KXCI Conversations

KXCI DJ Miranda Schubert sits down once again with Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly to talk about upcoming deadlines for the General Election, why it’s important to vote, and how to help encourage others to vote, too!  For important voting information, including voting center locations, FAQs, and deadlines, you can visit the Pima County Recorder’s Office website (recorder.pima.gov) or call (520) 724-4330. Last day to register to vote for General Election: Tuesday, October 11, 2022 Early ballots mailed: Wednesday, October 12, 2022 In-person early voting:  Wednesday, October 12, through Friday, November 4, 2022 Recommended last day to mail ballot: Tuesday, November 1, 2022 Election Day: Tuesday, November 8, 2022; Vote Centers open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Photo courtesy of the Arizona Mirror   Gabriella Cázares-Kelly was elected Pima County Recorder in November 2020 and began her administration in January 2021. She leads an office that oversees voter registration, early voting, and document recording for Pima County. She is a proud, union-dues-paying, former public school educator and community organizer. She is one of four women who co-founded Indivisible Tohono, a grassroots, community organization that provides education and civic-engagement opportunities for members of her tribe, the Tohono O’odham Nation. She was inspired to run for office after encountering many systemic barriers preventing people from simply registering to vote. She is a proud product of Pima Community College and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University. She lives in Tucson with her husband, Ryan, and their two children, who are now of voting age. She enjoys writing, drawing, and documenting her observations as a 21st Century Native American on social media. She is the first Native American to hold an elected Pima County office and the third Native American to hold a county-level office in the State of Arizona   

KXCI DJ Miranda Schubert (she/her) and Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly (she/her) discuss key information about voting in the upcoming Primary Election. Did you know the most effective way to GOTV (Get Out The Vote) is to talk to your friends & family about their voting plan? Gabriella Cázares-Kelly was elected Pima County Recorder in November 2020 and began her administration in January 2021. She leads an office that oversees voter registration, early voting, and document recording for Pima County. She is a proud, union-dues-paying, former public school educator and community organizer. She is one of four women who co-founded Indivisible Tohono, a grassroots, community organization that provides education and civic-engagement opportunities for members of her tribe, the Tohono O’odham Nation. She was inspired to run for office after encountering many systemic barriers preventing people from simply registering to vote. She is a proud product of Pima Community College and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University. She lives in Tucson with her husband, Ryan, and their two children, who are now of voting age. She enjoys writing, drawing, and documenting her observations as a 21st Century Native American on social media. She is the first Native American to hold an elected Pima County office and the third Native American to hold a county-level office in the State of Arizona. Photo courtesy of Pima County Recorder’s Office website (recorder.pima.gov)   Tune in to this KXCI Conversation about important voting deadlines, how to vote if you’re going to be out of town, what the deal is with the new voting centers, and more! Listen to the full conversation by clicking the link above! To listen to the mini-program version, you can click below! For important voting information, including voting center locations, FAQs, and deadlines, you can visit the Pima County Recorder’s Office website (recorder.pima.gov) or call (520) 724-4330.   https://kxci.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/KXCI-Conversation-Gabriella-Cazares-Kelly-with-bed-music-ffor-AIR.mp3

Ernesto Portillo Jr. talks with Steve Carrillo from Mariachi Cobre celebrating 51 years of beautiful music beginning in Tucson and then moving on to Florida. Cobre is an iconic group. Its roots stretch to the early 60s when its core members were part of Los Changuitos Feos de Tucson, one, if not the first youth mariachi group in the US. The Changuitos paved the way for youth mariachi groups to spread in Tucson and elsewhere. After Mariachi Cobre was formed, Steve and his elder brother Randy, now retired, were key in beginning the Tucson International Mariachi Conference in the early 80s, which lead to other similar mariachi festivals in the US. Photo courtesy of Mariachi Cobre from 2018: front row, left to right are: Stephen Carrillo, Luis Ranjel, Randy Carrillo, Omar Olivas, Miguel Molina; back row, left to right: Arturo Pasalagua, Joe Baca, Pablo Hector Gama, Carlos Gama, Israel Molina Ernesto and Steve talk about the 40-year history of the Tucson International Mariachi Conference, working with youth and education, and their relationship with Linda Ronstadt. They also discuss the events of this coming Saturday, May 7  the naming of TCC Music Hall in honor of Linda Ronstadt, and a special presentation from Mariachi Cobre at the 40th International Mariachi Conference. This interview features two songs from Mariachi Cobre: Las Tres Huastecas and El Silencio de la Noche.  

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero joins KXCI’s Executive Director, Elva De La Torre, to discuss plans to rename the TCC Music Hall in honor of Linda Ronstadt. The ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 7th during the 40th International Mariachi Conference. The venue will be formally named during the Espectacular Concert and will honor the multi-Grammy winning Tucson Native.  

