Matrimonial Mural – A Unique Wedding Gift Story with Micheal Haley
Welcome to another episode of Life Along The Streetcar Podcast! This week, we’re exploring a story of love, nature, and artistry set against the backdrop of Jefferson Park, Tucson.
When Micheal Haley and Erin decided to celebrate their union, they chose an unconventional canvas: their backyard wall. With the help of local artist, Ignacio Garcia, the couple painted their journey, passion, and community spirit for all to see. As you settle in to listen, you’ll be taken on a journey that navigates the ebbs and flows of life, relationships, and the vibrant culture of Tucson’s street art scene.
Episode Highlights:
- Micheal & Erin’s Love Story: The serendipity of their online meeting and the growth of their relationship amidst a challenging year.
- The Environmental Connection: How a shared passion for the environment led to the creation of their backyard oasis.
- Ignacio Garcia’s Artistry: The process and inspiration behind one of Tucson’s most celebrated muralists.
- Wildlife Visitors: Tales of the enchanting creatures that frequented their garden, now immortalized in their mural.
- Tucson’s Street Art Culture: A deeper dive into how local art reflects the heart and soul of the community.
- Lessons from 2020: Reflecting on the challenges, resilience, and love during the global pandemic.
Listen to the Episode:
Press play below to immerse yourself in Micheal’s captivating narrative. Let the melodies of love, art, and nature resonate with your heart.
Life Along The Streetcar Podcast is dedicated to bringing you stories from the heart of Tucson. Each episode captures the spirit, culture, and heritage of the local community. If you loved what you heard, don’t forget to share with friends and family, and leave us a review!
Transcript (Unedited)
Tom Heath
Good morning. It’s a beautiful Sunday in the old Pueblo and you’re listening to KT DT, the Tucson. Thank you for spending a part of your brunch hour with us on your downtown Tucson community sponsored, all volunteer powered rock and roll radio station. On this week’s show, we’re going to speak with Michael Haley. A Jefferson Park resident got married earlier this year, and he and his wife Aaron celebrated with a very unique wedding gift that the entire neighborhood is talking about. Today is August 27, 2023. My name is Tom Heath and you’re listening to life along the streetcar. Each and every Sunday, our focus is on social, cultural, and economic impacts in Tucson’s urban core, and we shed light on hidden gems everyone should know about, from a mountain to University of Arizona and all stops in between. You get the inside track right here on 99.1 FM, streaming on downtownradio.org. We are also available on your iPhone or Android by using our very own Downtown Radio Tucson app. And of course,
Tom Heath
if you want to get us here on the show, head over to Instagram and Facebook. That’s the best way to tag us and such. And our website is lifelongthstreetcar.org, which has information about all our past episodes, contact info, and details about our book. And we always invite you to listen to the rebroadcast of this as a podcast on platforms like Spotify, itunes, iHeartRadio, and a lot of places where you’re going to find your favorite podcasts. Well, I did it again. Last year I said I wasn’t going to do it, but this year I did it again. I missed Tucson’s birthday. That’s two years in a row we have not done a show when the birthday has fallen that week, and I’m embarrassed. This is a show about the urban core and so much of the Tucson’s history is right here. And we forgot to say happy birthday. Now we celebrate the more modern European birthday that represents when the Spanish established the Presidia Museum, which was about 248 years and eight days ago. And we know that there’s a lot more
Tom Heath
history, thousands of years of history in this region. But from Tucson, we consider Hugo Okana, or Hugo Okanor, as the Spanish called him, as our founding father. And last week we celebrated 248 years of being Tucson. Maybe I’ll do better next year. Or just really ramp up for 250. That’s probably what I’ll do. Well, think about this. You get married and you throw a big party and all your friends come and you get gifts and blenders and food processors and kitchen appliances and such. What if instead of that, you got something that would demonstrate your connectedness to your partner and be something the entire neighborhood could celebrate? Well, that’s what happened with our guest today, Michael Haley. He and his wife Aaron married earlier this year. And as a gift to themselves, they put on their registry that they wanted a mural and there is enough funds from their friends to do so. And they were fortunate enough to get Ignacio Garcia, one of our celebrated muralists here in Tucson, to
Tom Heath
paint a very special wall. And not only is it for them, but it’s visible, and the entire neighborhood gets to enjoy it. So I had a chance to talk with Michael by phone a couple of days ago and get the story as how this matrimonial mural came to be.
