The University of Arizona Press
Date: Saturday, October 12, 2024
Time: 5:30 – 8:00 p.m., MST
Where: Mission Garden, 946 Mission Lane, Tucson, AZ
Melani “Mele” Martinez, author of The Molino: A Memoir, will read from her work as part of “Flooding the Land with Stories & Poems”/Al Jukiabig Masad at Mission Garden in Tucson. Other featured storytellers/poets are Suki Warm Cloud Fulwider and Amber Lee Ortega, with music by DJQ. There will also be an open mic. The schedule for the event is:
5:30 p.m. Food Sharing & Open Mic Signup
6:30 p.m. Poems and storytelling
8:00 p.m. End
The event is free with donations will be accepted. The event is sponsored by San Xavier Co-Op Farm, Tucson Birthplace Open Space Coalition, and Mission Garden.
About the book:
Set in one of Tucson’s first tamal and tortilla factories, The Molino is a hybrid memoir that reckons with one family’s loss of home, food, and faith.
Weaving together history, culture, and Mexican food traditions, Martinez shares the story of her family’s life and work in the heart of their downtown eatery, El Rapido. Opened by 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. With clear eyes and warm humor, Martinez documents the work required to prepare food for others, and explores the heartbreaking aftermath of gentrification that forces the multigenerational family business to close its doors.