Elva spoke with Maribel Alvarez, Folklorist and Program Manager with Tucson Meet Yourself about how the festival has adapted for 2020.

KP Papaioannou speaks with Elva De La Torre about BLAX Friday Night Live and the effort around BLAX Friday to support Black-owned businesses in Tucson.

Elva De La Torre recently spoke with members of the Arizona Youth Climate Strike who will hold a march and rally on Wednesday, December 6th from 2:30-5pm at Jacome Plaza. The event coincides with the COP20 international event taking place in Madrid, Spain.

Bridgitte Thum talks with local comedian Rich Gary about Carcajadas: Una Noche De Comedia (Stand Up + Improv all in Spanish)! Part of the Tucson Comedy Arts Festival at Tucson Improv Movement Saturday, November 9, 2019 7:30 PM 414 East 9th Street More information can be found at tucsonimprov.com  

Daniel and Kyle talk with Bridgitte Thum about what’s going on in our world. This Friday from 4:30 to 6:30, there will be a Youth-Led Movement to advocate for climate action in Arizona. Lots of humans will be at El Presidio Park, 160 W. Alameda, wearing green and demanding action to declare a climate emergency.

KXCI has a conversation with Galen McCaw the organizer of the free screening of Not Alone which includes a resource fair on the patio with community mental health organizations and a post-screening panel discussion. https://loftcinema.org/film/not-alone/ http://not-alone.live/ Suicide is the second-leading cause of death amongst youth ages 10-24 in Pima County. The data about mental health and suicide among college students nationwide is also sobering. Reducing the impact of suicide on our community begins with storytelling, conversation, and sharing of outreach and counseling resources. Join us for a screening of the documentary Not Alone, featuring the stories of high school students who have struggled with mental illness and suicidal ideation and how sharing their stories helped keep them alive. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Joronda Montaño, Exec. Director of notMYkid, Rezwana Islam, UA Public Health major and LGBTQ advocate, Ernestina Limon, former Pima County Health Department Community Mental Health and Addiction Program Coordinator, and Darin Knapp, UA Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Assistant Professor of Practice. The panel will be moderated by Bonnie Kneller, Tucson High School Lead School Social Worker. We invite you to engage in a conversation about promoting mental health in our community and preventing suicide in our student population. There will be resource tables with information on local mental health treatment, education, and outreach organizations on the patio at 5:30pm before the screening. Organizations in attendance include: ● National Alliance on Mental Illness – Southern Arizona ● Help & Hope for YOUth ● notMYkid ● UA Campus Health: Counseling and Psych Services ● Active Minds – UA Chapter ● Text, Talk, & Act ● Palo Verde Behavioral Health ● La Frontera ● COPE Community Services ● CODAC Health, Recovery, and Wellness ● Banner – University Medicine Crisis Response Center ● Epilogue Podcast Project

Melanie & Rambo from The Nerd Gym speak with Bridgitte about their groundbreaking event. Muscles! is the first Gender Neutral Strength and Bodybuilding Competition in the World! for more information contact [email protected]

Macy Cummings and Alycia Ruffin from the Tucson Museum of Art Teen Council joined Elva De La Torre in the studio to talk about their work and their recent event.  The TMA Teen Council is a group of diverse high-school students from all over Tucson who meet once a week to brainstorm and design programs, events, and resources for their peers. The group works on skill building in the areas of communication, critical thinking, as well as leadership skills. Members have the opportunity to meet contemporary artists, make new friends, go behind the scenes of the museum, and shape what’s happening at the Tucson Museum of Art. 

Jenny Lewis talks with KXCI’s Jennie Grabel about her new album “On The Line”, on the week of it’s release. We get the scoop on the songwriting behind the new album, perspective on pitfalls of modern communication and social medial in the life  of a professional musician, the band that she’s bringing on tour and some reasons why she loves Tucson. Jenny will be in Tucson on May 13th at The Rialto Theatre, KXCI Presents!

Pastor Margaret Redmond McFaddin from Prince Chapel A.M.E. Church and Bryan Davis, Executive Director of the Jewish History Museum, joined Elva De La Torre, KXCI Director of Outreach, for a conversation about a Gallery Chat taking place on Friday, May 17th at 11am at The Jewish History Museum. The Gallery Chat is entitled Neighbors and is about the historical collaboration between the Church and the Synagogue that have been Armory Park neighbors for years. The Chat will focus on a historical photograph that is on display in the Museum. KXCI is proud to join our neighbors in presenting this Gallery Chat. Information on the May 17th Gallery Chat  Neighbors

