couples his visceral sound with Thatcher’s thunderous drums.

The success followed with 2017’s “How Did We Get So Dark?”

Each of Royal Blood’s three studio albums has topped the U.K. charts, selling more than 3 million copies worldwide. Their accolades include a BRIT award for Best British Group, and awards from NME and Kerrang, and a Mercury Prize nomination.

Sharing stages with the Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age, Royal Blood performed “Trouble’s Coming” on “The Late Late Show with James Corden.”

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“Typhoons” was created primarily during the U.K.’s pandemic lockdown, which proved to be creative for Kerr and Thatcher.

“It was a process to get to that sound,” Kerr said. “I think we’ve always been very clear that we wanted to evolve and make something that felt like a progression and try something new. It took a lot of attempts to get to that point.

“By the time we go to ‘Trouble’s Coming,’ it felt like we had something we knew that was out that we were really excited about. It anything bores us while we’re playing it, it’s an indication that we shouldn’t pursue it.”

With “Typhoons,” Royal Blood stretched its sound as it was a route to pursue.

“Records are ultimately something to play live,” he said. “We used production and extra layers that people have never heard us use before. At its core, it’s all about live energy.” ■

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By Xavier Omar Otero tucsonweekly@tucsonlocalmedia.com

MARK YOUR CALENDARS… THURSDAY, MAY 5 Touching on themes such as “human connection, goodbyes, and ultimately, growing up,” Get Yourself A Friend (2021) is a collection of songs that exemplifies the spirit of a previous age. In an interview with Clash, frontman Jakob Armstrong (son of Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong) reveals: “My favorite band of all time is The Cure. I definitely draw from them subconsciously. At the time of making this EP, we were really into that first Interpol album, Bloc Party, and The Futureheads.” Armstrong adds: “I think this era of our band is bittersweet. We’re no longer kids anymore, but we have so much more to give.”

Ultra Q. At 191 Toole… Laissez-faire capitalism knows no bounds. Primarily observed in the States, this annual celebration of Mexico’s victory over the French at the 1862 Battle of Puebla—often confused with Mexican Independence Day (Sept.16)—gained nationwide popularity in the 1980s due to targeted marketing efforts by alcohol distributors eager to bolster sales, now on par with those of the Super Bowl. Cinco De Mayo. Santa Pachita and DJ Buttafly preside over the festivities. At Hotel Congress Plaza… House.

Techno. Dubstep. Bass. This spring festival features

art, go-go dancers, interactives, pop-ups, and three stages showcasing over 30 of Arizona’s hottest DJs and producers: Lance Fairchild, Lunarfluxx, Walters The Don, Mental, Alex Anders, Low Audio, Xochique, and more. ZIMA Music Festival. At Zen Nightclub…

Singer Diego Zegarra reflects on what his favorite Pearl Jam song means to him. “I was 14, my parents were getting a divorce and [“Corduroy”] was just one of those songs that [felt] like ‘it was written for me.’”

Corduroy: The Pearl Jam Experience. At Encore…

Pueblos del Maíz present Naïm Amor & the Cocktail Hours followed by Rafael Moreno Quartet. Musical groups whose diverse jazz inflected repertoires cover the expanse from Paris, France to Latin America. At The Century Room… “We are here to create shit we love and give two fucks how you feel about it,” comments Tucson rapper Cash Lansky regarding the release of his new EP, May All Your Dreams Come True (2022). At Thunder Canyon Brewstillery… Cut loose on shore leave, these landlocked mavens of maritime madness, with a slight S&M bent, run unrestrained.

Surfbroads. Live & Free. At Tap & Bottle…

FRIDAY, MAY 6 With a voice capable of “matching the wail of a fire engine,” R&B legend Patti LaBelle’s career perdures into its sixth decade. Initially taking flight fronting The Bluebelles (1960s girl group), then LaBelle (’70s funk trailblazers), she has earned the sobriquet “The Godmother of Soul.” In an interview with Georgia Voice, LaBelle attributes her continued success, in part, to the support of the LGBTQ community. “The gay fans are some of the reason, one big reason, I’m still standing.” LaBelle adds, “They loved me when other people tried not to.” At AVA Amphitheater…

The supersized version of Tucson’s Latin dance party sin fronteras, El Tambó Fest: Weekend Two brings together legendary cumbia bands—Vox Urbana y El Santo Golpe—along with the El Tambó crew—DJ Humblelianess, Dirtyverbs y Halsero—to celebrate the cultural remezcla germane to the borderlands. At Hotel Congress Plaza… Riding the bus to see how far it will take them. Comprised of University of Arizona classmates, alt-rockers The Basements celebrate the release of Long Stories Get Short (2022), their shiny new debut EP. At 191 Toole… It all started humbly on a Fostex four-track tape machine, nearly a decade ago.

