Greetings from Tucson

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Greetings from Tucson is a television sitcom which aired on The WB during the 2002-2003 season. The series was executive produced by Rob LaZebnik (The Simpsons), Peter Murrieta (Second City), Howard Klein (King of the Hill) and David Miner.

Though reviews were mixed, critics applauded the abilities of the mostly-Latino cast, calling the show "a welcome addition to TV's largely white landscape," ^[1] and compared its premise to I Love Lucy, The Jeffersons and the thought-provoking 1970s comedies of Norman Lear.

1 Plot summary
2 Cast
3 Portrayal/Visual connection to Tucson
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The show's title was meant to imitate the caption of a postcard, and the title sequence displayed the cast and credits on a series of postcards. The same visual device was used to transition between scenes. The show's theme song was performed by Los Lobos.

Greetings From Tucson was based on the life of series creator Peter Murrieta. The stories were seen through the eyes of 15-year-old David Tiant (Pablo Santos), the oldest child in an ethnically-mixed, upwardly mobile family. His father Joaquin (Julio Oscar Mechoso) was a proud, pragmatic Mexican-American; his mother was a fiesty Irish-American. His older sister (Aimee Garcia) was a socially-active cheerleader who rejected her Mexican roots and insisted she was Spanish.

In the pilot episode, the audience was told that Joaquin was awarded a major promotion at the copper mine, enabling him to move his family to a better neighborhood. The Tiants' last house was in such an impoverished area that it had bars on the windows and was subject to frequent police helicopter flyovers. The pilot episode took place six months after the Tiants moved.

Greetings From Tucson attempted to examine and dissect small-minded suburban bigotry, as well as themes of cultural identity, family and class. For example, in one scene, a Caucasian neighbor tells Ms. Tiant, "We were thinking of getting some work done in our yard, and I saw those Mexicans building a wall for you. I hear they're really good, and those guys look trustworthy. Maybe I could get their number from you." "Those guys," in fact, are Joaquin and his brother.

The series also lampooned stereotypes of Mexican culture, and used them self-deprecatingly. In one episode, young David enters a clothing store, family in tow, and proclaims, "Of all the parts of my Mexican heritage that I'm most proud of, taking the extended family to the mall in one car to buy one item is probably my favorite." When Ms. Tiant hears that her daughter has been telling people that her family is Spanish, she replies, "She lies like a Spaniard."

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Cast

Pablo Santos as David Tiant
Aimee Garcia as Maria Tiant
Sara Paxton as Sarah Tobin
Bobby Chavez as Daniel Tiant
Rebecca Creskoff as Elizabeth Tiant
Julio Oscar Mechoso as Joaquin Tiant
Lupe Ontiveros as Magdalena Tiant
Jacob Vargas as Ernesto Tiant

Ironically, Santos spoke both Spanish and English completely devoid of accent, so he had to affect a Mexican accent for the role.

[edit] Portrayal/Visual connection to Tucson

Despite the word "Tucson" in the show's title, the city of Tucson, AZ did not figure prominently in its plot. No mentions were made of the searing summer heat, Saguaro cacti, the Arizona Wildcats, or any other geographically-specific references.

The series sometimes featured logos from Tucson-specific companies, such as eegee's. However, the outdoor set decor of the Tiants' home was closer to a house from Miami, Florida or Phoenix, Arizona than what one would see with a typical Tucson yard.