Tom Heath
We are joined by Michael Haley. He and his wife Aaron married earlier this year, and as a special matrimonial gift, they ended up with a mural by our local Ignacio Garcia and thought that was a really fun story. So, of course, we reached out.
Tom Heath
Michael, thanks for taking some time.
Michael Haley
Happy to be here.
Tom Heath
So let’s start a little bit about the important stuff. How did you and Aaron meet? Are you from both from Tucson?
Michael Haley
Aaron is a Peace Corps veteran or whatever. The Peace Corps in an island nation called Nanowatu, and the U of A has really strong incentives for returning Peace Corps people for grad school. So that was how she ended up here. I am originally from Phoenix, and I came to Tucson in 2003 to go to UA.
Tom Heath
Okay, so you are from different parts of the world, and Tucson is what brought you together.
Michael Haley
Yeah, we met online in 2018, and the rest is history.
Tom Heath
So you met just before COVID and kind of suffered through that and decided that if you can survive that, you might as well just get married.
Michael Haley
Oh, well, I mean, having each other during the pandemic was just it was everything. I had recently moved in with her, where we live now, where the mural is. I moved in about four months before, and I can’t imagine what it would have been like if we didn’t have each other.
Tom Heath
Yeah, I can imagine that as well. It was definitely an interesting time for all of us. And then you decided you got married earlier this year? I saw April yes, April 15, tax day.
Michael Haley
Oh, good.
Tom Heath
Yes. Something to look forward every day, every year, when you’re paying your taxes, you have something to look forward to. That’s pretty smart, because as you’ve been married for a while, sometimes you forget the anniversary date. So you’ve made it hard.
Michael Haley
It’ll be easy. Yeah, exactly. I’ll probably need that in 20 years.
Tom Heath
Let’s talk about this idea of a mural. Was this something that the two of you discussed?
Tom Heath
Was it a family?
Tom Heath
How did it come about that you said, to celebrate our marriage and our love, we want to have a mural in our yard.
Michael Haley
Well, I lived downtown in the downtown area in 2016 to 2018, roughly. I bounced around a lot, but I was walking one night, and I saw one of Ignacio’s murals downtown, the one that depicts Bill Walton riding a jackalo. And I had just been watching a U of a basketball game where Walton was announcing. And if you’re familiar with him, he’s a hippie. He says the wackiest stuff during the broadcast, and it’s just so fun. And I saw that mural, and I thought to myself, like, wow, this artist understands me. I mean, that telling you in cheek, but it was just so perfect for what I had just watched on TV and listened. I’m a basketball fan. So I was like, that guy’s cool. And I just started seeing his art all over town and just kind of became a fan. And I don’t know, I like the you know, I wanted one day to have my own mural, preferably by Ignacio. It was like a dream of mine. I didn’t necessarily think it would ever happen, but it had been a dream of mine for a long time. And when Erin and I were
Michael Haley
planning our wedding, we decided to forego a registry, and we just offered people, our guests, if they wanted to give a gift, they could give money in support of a mural or honeymoon or donate to the Cat Hermitage. Some people did all three. Most people gave towards the honeymoon, and a handful of people gave towards the mural. And we just thought it would be cool to have a mural. I mean, it wasn’t necessarily going to be Ignacio doing it. I didn’t know him, and if it wasn’t him, it would have been someone else. But we wanted a mural, and, yeah, I just reached out to him on Instagram. I didn’t expect anything of it. I thought I was a fan, blah, blah, blah. And he wrote me back, and we talked on the phone the next day, and that’s how the ball got rolling.
Tom Heath
Wow.
Tom Heath
I have learned in my time, sometimes we don’t realize that these artists are humans. And I think I would say put them on a scaffolding, because they’re not really pedestals at this point. They’re so far up there, but then you get a chance to meet them. And I know that the ones we’ve met Ignacio, like Joe Patrick, Jessica Gonzalez, they’ve been so warm to hear, and I think sometimes they don’t even realize how popular they actually.
Michael Haley
You know, I know who all three of them are. I mean, I follow them on Instagram. I’m a fan. But I’m sure there’s tons of people in town that don’t know who they are, but know their think. I think Tucson has really transformed in that regard in the last decade or so. There’s a ton of street art. I just I think that’s awesome.
Tom Heath
So after you saw Bill Walton riding a jackalope, which is on the side of the Rialto Theater down, you can kind of see it if you’re on Fifth Avenue or Fifth Street, kind of.
Tom Heath
Looking to the east.