Following the release of Barnyard (2021), Stefan Blair, one half of Australian indie rock duo Good Morning, tells NME, “We’re really lucky to tour anywhere. All these wild opportunities from this stupid little band, playing in Mexico, Taiwan, Thailand, China, Japan.”

Blair reflects: “What we wanted to do at the start, [was] make music and figure out a way to see the world.” At Club Congress… Promulgating a message

of one love, General Tchefary & Soldiers unite the people through the power of music. Roots Reggae Night. At Monterey Court… With a repertoire that draws on classic jazz, with an emphasis on the work of Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk and Jelly Roll Morton, Pueblos del Maíz presents contrabassist Alan Lewine’s AZ Xtet. At The Century Room…

Celebrate Seis de Mayo (is that a thing?) with reggae rockers Rilen’ Out. At Chicago Bar. With special guest Diluvio… For those who dare venture towards the zero hour, a night of psychobilly and garage rock awaits. Dead at Midnite (Las Vegas), The Reztones (Navajo Nation), and The Vooduo (Long Beach). At Thunder Canyon Brewstillery… Visions of the Vibe: An art and music event showcases the work of six photographers who routinely focus their lenses upon Tucson’s music scene. The Vapor Trails (Howe Gelb, Nick Augustine, and Tommy Larkins) provide the tunes. At Revel Wine Bar…

SATURDAY, MAY 7 With roots entrenched south of the border, Invisible People (2020) by psychedelic soul outfit Chicano Batman is a mighty statement of hope. Analogous to a Latinx Bruce Wayne, with Olympic standard physical attributes, proclaiming that despite race, class, or gender we are all invisible people, capable of overcoming our differences to stand together. At Rialto Theater… Commemorating the cultural and agricultural significance of maíz in the Sonoran desert, Tucson City of Gastronomy presents the first annual Pueblos del Maíz. Hosted by DJ G. Gertie & the T.O. Boyz, Los Hermanos Cuatro, Las Trillizas y Dulce, and Native Creed provide the soundtrack for this family-friendly, maíz-themed block party.

At Congress and Fifth Avenue… At 16, NYC rapper Tyler-Justin Anthony Sharpe (aka Lil Tecca) catapulted into the mainstream with “Ransom” (2019), a single which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. On his latest album, We Love You Tecca 2 (2021), Sharpe tells XXL that it’s all about the sound. “You always gotta go forward, but reintroduce. Make a nostalgic feeling. Recreate that whole vibe.” At 191 Toole… Tucson’s own Mariachi Cobre and Grammy Award winning Mariachi Los Camperos headline the Tucson International Mariachi Conference Espectacular. With special guest vocalist Lupita Infante. At Tucson Music Hall… Preceded by Fiesta Garibaldi. At TCC… ¡Vamos! With a knack for fostering community wherever he goes. From his plain-spoken lyricism to the playfulness of his live shows (known to include sing-alongs and races), NYC via Uruguay indie rocker Juan Wauters finds magic in Real Life Situations (2021). At Club Congress. Los Velvets open… The art of finding beauty

MAY 5, 2022

in sun ravaged leavings. Like a mirage, this Joshua Tree, California guitarist/ oudist’s experimental folk compositions mirror his gnarled desert surroundings.

Derek Monypeny. With Phoenix-based computer musician Gabriella Isaac.

At Solar Culture Gallery… Pueblos del Maíz presents accomplished classical and jazz guitarist Gabriel Ayala. Late Night. At The Century Room… Funky Bonz incite jacquerie on the dance floor.

At MotoSonora Brewing Company…

While Gaza Strip and Four Point Play promise to melt faces. At Sky Bar… On a mission to champion the local metal scene, in their inaugural event, Tucson Metal Society presents Metal de Mayo.

Sub-Terraneo (Mexi-metal harshers), Theocide, and Az the World Burnz break the sixth seal. At House of Bards…

Colliding together like leptons and quarks in a particle accelerator. Birds + Arrows and Daphne + The Glitches. At Che’s Lounge…

SUNDAY, MAY 8 Propelled by a mighty 8-piece horn section, The Coolers bring an ice chest chockful of bluesy R&B and soul. Congress Cookout. At Hotel Congress Plaza…

“Wild Women,” vocalist Diane Van Deurzen and pianist Lisa Otey perform boogie woogie, blues and torch songs.

