What’s New?
Find out about our latest happenings in Borderlandia.
Borderlandia in the NYT!
Last January, we found out out of the blue that Borderlandia was featured in the New York Times in their annual list 52 Places to Go in the World - 2023!
We are honored to be recognized and will continue to work with dedication in fulfilling our mission of building public understanding of the borderlands.
You can read the article under #15 Tucson, Arizona here.
Interested in join us for this Tucson Tour? Sign up here!
Borderlandia Tour at the 2023 Conference of Latin America Geography
Alex participated as one of the field trip leaders for the 37th annual Conference of Latin American Geography hosted this year at the University of Arizona in Tucson!
He took the wonderful group on an exploration of cultural, natural, and physical geography of the Upper Santa Cruz River valley, getting to know the community of Tubac, Tumacácori mission, and Nogales, Arizona.
Cuera Presentation
A few weeks ago, Alex had the opportunity to present during the annual California Missions and Presidios Conference (California Missions Foundation) alongside friend David Rickman, illustrator, and author.
The topic was "Accoutred in a Panoply of Leather: Reconstructing the Cuera," and focused on a visit Alex made to the Spanish Army Museum in Toledo, Spain to see one of the only surviving examples of the leather armor worn by Spanish soldiers during the 18th and early 19th centuries in what is now the American Southwest and northern Mexico. The visit included the chance to be brought into the conservation lab where high-quality images were taken.
The title of the presentation was chosen by David, who cites a description made by an early Russian visitor to California in the early 1800s describing the appearance of these frontier soldiers. The cueras, or leather jackets were made of up to seven layers of deer hide and served as arrow-proof vests during this era.
“Who was Juan Bautista de Anza?” Presentation
Great turn out for our public history presentation, "Who was Juan Bautista de Anza?" at the Tubac Presidio.
Thank you for attending and for your interest in our fascinating region’s history and culture!