(upbeat music) (Tom) This week on Arizona Illustrated, building community through creative expression.

(Oscar) Through the arts, there's been evidence that people's well-being improves communities are healthier.

(Tom) Meet the charismatic owner of one of the country's most popular Sonoran dog restaurants.

(Daniel) I was looking for flavor in my mounth and I loved to eat and I couldn't find that.

(Tom) How Arizona's Independent voters could affect the upcoming election.

(Paul) Just ask yourself this question.

Is the existing partisan system making it better or is it getting worse?

(Tom) Hello and welcome to Arizona Illustrated.

I'm Tom McNamara.

Today we're joining you from the Mercado San Agustín Annex, which is just west of I-10.

And the next time you get down this way, you've got to check out this musical sculpture from the Tucson Symphony Orchestra.

It's called Memento Cosmico and was designed by Tucson-based architect Myles Peña in partnership with Brink Media.

You step inside and experience music that quote "draws inspiration from the celestial wonders of the cosmos and the dynamic energy of the Sonoran Desert Monsoon," featuring music played by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra.

It's actually very cool and really fits that relaxed vibe of the annex.

Kind of a music in a can, a nice little break in your day.

More arts organizations are making efforts to meet the community where they are through projects like this, which brings us to our first story.

Borderlands Theater is at the nexus of compassion and storytelling.

Their work brings us community building through theater making.

Recently, the One Nation One Project group invited directors Marc Pinate and Milta Ortiz to create an event that would make art accessible to at-risk communities.

This is the story of how Art is Vital came to existence in Tucson.

♪ INSTRUMENTS TUNING (Lilianna) To know that they're making this musical about immigration, because that's real things that are happening in the world.

So it's almost like journalism at the end of it.

-Wouldn't it be easier if the families were kept together as they once were?

(Marc) Borderlands Theater has really been dedicated to theater about social issues, trying to tell the story of the underdog.

A lot of plays around migrant experience, certainly as the name implies, the experiences of folks rooted in the Sonoran Desert.

(Milta) We are part of the One Nation One Project Arts for Everybody happening across the country.

We are part of 17 other cities, so there are 18 of us, all producing an event celebrating the connection between the arts and wellness to communities The Tucson version of Art is for Everybody is an event called Art is Vital.

Our full season has been to expose our community and our patrons to different art activities.

Part of it is a performance of 'Anita,' which is a new musical that we've been developing.

That musical is about an orphan girl that's separated at the border from her parents, she's from El Salvador.

And she goes to a detention center and, you know, never gives up hope.

It's really a play about joy and optimism and community.

♪ There's nothing we won't do ♪ ♪ in the land of the free, hey!

♪ A lot of the times, we hear our stories through the eyes of other people, through a lot of outside sources.

Borderlands Theater kind of cuts right through the middleman, and they go direct to the people who actually live those stories.

♪ SINGING Yeah, now, what should we do?

It's a nice volume to shake the room.

We know that here in Tucson, there's a large native and Mexican-American community.

And those stories often get left out of the larger story of Tucson.

I think what Borderlands Theater is doing is very unique, and that's bring culturally responsive and culturally relevant opportunities for the communities that we're working with.

[SPANISH]: Un, dos, tres ♪ SOMBER VIOLIN ♪ (Oscar) Anita the Musical was a story of separation, it's a story of unification as well.

And many of the community members expressed after the musical that they related to that story that they found a special connection and a meaning behind it.

♪ MEXICAN MUSIC (Melissa) Marc and Milta really wanted us to showcase artwork and artists in the community that could represent the idea of why art is vital.

That open call, it's bringing forward all of these folks, cuz these are up and coming artists.

that sometimes don't even have the space to show maybe the one piece that they've been dedicated to.

(Melissa) All of the art will be present at the Berger Theater.

We will bring them all out and display them in the lobby.

So everyone that comes to the Fiesta will be able to see all the pieces that were submitted.

(Melo) This opens up that space to remind everybody that art is vital and it may be our last true freedom.

♪ GENTLE GUITAR (Oscar) Marc Pinate, the artistic producing director of Borderlands Theater came to us wanting to learn more about our program and how we were working with families.

He presented that through the arts, there's been evidence that people's well-being improves, communities are healthier.

We saw this as an opportunity for families and community members to begin to look into different ways of accessing hope, accessing health and wellness.

(Adriana) Art is Vital event was a very important chapter for me personally.

It had been a while since I was able to be in community.

The intersection of well-being, of art making, and really talking about issues that impact our brothers and sisters here most especially here in southern Arizona.

I feel like art is a good way to express yourself and there's many different forms of art so it's not really like you don't have to fit into one box.

I use my thinking so I can draw whatever I want.