At The Century Room… Followed by a jazz jam session hosted by After Hours Quartet…

MONDAY, MAY 9 Following the accolades that resulted from the success of How Did We Get So Dark (2017), Brighton, England’s Royal Blood were being lauded by some as the saviors of rock. But behind the scenes, chaos ran riot. Frontman Mike Kerr, tells The Independent, “My appetite for hitting the self-destruct button began the moment I started drinking.” Having pulled back from the precipice, now sober, they’re back with a new, somewhat discofied, album, Typhoons (2021). Set deep in the psychodrama of his darkest days, “Trouble’s Coming,” Kerr sings, “In my reflection I see signs

of psychosis.” He adds, “I spent so long in this fuzz, in this washing machine of negativity.” At Rialto Theater. Cleopatrick open…

TUESDAY, MAY 10 Noted for their extensive use of harmonized twin lead guitar passages. Over the years, Thin Lizzy, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Metallica and numerous others have cited these British hard rockers as influences.

To observe the 50th anniversary of Argus (1972), their most commercially and critically successful album, Wishbone Ash will perform it in its entirety. At Rialto Theater… “Mr. Pitiful,” Matt Costa and Sea Wolf present an evening of delightful indie folk. At Club Congress…

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11 The Blind Leading the Naked. In a career strewn with break-ups and legal entanglements between band members— over the licensing of the band’s classic “Blister in the Sun” to Wendy’s—in 2013, Milwaukee folk-punks Violent Femmes re-formed. Since then, they have gone on to release two albums of new material: We Can Do Anything (2016) and Hotel Last Resort (2019). At Rialto Theater… Blurring the lines between pop sensibilities and electronic esoterica, San Francisco-based producer Rob Garza (Thievery Corporation), is taking his new project out for a test drive. At Club Congress… With a sweet tooth for classic pop songwriting, Minneapolis indie rockers Bad Bad Hats perform material from Walkman (2021). With The Ophelias. At 191 Toole… Believers that love is everyday magic, Chicago DIY trash-poppers Dehd return with Empty in My Mind (2022), their latest EP. At Club Congress…

Until next week, XOXO…

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SAVAGE LOVE OPEN AND SHUT

By Dan Savage, mail@savagelove.net

Straight guy here in a one-sided open relationship. My wife and I opened our relationship just for her and to females only, so she could explore her bisexual side. I’m super proud of her for coming out and wanted her to feel fulfilled. When we agreed to this, I was naive and figured anything she experienced would be purely sexual and nothing more. She recently caught feelings and now has a girlfriend. She stays at her girlfriend’s place one to two nights a week. I get jealous and sick to my stomach when she is over there. She has that “new relationship energy” going and talks about her girlfriend all the time. Aside from the jealousy, I feel like I am not a priority. I’m hoping my feelings get better with time. Besides this, our marriage is great. I love my wife very much and want to support her in this. Are one-sided open relationships something that can work? Are my feelings unjustified and what can I do to better deal with them? The logic used when we talked about a one-sided open relationship was that I can’t satisfy the female side she desires. But since I’m hetero, I don’t have an “unfulfilled” side.

—Home Alone Your wife isn’t the first person to come out as bisexual after making a monogamous commitment to an opposite-sex partner and then ask for permission to sleep with other people—without wanting to extend the same permission to their straight spouse. Since she’s bi and can’t get pussy at home, the reasoning goes, she should be allowed to get pussy elsewhere. Since you’re straight and can get pussy at home (when that pussy is at home), you’re not entitled to the same allowance. But as your wife is demonstrating, HA, it’s not just pussy she’s getting elsewhere. While she’s getting one very specific need met outside your relationship—admittedly a need you can’t meet—she’s getting a lot more than that. In addition to pussy, she’s getting variety, adventure, unique experiences, new relationship energy, and two overnights a

week. Why shouldn’t you have some of that too? Not to even the score, but to feel like you’re an equal partner in this marriage and, as such, entitled to equal terms, equal treatment, and equal benefits.

And it doesn’t sound like you two were on the same page when it came to what opening your relationship entailed. You seem to have assumed—or figured—that your wife would be seeking sex elsewhere, sex and only sex, but your wife “caught feelings” and now she has a girlfriend. Agreeing to a one-sided open relationship is not the same thing as agreeing to one-sided polyamory. If you didn’t agree to that, HA, your wife had no right to expect that from you or impose that on you.