Tom Heath
Mean, you obviously were aware of the murals and such. Did you go on, like, a mural hunt? Did you start looking for other ignacio stuff, or was it just it spoke to you, and then you just sort of moved on?
Michael Haley
Well, for a long time, I didn’t have a car, so I walked. I rode my bike, I rode the bus, and I would just explore sometimes. And when you’re not in the car, I think you pick up on a little bit. You pick up more of your surroundings, let’s you know. Once Ignacio came into my awareness or whatever, I would just notice his other art and same with,
Michael Haley
you know, you’d be walking downtown. It’d be like there’d be a new mural. It’s like, wow, a new Ignacio. That’s totally cool. I mean, there’s in that general area downtown, there’s at least four or five, like, tierra Antigua realty one. I mean, they’re all over the just I don’t know. And then I found them on Instagram, and periodically you’d see them.
Tom Heath
Yeah. It’s funny because I get to talk to a lot of people about the different murals in downtown, and they’re always like, oh, let’s see the newest one. I’m like, I don’t know. I can show you the one that went up last week, but it’s probably.
Tom Heath
Not the newest one.
Tom Heath
There’s so many, and they’re also a lot of times, they’re hidden. People don’t fully realize that a lot of individual homeowners or business owners have these murals for themselves that aren’t necessarily for the world. And I’ve seen so much of work. Both ignacio showed me some stuff he did inside houses, and I’m like, oh, my gosh, that’s fantastic. But without making a felony entrance, I’m probably not going to see it totally.
Michael Haley
Which is a mean one of the few useful aspects of Instagram is being able to see that. I think Instagram is mostly toxic, and I try to stay away from it, but it was super useful in this.
Tom Heath
So when you decided on a mural, did you and Erin was she a lover as well, or did she just say, yeah, whatever. I’m marrying you, so I love you, so I love art, or was she kind of passionate about these murals as well?
Michael Haley
I think I was sort of the driver of it, but she was totally on board, and she was definitely a part of what we wanted to know. The creative process, it was equal. So I kind of led the charge, and I’m the one that reached out to Ignacio, but she was right there with me. We both thought it was cool, and our guests were enthused about it too, which was kind of a surprise.
Tom Heath
So before you put it on the registry, did you have an idea of what you were going to get, or did you wait to see if you got the money first?
Michael Haley
We definitely had an idea. My wife is a researcher at the U of. We’re both I would call us environmentalists, I guess, but I’m wary of that term. But we’re both passionate about the environment. And we knew the mirror would depict something of the natural world, but it kind of just took on a life of its own. We didn’t have a set idea and how it turned out, it turned out differently than I imagined it beforehand, but I’m totally cool with that. I didn’t want to tell Ignacio, like, this is what I want, do exactly what wanted. My hope was that he would feel inspired and sort know, create something on his own with some input from us. And that’s essentially what happened.
Tom Heath
We are talking with Michael Haley. He’s a Jefferson Park resident. He and his wife Aaron put together a wish list for their wedding and got a mural by Ignacio Garcia. And we’re hearing a little bit about how this came to be. Take a quick break, and when we’re back, we’re going to get more details about the finished product and what it really means for them and those in their neighborhood. But first of all, I want to remind you that you are listening to life along the Streetcar on Downtown Radio. 99.1 FM and [email protected] support for downtown.
Tom Heath
Welcome back. If you are just joining us, our guest today is Michael Haley. He and his wife Aaron decided to have a mural celebrating their marriage earlier this year. We got a little bit about the backstory in the first part of the show, and now we’re going to hear how the mural turned out and what this vision that they laid the foundation and had Ignacio kind of run with it.
Tom Heath
Do you remember what input you gave him to kind of get him going, what you told him as far as your framework?
Michael Haley
Yeah, I had sent him some pictures that I had taken of plants and animals in my own yard. I would like to give a little background on why that’s relevant. 2020, we had the hottest year on record. We had the Acorn fire. It was the pandemic as well. But if you remember, the weather that summer was horrific and it was just sad and depressing. It was sad to watch the forest fire plants in our yard dying. And we go to Desert Survivors, that nursery on Star Pass a lot. We are part of a club that rescues cactus and other plants from construction sites. It’s called the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society. So we’ve got a little garden in our yard and 2020 going through that was just basically hell. And 2021, we had the rainiest year on record. And after the first couple of big storms. Our yard just exploded with pollinators and cactus flowers, and all this beauty just sprang up. And I spent a lot of time out there sort of taking care of the plants and sort of building this, know, my walled garden,
Michael Haley
the wall away, the world. So to
Michael Haley
think I caught some cool stuff on camera. So I shared that with Ignacio, and he thought it was cool too. Native bees, butterflies, rare cactus flowers. Those are the sort of pictures I sent him. And we just kind of went from there.
