Rosano, Aureleo
Part 1 of 2 was recorded at Aureleo Rosano’s house in Tortolita, Arizona on February 19th, 2018 and covers the following themes:
A brief overview of Rosano’s life in Connecticut from 1939 to 1960.
Move to Tucson in 1960, work at Arroyo Café and El Conquistador Hotel.
First impressions of the city: ease of employment, presence of Hollywood celebrities, transience of Tucsonans. Cultural differences between New England and Tucson.
Miracle Mile in 1960. The Tucson House. Nightlife.
Interest in art and the Tucson art scene in during the 1960s.
Planting trees and the move of California nurseries into the Tucson market.
Ash Alley. Rosano’s relationship to beat culture.
Traffic in 1960s Tucson.
The Rodeo Parade.
Tombstone in the 1960s.
First exposure of mariachi music and novelty of Mexican food in the early 1960s.
National Guard experience in 1963. American advisors in Vietnam. Rosano’s training. Cuban Missile Crisis.
Rosano’s real estate speculation and purchase of apartments in the 1960s.
The development of Casas Adobes and growth of the faux-ranch lifestyle.
Tucson’s eastward expansion during the 1960s.
Rosano’s scooter trip across America in the early 1960s.
Part 2 of 2 and was recorded at Aureleo Rosano’s house in Tortolita, Arizona on February 28th, 2018 and covers the following themes:
East Tucson during the mid-1960s.
Social groups in Rosano’s life during the sixties.
Purchasing apartments, Tucson’s volatile housing market, and working with locally owned banks.
Urban renewal and historic preservation. Myer Avenue before renewal.
Work at Hughes Aircraft and descriptions of work, promotion, and facilities.
The cultural sixties in Tucson.
Aureleo’s art during the 1960s and 1970s.
Building an adobe house in the Tortolitas during the early 1970s and the surrounding area.
1973 oil crisis.
Work with Johnson Controls as pneumatic technician, pipefitting, steamfitting, and working in underground mines in Superior, AZ.
Parenting and schools.
Changes over Aureleo’s life. Decreased buying power of regular people. Changes in the viability of art as a career.