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Photo: Ammodramus, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons
El Tiradito is the only shrine to a sinner in North America. In the 1880s, a young man had an affair with his mother-in-law. When caught in the act, his father-in-law shot him and he stumbled from bed and ran out of the house. He dropped dead on this spot, and because he had not confessed his sins, he could not be buried in the church yard. His family and friends interred him where he fell, but remembered him with candles and flowers. People still burn candles and leave offerings today. Best visited at dusk or after dark.
El Tiradito is a shrine and popular local spot located at 420 South Main Avenue in the Old Barrio area of Downtown Tucson, Arizona. Because of the site's association with pleas for supernatural intervention, it is also called the Wishing Shrine. The legends surrounding the site center around a broken-hearted man dying and, due to a sin, being unable to be buried on consecrated ground. The legends date to the 1870s, and the shrine has been present since at least 1891. Its name comes from the Spanish "tirar." The shrine was the first Arizona property to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places for its traditional cultural values. It is especially important to Tucson's Mexican and Mexican American communities.
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October. Annual festival celebrating Tucson's legacy of mid-century modern architecture and design, centered around the mid-century modern convention center and its Garrett Eckbo-designed plaza. Events include a vintage market where numerous vendors sell everything mod, from suits and ties to designer furniture to cool retro gadgets; a car show displaying mostly mid-century cars and trailers; various lectures on architecture; and tours of various mid-century modern homes around Tucson. Prices vary by event; the market and car show are free, but most lectures require tickets.
The venue is part of the Tucson Convention Center, though it isn't Tucson's largest indoor arena (that would be the Arizona Wildcats' McKale Center). It hosts a number of events throughout the year including local events, concerts, Monster Truck shows, and circus performances. It has been the home for the Tucson Roadrunner American Hockey League (AHL) team.
MOCA
Hosts exhibits of regional and national contemporary art.
A remnant of Tucson's old barrio which survived and is now surrounded by the Tucson Convention Center, this historic adobe house was built in the 1870s.
The home of Tucson Symphony Orchestra and the Arizona Opera. Tickets can be purchased online.
The venue for concerts sponsored by the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, and Tucson's primary space for ballet, theater, and musicals. Tickets can be purchased online.