El Rapido Stories: A Reading & Dinner Celebrating The Molino

In 1933 Aurelio Perez opened El Rapido, one of Tucson's first molinos de nixtamal, in the historic Presidio District. By the 1980's four generations of the family had worked the tamaleria and tortilleria, providing some of the best Mexican food in the city until its sudden closing at the end of the millennium. Today, the barrio has changed and the lunch counter is gone, but not all the stories are forgotten.

This special reading and dinner, catered by former owner Tony Peyron, will honor and celebrate El Rapido stories!

In a work-in-progress memoir titled The Molino, Aurelio Perez's great-granddaughter, Melani "Mele" Martinez, records her memories of the kitchen, the family, and the closing of El Rapido on Christmas Eve 2000. Awarded the New Works Grant by the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona, Martinez explores the conversion of family, faith, and food traditions in the ever-changing downtown Tucson community. The cross-genre work features imagery of the Tucson city landscape, the iconic storefront mural (The Sleepy Mexican), and the molino (corn-grinding machine). These symbols provide gateways into a history of gentrification and resistance, poverty and progress, food insecurity and gastronomic abundance.

Doors open at 6:00 pm

Food catered by the Peyron family.

Readings from The Molino and from guest food writers.

Zines available for purchase.

Limited Seating.

RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/yxexsze7

Suggested Donation $10