The University of Arizona Press
Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Time: 6:30-8:00 p.m.., MST
Where: Revel Wine Bar, 416 E. Ninth St, Tucson, AZ
Melani Martinez, Tucson author of The Molino: A Memoir, will read at First Word Wednesdays on May 6, as part of the “Keep It Together” reading series with University of Arizona affiliated faculty. David Reyes will also read at Revel Wine Bar. Snacks and non-alcoholic drinks are available and families are welcome at this free event. Weaving together history, culture, and Mexican food traditions, Martinez shares the story of her family’s life and work in the downtown eatery, El Rapido. Martinez’s work documents the work required to prepare food for others, and explores the heartbreaking aftermath of gentrification that forced the multigenerational family business to close its doors. David Reyes will also read at Revel Wine Bar. Snacks and non-alcoholic drinks are available and families are welcome at this free event.
About the book:
Opened by Melani Martinez’s great-grandfather, Aurelio Perez, in 1933, El Rapido served tamales and burritos to residents and visitors to Tucson’s historic Barrio Presidio for nearly seventy years. For the family, the factory that bound them together was known for the giant corn grinder churning behind the scenes—the molino. The book also tells of Martinez’s personal story—that of a young Tucsonense coming of age in the 1980s and ’90s. As a young woman she rejects the work in her father’s popular kitchen, but when the business closes, her world shifts and the family disbands. When she finds her way back home, the tortillería’s iconic mural provides a gateway into history and ruin, ancestry and sacrifice, industrial myth and artistic incarnation—revealing a sacred presence still alive in Tucson.
A must-read for foodies, history lovers, and anyone searching for spiritual truth in the desert, this is a story of belonging and transformation in the borderlands.
