WEBVTT

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Hello, everyone.

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[CHUCKLING] It's odd to be
up here after so much time

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but welcome tonight.

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I'm Diana Marie Delgado.

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I'm the Literary Director
of the Poetry Center.

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And tonight, I'm excited
to present an evening

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with Luis Alberto Urrea in what
is our first event after nearly

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two years.

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[APPLAUSE]

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Yes.

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We need to clap.

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We really do need to clap.

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It's been a long time.

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[APPLAUSE]

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This evening is part of the
12th Annual Tucson Humanities

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Festival, which started
as Humanities Week,

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and, through community
outreach, engagement,

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and incredible speakers, has
grown into a month-long series

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of thought-provoking
presentations

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during October each year
to celebrate National Arts

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and Humanities Month.

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We would like to start today
by saying that we respectfully

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acknowledge the
University of Arizona

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is on the land and territories
of Indigenous peoples.

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Today, Arizona is home to 22
federally-recognized tribes,

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with Tucson being home to
the O'odham and the Yaqui.

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Committed to diversity
and inclusion,

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the University strives to
build sustainable relationships

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with sovereign Native nations
and Indigenous communities

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through education
offerings, partnerships,

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and community service.

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We also want to emphasize that
this land acknowledgment is

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a milestone in our ongoing
dialogue with the Tohono

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O'odham, the Pascua
Yaqui, and the 20

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other federally-recognized
tribes in the state.

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It is an indicator of our
commitment to collaboration

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and to maintaining
government-to-government

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relationships with the
Native nations and Indigenous

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communities with whom
we share this region.

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This year's festival
theme is storytelling.

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And we'd like to thank
our sponsors who help make

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tonight's event and the festival
possible, Dorrance Foundation,

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Arizona Humanities, Humanities
Seminars Program, and Bookmans

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Entertainment Exchange.

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We are also excited to
offer tonight's presentation

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to a wide audience at
home through livestream

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and captioning provided
by the Town of Oro Valley.

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In addition, tonight's event
is sponsored by the Borchard

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Foundation Center on Literary
Arts, a foundation established

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to create a community
of literary artists

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from across the
Americas to foster

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meaningful connections
between people, culture,

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and the natural world.

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Michael Spurgeon, who was
here to offer a few words,

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unfortunately is
in airport hell.

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We wish him safe
travels, but we're

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hoping that we do see
him later on tonight.

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But he was planning to be here.

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But sadly, he's got
caught in that turmoil.

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A few just key things.

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We have books for sale.

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I mean, I don't
know how long it's

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been since you've gone out
in-person and bought a book,

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but get a book tonight.

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Right?

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Get a book for someone else.

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Christmas is coming.

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Luis has done an amazing
job in signing book plates,

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so every book that
you purchase will

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have a bookplate that
has his signature,

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an original signature from Luis.

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So please, take time.

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That will happen after
the reading briefly.

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The other thing
I want to mention

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is, once Luis
finishes the reading,

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I'm going to come back up and
just say a few closing remarks.

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So just, if you
don't mind, not like

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running out right after the
reading to get your book.

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Just take a few
moments, and I'm just

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going to just remind
everyone of a few things

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that we have coming up in the
Humanities Festival as well

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as the Poetry Center.

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So I was in charge of
potentially writing

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an introduction for Luis.

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And I went back and
forth reading his books,

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and I thought, man, this guy
doesn't need an introduction.

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There's nothing really that
I can write that is new

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or that can really
encapsulate just the genius

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and the impact that his work has
made, not only on just readers

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but also specifically
Latino communities.

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Right?

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Personally.

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So I'm going to go just
for an introduction.

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If you don't know
about some of his work,

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it's more of a biography.

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And then we're going
to have Luis come up,

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and then you can kind
of hear firsthand

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just why I didn't write
that introduction.

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[LAUGHING]

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Luis Alberto Urrea
is the critically

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acclaimed and
best-selling author

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of 18 books of fiction,
poetry, and nonfiction.

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He's a Pulitzer finalist;
a Guggenheim fellow;

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has won an Edgar, an
American book award;

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and is an inaugural fellow
for the Borchard Foundation.

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Born in Tijuana to a Mexican
father and American mother,

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Urrea uses his dual-culture
life experiences

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to explore greater themes
of loss, love, and triumph.

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Urrea has lived and
written in Tucson

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and received the 2019 Tucson
Festival of Books Founders

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Award.

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His most recent book is
The House of Broken Angels

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and was a finalist for the
National Book Critics Circle

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Award and New York
Times notable book.

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Everyone, please give a
warm round of applause

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for Luis Alberto Urrea.

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[APPLAUSE]

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