Tom Heath
So all of the stuff that ended up on the mural, if I understand correctly, were things that had blossomed in your yard and then you photographed. That’s really neat.
Tom Heath
I love that.
Tom Heath
That’s almost like a fossil of sorts. An artistic fossil.
Michael Haley
Yeah. I mentioned earlier about how if you’re walking or riding a bike, you may pick up on things. If you’re outside in nature and you just have nothing else to think about and you’re just observing, you’ll see stuff that you might not otherwise notice. I find these animals beautiful and sacred even. And I wanted to honor them with.
Tom Heath
A work of art at this point. Then you got married in April. When did the mural actually get completed?
Michael Haley
Just a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, he began in June, and then he couldn’t paint because it was 115 or whatever, so it was too hot to paint for most of July. So once it cooled off a little bit a couple of weeks ago, he really hammered it out.
Tom Heath
And then where is this? Did you put it on a house? On a wall?
Michael Haley
It’s on a wall on let’s see. So, like 2000 north. Vine, essentially the corner of Waverley and vine in the Jefferson Park neighborhood. Okay. We’re just north of the New Banner hospital. It’s on the east side. Sorry, it’s on the west side of vine. Vine runs north south, so it’s just north of Waverly there on vine on the exterior, which was another thing that was important to know. I guess there is a risk that it could be defaced in the know. That is certainly possible. I’ve seen murals tagged or whatever, and that’s a risk we’re willing to take so that other people can enjoy this. I didn’t want it to be a private thing.
Tom Heath
Oh, wow, that’s great.
Michael Haley
Neither did he. Neither did he. I don’t know if he would agree to take it on. That was something we talked about in our first conversation, where it would be and who’d be able to see it. I want people to see it.
Tom Heath
Okay, so for those of you that are life along the streetcar fans, you take the streetcar basically to the eastern end, and it’s a few blocks to the north of right. All right.
Michael Haley
Our mural in the neighborhood, which the ladies here in the Neighborhood Association are thrilled. There’s the lazy lizard on you live there by joe Pogak. And then there’s Dia de los Muertos mural. I don’t know the arts of that one, but that one’s near.
Tom Heath
So that’s another thing. They’re tucked away in neighborhoods, which I think are so fun because you either discover them because you’re intentionally looking for them, or, like so much of what you saw as you’re out and about, you just stumble on it. And I think the stumbling on something as beautiful as that in a place that’s not commercialized, to me, that always makes it a little bit more special for some reason.
Michael Haley
Totally. And that’s why I love living in this part of town. Tucson actually has a real soul and there’s real culture.
Michael Haley
Serendipitously. Finding a mural, just as you described, is the thrill.
Tom Heath
And so have you had a wedding party yet to invite all of your wedding guests that contributed over and admire or are you still not yet?
Michael Haley
We were thinking about making, like, a greeting card.
Tom Heath
Oh, fantastic.
Michael Haley
Sending thank you notes with a picture.
Tom Heath
Of oh, I love that idea. That’s a great idea.
Michael Haley
Yeah, so that’s definitely in the works.
Tom Heath
And then how many nights do you find yourself just sort of going out front and just staring at it?
Michael Haley
Well, I mean, I’m outside all the time. I love to be in my garden, and this is just an extension of that. It’s funny, I’m not really artistic, and I’ve never really been involved in a creative process like this. So when you’re part of the planning and the creation, I’ve provided input. I guess it just feels a little different. I do like looking at it, but it just feels a little different in a strange way. But yeah, what reals me is when I’m outside and I hear someone walk by or a group of people walk by and check it out, like, that nice. That’s the really cool part. And that has happened already.
Tom Heath
And I’m sure the neighbors, like you said, are thrilled to have another well done. I think there’s a lot of murals that I’ve seen that I think probably mean something to the artist or to the patron who had it painted. But to me, I look at it and said it’s not my style. But someone like Ignacio, he definitely seems to transcend a particular style and really kind of capture the essence of Tucson without making it look kitschy like Tucson.
