Commentators Look Back Pt. 3 Tucson, Arizona

In this installment of The Changing Face of America, short story writer Patricia Presiado Martin revisits the fading Mexican culture that once thrived in Tucson, Arizona. This is the final piece in three days of stories about writers returning to locales they once knew.

Patrica & her sister as children. Photos Patricia Presiado Martin.

Oral historian and short story writer Patricia Presiado Martin comments on the superficial interest now being given to all things Mexican in her hometown. She notes that at one time there was a huge barrio in downton that was removed in the 1960s as a blight. Now the remaining adobe homes are being snatched up by young, urban professionals.

Patricia Preciado Martin is a native of Arizona and has been active in Tucson's Mexican American community for many years. She is the author of several books, including El Milagro and Other Stories, and Songs My Mother Sang to Me.

 Join Patricia Presiado Martin as she revisits the Mexican communities of Tucson.

See more pictures detailing Patricia's youth in Arizona.

Visit Part One of this special series as commentators David Greenberger and Andrei Codrescu revisit Erie, Pennsylvania, and San Francisco, California.

Visit Part Two of this special series as commentator Leon Wynter revisits Prince George's County.

The Changing Face of America is an 18-month-long NPR series that tells the stories of regular, everyday Americans and the issues they face at a time of rapid and dramatic change in the U.S. This special series can be heard on NPR's Talk of the Nation, All Things Considered and Morning Edition.

The Changing Face of America series is sponsored by The Pew Charitable Trusts.