Tucson is also called The Old Pueblo, as a reference to the traditional communities, known as Pueblos, who lived in southern Arizona 12,000 years ago. The name Tucson derives from the Spanish word Tucsón, which roughly means “at the base of the black”. The black symbolizes the volcanic mountain near the city.
Tucson has only two major seasons: summer and winter. The summers here are characterized by high temperatures both daytime and overnight. Temperatures during summers are generally between 37 °C and 41 °C. The winters, if compared to other cities in the US, are mild. Snowfalls can be experienced but it’s not usual. The daytime temperatures can exceed 20 °C. In mid June or in late July the monsoon minor season begins, which brings heavy rains.
The majority of the population is under 44, roughly 70%. The median age is around 32 years. Two demographic explosions took place in Tucson. The first one was around 1870, when the city’s population became 3,215 which is a 350% growth. The second one was in the 1960s when Tucson surpassed the 100,000 limit, but also doubled it. In the 1950s, there were around 45,000 residents, while the 1960 census showed a population of over 200,000. Since there are written evidences the city’s population never dropped, these days having over half a million. This proves that Tucson has the potential to become a major city in the US.
Tucson has two main industries that provide jobs for its citizens. One is the high-tech industry. Many famous technology companies have significant presence in the city. These include IBM, Texas Instruments and Universal Avionics. The town also earned a “Silicon Valley” styled nickname: “Optics Valley”. The reason of this is that the city has around 150 companies in the optics industry. These companies also organize a variety of events including concerts as well as science expositions. These events are popular attractions for tourist. This way we made it clear which is the other important industry in Tucson, the tourism. The city takes advantage of its geographical position. Both if we look at the climate properties of at the fact that is very close to the US-Mexico border.
Sonora is the Mexican state that is near Arizona. A large number of middle and upper class Sonorans are shopping in Tucson. The main reason of this is that here they can find many products that are not available in Mexico. While they are in the city they spend their money in different shops, restaurants and many times also their time in hotels and local events.
There is also another very important layer of tourists who return yearly and often stay in Tucson for months. These are the so-called “snowbirds” are winter residents of Tucson because of its mild winters. These snowbirds arrive in the city in various ways including with RVs. They are called “perpetual travelers”. Those who don’t want to stay in a mobile home or simply have enough money simply buy a home in Tucson and use it as a vacation home.
Not only the climate makes the tourist visit Tucson, but its rich cultural life. The city gives home to six major annual fairs. The fist one takes place in February and lasts two weeks. This is the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show, which is the largest of its kind in the world. An estimated 50,000 people visit this festival from dozens of countries. Another festival is held for more than 20 years and takes place in the first weekend of May. This is known as the Tucson Folk Festival, which gives the chance for local acts to perform on the same stage as the famous bands whop headline the fest. A street festival takes place even twice in a year – in March and December – and it’s called Fourth Avenue Street Fair. From the 1970s on there are many street performers, art booths, food vendors and thrift shops to serve attendants. In addition, the rodeo season’s first rodeo the Fiesta de los Vaqueros, is held here.
The city has many historical festivals, like the Tucson Meet Yourself, which was first held 30 years ago. This fest gives an opportunity for Tucson’s many ethic groups to study each other’s culture. Maybe the largest festival held in the city is the All Souls Procession Weekend, which is organized to celebrate loved and deceased ones. Over the years, due to its popularity, the fest kept getting longer, and from 2006 on is a 4-day long series of events.
Tucson is a popular location for car tuners and hot-rodders, because of its location on Sunbelt. The men’s basketball and women’s softball teams got strong local interest. Many MLB clubs train in the great Tucson area during summer and they make up the Cactus League, which includes the Chicago White Sox and Clubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels of Anaheim and Oakland Athletics among others. There is also a racetrack, which hosts NASCAR-sanctioned racing events.
Tucson is one of the eight cities in the US that received gold rating from the League of American Bicyclists. Because of this the city can be called a cyclist heaven even in winter. The presence of several mountain and road trail that the city has makes possible for Tucson to hold an annual cycling event, the Tour de Tucson. The city is not lacking a water sport team neither, there are even two NCAA champions – both the men and women swim teams won recently the championship. For skiers the surrounding mountains provide the slopes necessary to enjoy the winter months. Tucson even has its own network consisting of five golf courses, which has beautiful scenery.
It’s hard to count how many major movies and TV shows were shot here. It’s even harder to count the songs that feature Tucson. Even The Beatles wrote a song about the city, the “Get Back”. The ethic and cultural variety is only strengthened by the fact that Tucson has sister cities in Kazakhstan, China, Taiwan, Hungary and even Mauritania.
Tucson is a great location to spend you holidays because of its tourist-oriented services, which are a guarantee to satisfaction.
