James S. Griffith was the director of the Southwest Folklore Center at the University of Arizona, where he earned his PhD in cultural anthropology and art history. He published numerous books, including A Border Runs Through It: Journeys in Regional History and Folklore, Beliefs and Holy Places: A Spiritual Geography of the Pimería Alta; Hecho a Mano: The Traditional Arts of Tucson’s Mexican American Community; and his most recent book published in 2019, Saints, Statues, and Stories: A Folklorist Looks at the Religious Art of Sonora.