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January 11th, 2003
Multicultural exhibit is homage to a man who may be saint
 
Included in the "Homage to Father Kino"
exhibit at El Centro Cultural de las Americas are "Omaggio a P.
Kino" (left) by Giorgio Tomasi of Italy and "Il Lungo
Viaggio" by Annamaria Rossi Zen of Italy.
LORRIE
COHEN
Tucson Citizen
Jan. 11, 2003
Artist
Mark Rossi has given some thought to Father Eusebio Francisco Kino.
Rossi has
lived and worked in Tucson for 30 years. But it wasn't until he was
asked to be a part of the "Homage to Father Kino," an art
exhibit and cultural exchange among the United States, Mexico and
Italy, that he created a bronze sculpture commemorating Kino.
"I
imagined that when Kino died someone was there who cared about him,
and maybe someone made a prayer shrine to him on the Sea of Cortez,"
says Rossi, describing his work. "So (I created) a prayer memory
homage shrine that I imagined someone else did."
Rossi is
one of 33 artists taking part in the event, which starts Sunday and
runs through the end of January. It's hosted by El Centro Cultural del
las Americas.
The
exhibit will have about 60 art pieces - paintings, engravings,
photographs, ceramics, sculptures and mosaics - with a Kino theme.
Most of the American artists are from the Tucson area.
The idea
for the project began in April 2001 after a group of artists got
together in Caborca, Mexico. The exhibit started in Segno, Italy,
where Kino was born and a museum has been built in his honor. The
exhibit is making its way to Sonora, Mexico, and will end up in
Magdalena, where Kino died almost 300 years ago. The Tucson stop is
the only one in the United States.
Claudio
Chini of Segno, a Kino descendant from Italy, will be at an opening
reception Saturday.
"They
(group of artists) liked the idea when we met, and we were thinking
about something with Father Kino because we have a lot in
common," says Blanca Villalobos, exhibit coordinator and curator,
who will also have two Kino-themed oil paintings on display. "I'm
happy, and the artists are happy. It was a lot of work, and everyone
coming together is exciting."
It's also
an exciting time for local artist Ramon Arturo Trevizo.
"San Xavier" by Ramon Arturo Trevizo of
Tucson
Although
the 33-year-old has been perfecting his craft for eight years, this is
his first exhibit. He has two pieces in the show, one a mosaic of San
Xavier Mission.
"I
chose it because if you live in Tucson, it's Father Kino's tie with
Tucson," says Trevizo, who didn't end up going to Italy, but his
mosaic did.
It's also
a first for host El Centro Cultural de las Americas.
"We've
had receptions and weddings and small concerts and readings and art
showings by in-house artists, but not an (international) exhibit,"
says John Huerta, El Centro's board adviser. "We jumped at the
opportunity. This is the oldest inhabited building in the city, next
to the mission, so it's very appropriate that it's housed here. So we
raised the money, and here we are."
El Centro
Cultural de las Americas, a Hispanic cultural center, maintains the
property, called the Charles O. Brown House, at 40 W. Broadway. It was
originally a pioneer Tucson house and now is a historic landmark. The
property is owned by the state and the Arizona Historical Society.
The
exhibit will also have a group of Kino artifacts on loan from the
University of Arizona Library and the Arizona State Museum.
Huerta
says the timing of this event is also important.
"Father
Kino is in the process of going through a canonization eventually
leading to becoming a saint," he says. "So we knew that this
would also be an educational experience for the people here. Kino is a
beloved figure to begin with. He's very unique in our history."
IF
YOU GO
What:
"Homage to Father Kino," an art exhibit and cultural
exchange featuring 33 artists from Italy, Mexico and the United States.
Where:
El Centro Cultural de las Americas, 40 W. Broadway.
When:
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and noon to 4 p.m.
Sundays, Jan. 12-31.
Details:
It's free. For more information, call 621-1481.
FATHER
KINO
Father
Kino was born in the Italian Tyrol (today's northern Italy) in 1645 in
a town called Segno. His family name was originally Chini. He was
first educated in Jesuit colleges, but at age 18 he suffered a serious
illness. He promised his patron saint, St. Francis Xavier, that he
would become a missionary if he recovered. He continued to train to be
a Jesuit until 1677. It was his enthusiastic Jesuit missionary career
that took him from Europe to the New World.
Within
one year of his arrival, he was appointed missionary and cosmographer
for the California Expedition that included Baja California. He
introduced Christianity and the Spanish Empire to what is now a wide
area of southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico. He also
introduced wheat and beef cattle to the region. More than three
centuries after Kino's arrival, the regional Mexican and native diet
is still strongly based on beef, cheese and wheat products.
A rancher
and cattleman, Kino taught the Pimas to diversify and expand their
agriculture. Indians in his various missions numbered 30,000, and he
personally baptized 4,000 converts.
Kino
labored in the Pimerķa Alta until March 1711, when he arrived in
Magdalena to dedicate a new chapel to St. Francis. He fell suddenly
ill and died near midnight on March 15, 1711. He was buried beneath
the floor of the chapel he had come to dedicate. His bones were
rediscovered in 1966, long after the chapel had disappeared. They are
on display in their final resting place in the Magdalena plaza.
Perhaps
Kino is best known for choosing the site of San Xavier Mission in
1700. It was named for his patron saint. Work on the present structure
started about 1783 and was completed in 1997.
There's
also a statue of Kino on horseback along South Kino Parkway.
Sources:
Tucson Citizen archives, University of Arizona
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