That said, one-sided open relationships can be great, HA, but they work best when the person who isn’t seeking sex outside the relationship either isn’t interested in having sex with other people or is turned on by the erotic power imbalance of being forbidden something their spouse is allowed—basically, this could work if you were a cuckold. Which you’re not.

I’m a straight man who has been married to a wonderful woman for 35 years. I’m the only person she has ever been with. Over the years she has evolved into a wonderful giving partner open to things that turn me on. I take pride in being able to give her multiple orgasms although she only wants to do this about once per month. She has been happy to give me pleasure multiple times per month even, but she talks of it like it’s a chore (“wifely duties”) and is always asking me why I want it so much. I tell her it is more normal for men to want it more, and I wish she would want it more as well! I have used porn to get off since my teens. She accepts this because it means fewer chores for her, but she doesn’t like it. Recently I started using my phone to take videos of her performing oral on me as I enjoy watching this and it cuts down on the porn. She checked my phone and was upset at what she saw. I

told her I was sorry, but she says I should’ve asked for permission. I told her I would have asked for permission, but I knew the answer would be no! She said of course it would be no and she called it sick and gross! I tried to explain again that it is quite normal behavior for most men to want to watch and it is for my eyes only! As I said, she has evolved, as early in the marriage she would have never done some of things she has learned to do while pleasuring me! Long story short, any words of advice on this sexy-for-me, notso-much-for-her activity.

—Sincerely Appreciate Your Advice, Sweet Savage It’s not okay to take photos or videos of someone performing a sex act without their consent, SAYASS, even if that someone happens to be your wife. Even if that someone happens to have a lower libido than you do, even if that someone would rather you not look at porn, even if that someone enjoys most of the things you want them to do—not only isn’t it okay, SAYASS, it’s a crime. It’s not normal behavior, it’s asshole behavior—and, again, in most places it’s literally criminal behavior. So your wife has every right to be upset. You violated her and did so knowingly; you say you didn’t ask for permission to make those videos because you knew she would say no. Dude.

If your wife had been writing me, SAYASS, I would advise her to get a lawyer and divorce you.

We hear so much about the all-important commitment to monogamy in marriage.

What about the less emphasized but clearly important commitment to a healthy sex life? I’m a straight man. I’ve been married for about 20 years. I’ve never cheated on my wife, although I’ve come close in recent years. My wife and I had a healthy sex life for the first 10 years. For the last 10 years, we haven’t had sex at all. We are both in our late 40s, athletic and attractive, and neither of us has any overwhelming physical or mental problems. My wife is just so engrossed in her work and personal identity that she has stopped caring about sex. It’s all well and good to say, “You need to talk about this with her,” but I know from years of

experience that would be futile. She refuses to discuss it. And she has made it clear that if I were to do anything outside the marriage, it would amount to an unforgiveable betrayal. I vacillate between acceptance, frustration, bitterness, and deep anger.

Yes, I signed on for monogamy. But what did she sign on for? Can a woman or man in a monogamous marriage unilaterally cut off sex for no reason and still expect or demand monogamy, as my wife does? What do I owe her? And what does she owe me?

Despite this issue, we are good partners, good friends, and good parents to our two teenage children. Protecting them from the trauma of divorce, and not hurting my wife— these are the reasons I stay in the marriage.

But it doesn’t feel right or fair that I have to be monogamous, that I will never experience physical intimacy again, not so much as a kiss or a touch, for the rest of my life, because my wife decided she is finished with that part of her life. What do other people think?

—Saddened Over Love’s Omissions People in the comment threads at savage. love have been taking me to task recently for being too quick to give my blessing to cheating... so, instead of answering this one myself, I’m going to open it to the commenters: What do you guys think SOLO should do? Personally, I don’t think a person can insist on monogamy while refusing to meet their partner’s reasonable sexual needs. (Well, a person can insist on it, but they shouldn’t expect it.) Please don’t tell SOLO to talk with his wife. He’s tried talking about it—he’s tried again and again for 10 years—and his wife refuses to discuss it. So, gang, what should he do? Should he do the “right thing” and get a divorce? Or should he do what he needs to do to stay married and stay sane? I’ll see you in the comments thread. questions@savagelove.net Listen to Dan on the Savage Lovecast.

Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage.

