Ever imagined what Tucson was like before streetlights, television, and fast-food joints?

Well, downtown Tucson demonstrates the lifestyles of the 18th century.

Eryn Kirkpatrick, Park Staff for the City of Tucson said, “Living History is an event where people come and volunteer to dress up and portray the Presidio as it would have been as if the Spanish were living here.”

The Spanish established a walled fortress, called Presidio San Agustin del Tucson, which eventually became the town we call Tucson.

The presidio was the headquarters of the Spanish army, where early residents protected the Spanish colonists and community.

Hector Soza, the president of Los Descendientes del Presidio de Tucson, is a descendent of Tucson’s past. He is the great, great, great grandchild of Luisa Sosa-Sosa de Munguia.

“My reason for being here is because I serve here as my great, great, great grandfather who was here and I am walking in his footsteps every time I come out here,” said Soza.

Tucson presidio trust for historic preservation is an organization that relives Tucson’s origins every year.

Today’s event marks their closing ceremony, which shows the public how people dressed, ate, and spent their free time.

There are many demonstrations and artifacts presented during this five-hour event. Visitors can walk around an original Hohokam (ho-ho-gham) structure, which dates to the early agricultural period 800 B.C to A.D 50.

“Well knowing about history gives you a knowledge of where you’ve been; it’s kind of like reading a road map. You can’t get to where you’re going if you don’t know where you’re coming from or where you’ve been first,” said Lee Lavorn, a senior of Tombstone High School.

Lewis Hall founded the Tucson Presidio Trust for Historical Preservation in 1984.  

He had two goals; to raise awareness about Arizona’s Spanish and Mexican heritage, and to push for the reconstruction of the fort that stood in what is now downtown Tucson.  

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