Michael Haley
Totally. Yeah. The things depicted in his murals very widely. I’d say there’s one on Rosemont where it’s like 500, like, alien flying saucer invasion. You’ve seen that one? Yeah, I love that one. Joe Pagak. You can tell a Joe Pagak mural right off the bat. Like animals on bicycles and all that kind of whimsical stuff. I love Joe Pogok, by the way, but Ignacio’s stuff really varies, and I just think he’s a world class artist.
Tom Heath
Well, I would agree with you on that. And I think it’s just a wonderful idea that you and Aaron chose to do this as a celebration of so many things and to have it so permanently. Know, a blender would be nice every now and then for your wedding, but these things, they go away. And what you created is something that it’s going to be there, so it’s going to make it hard for you to sell that home ever. So you’re probably never going to sell that home, but that’s cool.
Michael Haley
I got nowhere to go. I’ll go down with the ship. If climate change wipes us out, well, I’m not going anywhere. Yeah, I love it here.
Tom Heath
Well, I really appreciate you taking the time to share the story. I look forward to kind of walking by and stumbling on, although now I know where it is. You kind of ruined it for me, but that’s fine. I’ll still go check it out.
Michael Haley
Yeah. Come say hi.
Tom Heath
All right. We’ll also post ignacio did a really nice video on Facebook, so we’ll take that and link it to our Facebook page so people get a sense of that mural, too.
Michael Haley
Awesome.
Tom Heath
Terrific. All right, well, thanks so much for your time. And if you come up with any more crazy creative ideas, give us a ring.
Michael Haley
Hope to run into you sometime soon, Tom.
Tom Heath
All right, thanks so much.
Michael Haley
Bye bye.
Tom Heath
That was Michael Haley taking some time to talk to us about the mural that was put in their yard by Ignacio Garcia. And fun story, really. I enjoy when this truly is a hidden gem. You got to wander around the neighborhood to find it. But I appreciate that someone pointed out to us and we were able to spend some time with Michael. And congratulations to you and Aaron on the nuptials. My name is Tom Heath. You are listening to Life Along the Streetcar on downtown Radio 99.1 FM and streaming on downtownradio.org.
Tom Heath
Thank you very much. Enjoy your evening. Bye bye.
Tom Heath
All right, we are coming to the end here of episode 262 Getting Up There. We launched this whole process back there in October of 2017, which means we are approaching our six year anniversary. Don’t have 248 years like the city of Tucson, but pretty proud of six years. We’ll maybe do something special for that show. I say that every year, but I never do. But if you have any ideas, let me know, because I’ll tell you one thing that’s been really exciting this year, 2023, we’ve gotten more suggestions from listeners than ever before. I don’t even know the number. But a good portion of our shows this year have come from those suggestions, which means so much to me, because not only does it mean people are actually listening, but they’re getting it and they know what kind of things we’re interested in. And they might see a mural in their neighborhood and reach out and say, hey, this is a cool story, you should do it. Or they might have a special charity or a nonprofit, somebody doing really
Tom Heath
cool things, or a fundraiser, art installation, whatever it might be. So thank you for continuing to share those. And if you find one of those hidden gems out there and you want us to talk about it or do a little more research, head over to our Facebook page or Instagram, tag us, messenger us, put us in a reel or a story. I think you can do that. I still don’t quite know how to do all that yet, but I’m learning. I’m learning. Yeah. So just keep those coming, because, again, I don’t think anyone’s really made a suggestion that I’ve just said, no, this doesn’t fit our show. Almost every suggestion, and probably every suggestion has been within the theme and the footprint. So continue to let us highlight those hidden gems that you know about, that everyone should know about. Coming up here in a few minutes, we’ve got Ted Praselski with words and work as he talks to members of the labor movement and writers here in Tucson. And next week on our show, we have a repeat guest, jeffrey Anthony.
Tom Heath
Last time he was on was within a role within the city of Tucson. He was working on a special project there. Now he has moved over to the University of Arizona, the College of Education, and used his background in analytics and algorithms and, I don’t know, math and logic and everything to find ways to match grants and grant opportunities with research that’s being done so that the process gets much more streamlined. And in doing that, he started seeing all this great research happening in the College of Education, which kind of surprised him, and he wanted to share that. So he launched a podcast, a bi monthly podcast called The Inquiry Oasis. And we’re going to get the story of that next week with Jeffrey Anthony. Well, thank you to Orion Hood. Every week they let us use dillinger days to open up. And today we’re going to leave you with little jewel Aikens from the Birds and Bees to celebrate marriage and murals. My name is Tom Heath. Have a great week and tune in next Sunday for more life along the streetcar