Columns, podcasts, books, merch and more at savage.love.

MAY 5, 2022

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

By Rob Brezsny. Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s EXPANDED WEEKLY HOROSCOPE 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700 $1.99 per minute. 18 and over. Touchtone phone required.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Poet Jennifer Willoughby writes, “I am so busy. I am practicing my new hobby of watching me become someone else. There is so much violence in reconstruction. Every minute is grisly, but I have to participate. I am building what I cannot break.” I wouldn’t describe your own reconstruction process during recent months as “violent” or “grisly,” Aries, but it has been strenuous and demanding. The good news is that you have mostly completed the most demanding work. Soon the process will become more fun. Congratulations on creating an unbreakable new version of yourself!

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z tells us, “Don’t ever go with the flow. Instead, be the flow.”

Here’s what I think he means: If we go with the flow, we adjust and accommodate ourselves to a force that is not necessarily aligned with our personal inclinations and needs. To go with the flow implies we are surrendering our autonomy. To claim our full sovereignty, on the other hand, we are wise to be the flow. We should create our own flow, which is just right for our unique inclinations and needs. I think this is the right approach for you right now, Taurus.

Be the flow.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The Italian language used to be a dialect spoken in Tuscany. That area comprises less than 8 percent of the country’s territory. How did such a dramatic evolution happen? Why did a local dialect supersede other dialects like Piedmontese, Neapolitan, Sicilian, and others? In part, it was because three potent 14th-century writers wrote in the Tuscan dialect: Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarch, and Giovanni Boccaccio. Another reason: Because Tuscany is centrally located in Italy, its dialect was less influenced by languages in France and other nearby countries. I offer this as a metaphor for you in the coming months. One of your personal talents, affiliations, or inclinations could become more influential and widespread— and have more authority in your life.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “Always strive to be more interested than interesting,” said actor and activist Jane Fonda. That may not be easy for you to accomplish in the near future, dear Cancerian. Your curiosity will be at peak levels, but you may also be extra compelling and captivating. So I’ll amend Fonda’s advice: Give yourself permission to be both as interested and as interesting as you can imagine. Entertain the world with your lively personality as you go in quest of new information, fresh perceptions, and unprecedented experiences.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “When in doubt, act like God,” proclaimed Leo singer-songwriter Madonna. I wouldn’t usually endorse that advice. But I’ll make an exception for you Leos during the next three weeks. Due to a divine configuration of astrological omens, you are authorized to ascend to new heights of sovereignty and self-possession—even to the point of doing a vivid God impersonation. For best results, don’t choose an angry, jealous, tyrannical deity to be your role model. Pattern yourself after a sweeter, funnier, more intimate type of celestial being.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): My Virgo friend Amanda told me she felt tight and overwrought. She was overthinking and on the verge of a meltdown. With a rueful sigh, she added, “I adore anything that helps me decompress, unwind, simmer down, stop worrying, lighten up, compose myself, and mellow out.” So I invited her to take deep breaths, close her eyes, and visualize herself immersed in blue-green light. Then I asked her to name influences she loved: people, animals, natural places, music, books, films, art, and physical movements that made her feel happy to be alive. She came up with eight different sources of bliss, and together we meditated on them.

Half an hour later, she was as relaxed as she had been in months. I recommend you try a comparable exercise every day for the next 14 days. Be proactive about cultivating tranquil delight.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Author Anne Lamott is renowned for her tender approach to expressing her struggles with addiction, depression, and other tribulations. One of her supreme tests was being a single mother who raised her son Sam. In this effort, she was her usual plucky self.

Anytime she hosted playdates with Sam’s young friends at her home, she called on the help of crayons and paint and pens and clay and scissors. “When we did art with the kids, the demons would lie down,” she testified. I recommend a comparable strategy for you in the coming days, Libra. You will have extra power as you tame, calm, or transform your demons. Making art could be effective, as well as any task that spurs your creativity and imagination.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “My heart has developed a kind of amnesia, where it remembers everything but itself,” writes Scorpio poet Sabrina Benaim. If you suffer a condition that resembles hers, it’s about to change. According to my astrological analysis, your heart will soon not only remember everything; it will also remember itself. What a blissful homecoming that will be—although it may also be unruly and

