Telling the Stories of Urban Change in the Borderlands

For Lydia Otero, researching the history of the Southwest is personal and political. Growing up in Tucson, Arizona, their family frequented a place they called La Calle that was bustling with shops and pedestrians. The family did not own a car, so they walked there.

Soon, the construction of I-10 through the city divided them from La Calle. Then, while Otero was living in Los Angeles working as an electrician and becoming active in LGBT+ organizing, La Calle was torn down as part of Tucson’s urban renewal initiative.

Otero decided to become the person to tell these stories. They returned to Tucson to pursue a PhD in history at the University of Arizona, where they later worked as a professor of Mexican American studies. They are the author of four books: La Calle, a history of urban renewal in Tucson; In the Shadows of the Freeway and L.A. Interchanges, both memoirs; and the new Storied Property: María Cordova’s Casa, which tells the story of one woman’s resistance to urban renewal and her efforts to save what Otero calls “the most important house in Tucson.”

For this episode of the Border Chronicle Podcast, reporter and editor Caroline Tracey is joined by Otero to discuss their life and work.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone familiar with Tucson, Arizona and anyone interested in doing their own place-based historical research and memoir writing.