So I use a drawing video so I can draw anything else like, I want and I can keep them and hang them up.

I learned how to draw to learn how to draw Godzilla and Sonic.

And I learned how to draw Venom.

Sometimes I give up and sometimes I don't.

And I try it and I can do it.

[APPLAUSE] [ SPANISH ]: Good evening, friends.

[SPANISH]: How are you?

Shall we introduce the premiere of Anita brought to you by our very own Borderlands Theatre.

(Adriana) Art is a powerful medicine that we carry with us as the sound of our heart beating.

It sets a rhythm for us that keeps us alive.

I transfer those same qualities to art, especially as it relates to health and wellness and ways in which we can nourish our bodies and our minds.

I grew up in a broken family, but art was the only space that I had that I could get to when I needed to.

And so for those immediate reasons for me, that's what comes to mind is that's why art is vital.

As a growing artist in the same situation, I found like-mindedness in groups of other artists.

There's a lot of kids in my school or in any school where they're, maybe they struggle in certain areas, and yet they can come in and sing a song and feel good about what they're doing, or they can act in a play and get over their shyness and develop confidence.

And there's so many things that art does to build the whole child or the whole person.

♪ Go up and get right in your mind ♪ When we think about trauma as an experience, right, there really needs to be mechanisms to help people process that.

And I think that that's where art plays a critical role.

So we see a lot of health organizations right now, CDC, for example, funds a lot of work around the integration of arts into trauma-informed care, or trauma-responsive care, and helping to deal with a lot of the experience that folks have in navigating through that, because we can use art as a tool to communicate things that may be subconscious, right, or that transcends cultural boundaries and can transcend linguistical boundaries that we experience in our interactions.

(Lee) What we're finding so far is that arts programs for many different groups, it seems to decrease feelings of depression and loneliness, of social isolation for cognitive function.

It also allows people to express themselves.

And in our society, we don't have a lot of outlets to really have deep conversations about what we believe and our values and our emotions.

(Milta) I grew up as an immigrant, and I didn't see myself reflected in the media, in the stories.

And I used to think that I was not important, that I didn't matter, I didn't really have any self-confidence, and I don't want other little girls to feel that way.

♪ I look for you [SPANISH]: In my heart ♪ You know, heritage is one of those things that's like air, you know, it's always around, you never think about it, but once it's gone, you know, you're dead.

Theater can lift all that up, can center all that.

And so as a young person, to have that experience, that precious knowledge.

- Is she going to be okay?

- She'll be fine.

Who knows?

Maybe even better.

(Milta) For so long, we have been surviving, and I want to see us thriving.

So my goal with events like this is to plant seeds.

It changes the way you walk through the world, and you recognize that, you recognize that joy, you recognize that grief, being able to cry with everybody else.

Those are things that everybody needs to experience periodically to keep you human.

We need more of our work out there, and if I'm opening doors to make that happen in the future after me, then I've done my job as a human being.

♪ We're all Americans, please just let us in, let's make this country great, we're ready to begin!

♪ [AUDIENCE CHEERS] (Tom) You may not think of a hot dog as a delicacy, but El Güero Canelo Sonoran Dog won a James Beard Award, which recognizes achievements in culinary arts.

On October 20th, 2024, the restaurant celebrates its 31st anniversary.

So we thought you'd like to meet the bigger than life owner himself who's also planning his retirement, El Güero Canelo.

(Daniel) Welcome to Güero Canelo, the best Mexican- -the best Mexican restaurant in the world.

(Jakob) The menu, there's not one bad thing.

You can go to like all kinds of different places, restaurants, but you get anything on that menu.

I mean anything and it's gonna be delicious.

I feel like I'm meeting like some- like he's really famous.

This is the guy, he's the creator.

(Daniel) They think I'm a celebrity and it's fine with me, but it's the love they have to me.

I just said that to a customer, right now.

This is the first time I use this in an interview.

We got the James Beard Award because of the Sonoran hot dogs.

So I put a lot of love into what I do.

Love, love love.

I love to eat.

[ LAUGHS ] I left my parents when I was almost 13 years old.

I left to somewhere else, Nacosari, and I become a tortilla maker, tortilla factory in Nacosari, in García, Mexico.

From 1979, I came to Tucson, and I've been here since then, so I'm from Tucson, basically.

[ LAUGHS ] We make our own bread.

It's the biggest difference in town.

My bread from the hot dog, we make it in Magdalena.

And the carne asada.

Ay, ay, ay, makes me hungry already.

When you're craving for a Sonoran hot dog.

You want to have the best, come to Güero Canelo.

(Kassandra) You know the difference between a bun, you know the difference between a "frank," what the hot dogs have in it.

