Moors and Christians Olives and Wine

Date: March 21, 2017
Contact: Anita Badertscher, 520-377-5063

Soon, visitors to Tumacácori National Historical Park will be able to learn more about the Spanish contributions to what we consider today to be “southwest culture.” On April 4^th at 4:00 p.m., two speakers from the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum will present a talk, “Spain: Moors and Christians, Olives and Wine” inside the historic Tumacácori mission church. Learn how many of the foods, farming practices, culture, language, religion, architecture, and artisanal trades, which today are associated with the Southwest, have origins from across the Atlantic. Furthermore, many of these are derived from Arabic and Roman practices.

The speakers will be Jesús Garcia, founding researcher for Tumacácori’s “Kino Heritage Fruit Trees Project,” and Sonya Norman, the Public Programs Coordinator at the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum. Both speakers are long-time museum employees and will be leaders on a September 2017 trip to Spain exploring this same topic. 

Admission to the park is $5.00 per adult, free for federal pass holders and children under age 16. There is no additional charge for the program. For more information, please call Tumacácori National Historical Park at 520-377-5060, or visit the park’s website, at nps.gov/tuma.