“Kino Missions Tour”

Kino mission church and campo santo at Oquitoa, Sonora; photograph by Dale Brenneman

This Kino Missions Tour into Sonora, Mexico is sponsored by the Southwestern Mission Research Center (SMRC), and will be conducted April 8-10 (Fri-Sun), 2016.* More than 300 years ago, a tireless Jesuit priest by the name of Eusebio Francisco Kino made countless forays on horseback throughout much of what is now the northern Mexican state of Sonora and Arizona. Father Kino brought with him ideas and material culture – chiefly the Christian faith, the Spanish language, cattle, and crops – that would change the region deeply and forever. Join SMRC volunteers in retracing the steps of Kino and the missionaries who followed him. You’ll be guided by scholars and enthusiasts who know and love the region and volunteer their time to share it with others. Along the way you’ll stand in awe before the evocative church ruins of Cocóspera and Átil, marvel at the mysteries of the spectral paintings on the church walls at Pitiquito, delight in the exuberance of Magdalena, take in the simple beauty of Oquitoa, and bask in the rosy glow on the setting sun as it reflects off the twin towers of Caborca’s mission. You’ll take a side trip into prehistory with a visit to the archaeological site of Trincheras and its new museum. You’ll lunch al fresco near the river at Tubutama and in the shade of quince trees watered by the centuries-old acequia just across from San Ignacio’s church. And at day’s end, you’ll savor dinner and margaritas on the patio of our host hotel. Best of all, you’ll have many opportunities to meet the open and friendly people of Sonora whose traditions, language, and ethnicity combine the region’s Native and Spanish cultures, representing the best of both worlds. And for this tour only, we’ll be joined by Tucson’s Troubadour, Teodoro “Ted” Ramírez, whose roots in this region go deep to the founding of Tucson’s Presidio San Agustín in 1776.
* This is not an Old Pueblo Archaeology Center event. Passport is required. Reservation deadline March 1. For more information contact Monica Young at 520-621-6278 or mzyoung@email.arizona.edu. The cost of $525 per person includes transportation, lodging (double occupancy), and meals. Tour group will depart from Hotel Tucson City Center InnSuites, 475 N. Granada Ave., Tucson.