For example, the bread comes out really, really warm.

The "frank," like let it be pretty.

Everybody has their own little details, you know?

Do you have add-ons or not?

I just think these are the best hot dogs.

Like not just because everybody says it, but I've tried them somewhere else.

It's nothing compared to this.

(Jakob) First time I came here, I think I was like 10 years old.

It was after one of my basketball games.

I got a Sonoran dog and one of their carne asada burritos.

It was just, it was so freaking good.

I've been coming back ever since.

The bun, bacon wrapped dog, the pico on there, the yellow pepper.

(Daniel) Number one hunder- I got into the restaurant business because I was looking for sazón.

I was looking for flavor in my mouth.

I'm a very tragón, I'm a very- [ GROWLING SOUND ] I love to eat and I couldn't find that.

We started going to Nogales, me and my wife and eating hot dogs, carne asada, whatever.

And I told my wife, you know, I want to open my own restaurant.

Even I told my customers all the time, without having a dollar in my pocket.

One of these days, you're going to eat at my restaurants.

It came from my bottom of my heart.

And finally we opened a carreta, a little taco stand.

And then the rest is history.

I'm very happy, seriously.

We have good people working for us.

[ trumpet music plays out] (Kassandra) Every day is something new to me.

I started as being a cashier in the kitchen and I worked my way up.

But it's been a great experience learning everything I know today.

It's people you'll never forget being with honestly working with.

They become your friends, they become your family.

That's how I feel it.

We laugh at each other and that's daily.

Like there's never a serious dull moment.

Never, never.

It's everyday laugh, "hi," "good morning" and that's how we are.

Even to customers it's the same thing.

But it can never be serious.

[ CHUCKLES ] 10, 20 years, customers.

10/ 20 / '93 we sold the first taco at four o'clock in the afternoon.

I will never forget that.

[ LAUGHS ] My plans is "bye."

Adios.

No more.

2025 My plan, my personal plan.

My business plan, my son, Gregorio our general manager I don't know what they want to do.

They have to show me.

They can handle it.

The business will stay open but me, bye-bye, no mas.

The love.

L-O-V-E for me it's everything.

I want to thank you, Tucson.

I'm very grateful for that.

Thank you everybody.

They made me what I am today.

[MUSIC FADING] (Tom) Independent voters are Arizona's fastest growing election block.

So both major parties are working hard to address their needs knowing that these voters could decide the presidential election this year.

So now we'll see how a bipartisan initiative called Make Elections Fair AZ has been placed on the ballot that would allow for open primaries and would give these Independent voters a greater voice.

(soft music) (Paul) Today, Independent voters, they represent at least in Arizona, over a third of the total voter count, about a third are Democrat, a third are Republican, a third are Independents.

(Shelly) Independent voters in Arizona will determine this election.

They are a force that we can't ignore, so we're very tuned in to how many Independent voters there are and where they are and their influence in this election.

(Dave) I think this will be remembered as the Independent election, so you're gonna see both parties doing a huge push to gather.

That's obviously gonna be the pivotal component in this election.

(Paul) ASU has done a wonderful job of taking a look at issues where there's broad consensus amongst people in both parties.

And they found that there were issues that there was broad consensus on.

The environment, and education, and the economy.

(Narrator) Despite heated and polarizing rhetoric from both ends of the political spectrum and endless media stories about increased divisions in society, the survey found broad areas of agreement in many areas like election integrity, voting by mail, and a nonpartisan primary system.

This study revealed that there's a great deal of common ground amongst Arizona voters regarding our election system, and that people are more aligned in their views than partisan politics would suggest.

What they couldn't figure out is why was it that if there was broad consensus amongst both parties, why was it that the legislature was on the opposite side of almost every one of those topics?

And the answer was, because that's not who elects them.

When you don't talk to people who you disagree with, that does not make you stronger or better it makes you weaker.

"You guys have no idea because you're in a bubble."

"Nazi, nazi, nazi" "Out, out, out" (Shelly) I think Independents really don't like chaos, on either side.

They really don't want extreme politics in our state that can't govern.

Right?

They want solutions to their problems.

Well, we're finding that the independents share a lot of the same concerns.

Frankly, what we're finding the Democrats share the same concerns about homelessness, about the border, about crime.

(Shelly) We can't continue as a nation, as a state in this polarized way.

We have to find solutions.

And so I think that you're seeing these candidates try to find solutions to people's problems.

(Uplifting Music) (Paul) So you want to change that?

Change who's voting for them.

Give every voter access to being able to vote in that election and you will change the way that elected officials think.

(Narrator) With a nonpartisan primary system that was supported by 80 percent of respondents, including a majority of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, an initiative known as Proposition 140 reflects this sentiment and, despite legal setbacks, is set to be on the ballot for the upcoming general election.