confounding, at least in the beginning. But after the initial surprise calms down, you will celebrate a dramatic enhancement of emotionally rich self-knowledge. You will feel united with the source of your longing to love and be loved.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Just because things hadn’t gone the way I had planned didn’t necessarily mean they had gone wrong,” writes Sagittarian author Ann Patchett. Her thought may be helpful for you to meditate on. My guess is that you will ultimately be glad that things didn’t go the way you planned. God or your Higher Self or the Mysterious Forces of Destiny will conspire to lead you away from limited expectations or not-big-enough visions so as to offer you bigger and better blessings.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Novelist Jane Austen (1775–1817) confessed she was a “wild beast.” Really? The author who wrote masterfully about the complex social lives of wealthy British people? Here’s my theory: The wild beast in her made her original, unsentimental, humorous, and brilliant in creating her stories. How is your own inner wild beast, Capricorn? According to my reading of the astrological omens, now is an excellent time to give it fun, rich assignments. What parts of your life would benefit from tapping into raw, primal energy?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Aquarian poet Jack Gilbert wrote, “I lie in the dark wondering if this quiet in me now is a beginning or an end.” I don’t know how Gilbert

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solved his dilemma. But I suspect you will soon be inclined to pose a similar question.

In your case, the answer will be that the quiet in you is a beginning. Ah! But in the early going, it may not resemble a beginning. You might be puzzled by its fuzzy, meandering quality. But sooner or later, the quiet in you will become fertile and inspirational. You will ride it to the next chapter of your life story.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The genre of poetry known as haiku often relies on unexpected juxtapositions. Critic R. H. Blyth observed, “In haiku, the two entirely different things that are joined in sameness are poetry and sensation, spirit and matter.”

I suspect your life in the coming weeks will have metaphorical resemblances to haikus. You will be skilled at blending elements that aren’t often combined, or that should be blended but haven’t been. For inspiration, read these haikus by Raymond Roseliep. 1. in the stream / stones making half / the music. 2. horizon / wild swan drifting through / the woman’s body. 3. birthcry! / the stars / are all in place. 4. bathwater / down the drain / some of me.

5. grass / holding the shape / of our night.

6. campfire extinguished, / the woman washing dishes / in a pan of stars.

Homework: You can now make a change that has previously seemed impossible.

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ACROSS 1

Beat in chess

5 Astronomer who lost

part of his nose in a sword duel 10 Classic Jumbotron shout-out 14 Frost 15 Takes a bit off 16 Certain newspaper column 17 Boot 18 Sorna y Nublar, en “Jurassic Park” 19 Long locks 20 Educator in a smock 22 Figure seen on Athena’s shield 23 Thumbs-up 24 Skim 26 Bit of letter-shaped hardware 28 Rangers’ domain 32 Thoroughbred, e.g.

36 FedEx Cup organizer 37 ___ of war 38 Bluish hues 40 Muslim leaders 41 “A Promised Land” author, 2020 43 Get into trouble, in a way 45 Grassy expanse 46 Some drinking vessels 48 Kind of zone in a city 50 1948 Literature Nobelist 52 Youngest player to score in the FIFA World Cup (age 17) 53 Two-word tribute 55 Bottle topper

59 Profession in an O’Neill

title 62 What “should be made by filling a glass with gin, then waving it in the general direction of Italy,” per Noël Coward 64 Declare 65 Kid-lit character with a green suit and gold crown 66 Midrange club 67 Award-winning Ward 68 Chess : check :: go : ___ 69 “Pretty please?”

70 Geekish 71 Fixes 72 Big name in printers

DOWN

Now: Sp. Talks up 3 Some bridge positions 4 Leader of the house band on “The Muppet Show” 5 Low-budget feature 6 Like decisions made on a dare, typically 7 “Stormy Weather” composer 8 Learn secondhand 9 Either end of a school bus?

10 Side that usually has the most supporters 11 Device used in interactive museum displays 12 What a “hamburger button” opens 13 Dedicated works 21 Reader’s jotting, e.g.

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Reader’s jottings … or a hint to this puzzle’s theme 25 Fancy-pants 27 Title derived from “Caesar” 29 Most of a sugar cane 30 Marisa of “In the Bedroom” 31 Writer Sontag 32 Underway 33 Some salads 34 French “equivalent” 35 Gusto 39 Dot on a subway map 42 Dissolve 44 Scan options for the claustrophobic 22

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So far 54 Densely packed, in a way 56 Under-the-sink fixture 57 Animals depicted on the Ishtar Gate 58 Film composer Morricone 59 Tried something?

60 At any time 61 The blue part of blue cheese 63 About .914 meters 65 “Pow!” 51

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