Yuvennice Caraveo, Gabriela Cazares-Kelly, and Lydio Otero recently joined Elva De La Torre in the KXCI studios to talk about being recognized by The Arizona César E. Chávez Holiday Coalition at their 6th Annual Dolores Huerta Celebración de la Mujer. The Celebration is named after Dolores Huerta who co-founded the United Farm Workers Union, and one of the most prominent Latina leaders of our lifetime. She went on to found the Dolores Huerta Foundation, devoted to community organizing, developing leadership skills, and encouraging civic engagement. Dolores Huerta has received multiple honors and recognition, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. The full conversation is here: https://kxci.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/KXCI-Conversation-Dolores-Huerta-Full-version.mp3 Ms. Yuvennice Caraveo, The Consuelo Aguilar Esperanza Award Ms. Caraveo attends Cholla High School and at a young age has already organized around many issues both at her school and in the community. She is dedicated to forging alliances and ensuring the voices of the most affected are at the center of what she does.  Ms. Gabriella Cázares-Kelly, The Mujer En La Lucha Award Gabriella has dedicated her life to advocating and fighting for her community. From working with youth in and outside of high school and higher education to organizing voter registration efforts across the Tohono O’odham Nation to founding Indivisible Tohono, she has helped forge a new path for the O’odham people, and especially women. Dr. Lydia Otero, The Si Se Puede Legacy Award Dr. Otero’s contribution to the preservation of the history of Tucson should be celebrated as a symbol of love for our City. Dr. Otero’s deep sense of fostering leadership and mentoring those from marginalized communities has spanned a career of 30 years. Her dedication to scholarship, mentorship, community service and advocacy has had a profound impact on all of us. Dolores Huerta    

Ryley Walker is opening up for Richard Thompson in Tucson and David of KXCI’s Observations Of Deviance did an interview with the guitarist and indie folk rock musician. KXCI Presents! The Richard Thompson Electric Trio with Ryley Walker opening at The Fox Theatre on February 17th. Tickets and More Info Observations of Deviance is an all vinyl, free form program that harkens back to early days of underground FM radio.  Your host, David, hunts down the most exotic, unusual and off-the-beaten-track music from the around the world in a number of genres: Spiritual Jazz, Free Improvisation, Experimental Electronics, Ethnographic Oddities and World-Wide Psychedelic Funk. You are guaranteed to hear sounds you’ve never heard before. Observations of Deviance Photo by William van der Voort

KXCI Director of Outreach, Elva De La Torre, recently spoke with Delisa Patricio and Mercedes Marquez from United Way of Tucson’s Youth Leadership Council. They discussed the upcoming Backpack Project art installation taking place at the University of Arizona Mall on October 31st. The Backpack Project seeks to amplify and complicate the current conversation about the existence of Opportunity Youth, young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are not in school and not working due to economic, social, and educational barriers. For more information visit – https://www.unitedwaytucson.org/backpackproject

In Today’s KXCI Conversation, poet and scholar Dawn Lundy Martin is interviewed by Liz Burden last year about the kind of playing around in language and form that the black women writers in the new anthology Letters to the Future are doing. Dawn, along with 3 other contributing writers, will be in town for the Kore Press Letters to the Future book launch, reading and exhibition viewing this Thursday at Tucson Museum of Art 6-8pm, and the Visioning New Futures Salon on Fri at the Dunbar Pavilion, 4:30-6pm, followed by a potluck.

Listen to the full KXCI Conversation  here! Videotronyxz is a film written and directed by Brendan Taylor, starring Brandon Mindel. They came to KXCI’s Congress Street Studio to talk with Bridgitte Thum about it. You can see the film for yourself on Sunday Oct 7,  7:30 pm The Screening Room  For more information visit tucsonfilmandmusicfestival.com      

Rest In Peace Geoff Emerick passed away on Oct 2, 2018. He was an English recording studio audio engineer. He worked with The Beatles on their albums Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles and Abbey Road. Here he is talking with KXCI’s own Al Perry in his last recorded interview.     recorded by Bridgitte Thum

Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild recently came in to the KXCI studio and sat down for a conversation with Elva De La Torre. The Mayor will be hosting a Homebuyer Expo on Saturday, September 29th from 10am to 10m at Catalina High School gym, 36445 E. Pima St. The event is free and open to the public. This episode of KXCI Conversations was recorded and produced by Elva De La Torre.

Roger Dodger of KXCI’s Search and Rescue did an interview with Greg Kihn that covers the new Rekindled album, Weird Al, cover songs, San Francisco Bands and his concert on Sunday Aug. 19th at AVA Ampitheater with Tommy Tutone, Loverboy and Rick Springfield. Info and tickets – AVA Amphitheater, Sunday, August 19 at 7:00 PM

Steve Martin and Martin Short have a conversation with KXCI’s  Jennie G. They will be performing in an “An Evening You Will Forget For The Rest Of Your Life” at the Tucson Arena on Sunday, August 26 at 7:30 pm. KXCI Tucson 91.3 FM is thrilled to have the opportunity to sit down and chat with a variety of guests from near and far to discuss upcoming events, community gatherings and so much more. More information and tickets are available at the Tucson Convention Center Ticket Office.