(Paul) The parties get to determine all their own rules in a party-run primary.

In a open primary, the rules are set by the voters as opposed to by the political parties.

If a Republican runs, it takes about 6,000 signatures.

If a Democrat runs, it takes about 6,000 signatures.

But if an Independent runs, it takes over 45,000 signatures to get on the ballot.

They've clearly set up a set of rules that are designed to try to discriminate.

(TV static) Primary elections reward, and we've seen this all too often, the most extreme views.

And they have given us a system of partisan gridlock.

(Paul) Make Elections Fair is an initiative that is primarily focused on ensuring that Independent voters are treated equal in the process.

So our view of what we call a fair primary, is a primary that's not run by the political party, it's run by the state.

And in that primary, every candidate runs, every voter can vote, and you can take a look at the list and pick the candidate that you want.

(Narrator) However, not all political party representatives are in favor of Proposition 140.

(Dave) My problem with an open primary is it it turns it into a, uh, essentially it mutes out the parties.

I don't think the solution is to do away with parties.

I think the solution is to let the parties fight within themselves and do that.

That's always been the way we've done it in the past.

And I think it's important that we have that party system.

I'm not the least bit attracted by this open primary system.

(Shelly) So right now, anybody can vote in the primary, they just have to request the ballot of their choice right?

So in theory, we do have an open primary, but it's a shame, frankly, that the Arizona state legislature is so extreme.

It's absolutely bipartisan.

There are large groups of people on both sides and Independents who receive one of the biggest benefits from it, they're also supporters.

I come to you today speaking as a as a Republican who is very supportive of my party and its principles.

And I think that this reform is the best thing we can do in Arizona to make our party more viable.

(Shelly) So I think that once you sort of read the basic legislation, you understand quickly that it's not what it seems.

As it stands now, it, it's coming across the wire as an extreme proposition.

What we require is competitive general elections where 80 percent, 75 to 80 percent of the electorate will weigh in on every single race.

That's democracy.

We are eliminating partisan control.

That's why they object.

Just ask yourself this question.

Is the existing partisan system making it better or is it getting worse?

(Narrator) In many respects, Arizona is a unique state to focus on nationally.

It is a true swing state where a proposition like this could truly change the political landscape.

Supporters believe that it would cause candidates to shift their campaign to appeal to a greater majority of voters.

While those opposed understand their efforts will also need to shift in response to the result.

(Paul) If you focus on the individual, if you empower the individual, the changes that you make are incredible.

(Dave) We have to figure out that intellectual that intellectual emotional point that says, look, we represent your values now.

Time to make that sea change and vote Republican.

(Shelly) We care deeply about their voice, um, not just to get their quote "vote," but because we need to find a way to bridge the gap.

And I do think that Independent voters are helpful in that pursuit.

(Paul) The more people you invite in, the more people that you let take part in the voting process, the higher the likelihood that we have a respect for what it is that's been great about this country and the great things that we've done.

[MUSIC] (Heather) At the heart, most of us artists are makers, and makers are artists, whether they'll call themselves that or not.

And here you're so welcome to just try whatever you want, you're invited to.

[CURIOUS MUSIC ] My name is Heather, and I moved to Tucson a few years ago, after traveling through and falling in love with it.

I decided to join Xerocraft because you have access to so many more tools than you could possibly have at home.

You know, you get a chance to try it before you invest, or maybe not invest at all, and just play here with other creatives.

And that's the other part, is playing with other creatives in the same space, your ideas explode.

You know, you bounce something off somebody, or they just walk up and go, "Wouldn't that be cool if," or, "You see what somebody else is working on?"

And then, you know, you get another idea to make your idea better.

Because I love to teach, I offer a lot of classes downstairs on silversmithing, and it could be anything from, I teach a cuff bracelet class that gets people used to using the torch, which is traditionally pretty scary for folks, but I sort of tease them into using it over and over again until the fear is gone, and then leave with a pretty bracelet.

This piece is made out of fused glass, so downstairs you can melt it in a kiln at about 14-1500 degrees, and then I set them as stone.

The kind of joy Xerocraft brings to me as an artist is I get to try everything, because I just, I want to try everything.

You have access to lots of people who have already done the work learning, so it also advances your chance to grow your skill really quickly.

And my favorite part, though, is sitting down with other creatives, and you end up bouncing ideas off of each other, and the project just gets better and better.

Everybody brings something different to the table.

The hanging out with other creatives is probably my favorite part.

I have a home studio, but I like to work here with others.

(Tom) Thank you for joining us here on Arizona Illustrated from the MSA Annex.

I'm Tom McNamara.

We'll see you again next week.