Mexican American Oral Histories

Melissa Berry: Would you please state your name and spell it?

Ivo Ortis: Ivo Ortis, Ivo: I-V-O, India, Victor, Oscar, Ortis. I'm a native Tusconan, um, born and raised, uh, was gone for about, uh, 20 years when I was in the military, but I came back, and uh, Tuscon's been my, my home.

MB: So you were talking about your childhood playing baseball at Santa Rita Park?

IO: Yeah, yeah, yeah so, we learned, uh, so we learned baseball, we would go there nightly, our dad-- my dad would take us there. He, uh, he was a big baseball fan, and uh, there were a lot of, uh, leagues, and uh, a lot of games-- daily, nightly. So, that was our routine for, for, uh, a big part of my childhood years, we would uh, we would go and uh, watch the game, and my dad would instruct us, would tell us the rules, what was happening. That's how we learned baseball, and then we would go, after that, when we had our fill of baseball, we would run wild on the swings and the slides, and with the other kids. There were, uh, it was pretty much a community of kids that went nightly, so we got, uh, acquainted, we got acquainted with them, and, so, yeah, we just ran, ran wild and, uh, we pretty much tired oursevles out. When we got home, we just took a shower and, and [had] a little snack, and went, went to bed.

MB: Did you go to school with those kids, or did you only know them through--

IO: No, it was, uh, it was just from the park. It was like, another, separate, separate group from, from school. Yeah, these were from--pretty much, pretty much, uh, from all over the West side, South side, and, uh, we just congregated there in the park, uh, for the baseball, and the park, and the swings, and the sl-- and the slides, and the company, and then, also, uh, we, when the pool, we would use, uh, we would go swimming [and] use the pool a lot, yeah, frequently at the pool, so. Between, uh, Santa Rita and Randolph, those were our main, our main, uh, uh, hubs of entertainment as kids.

MB: How many years, about, did you do that?

IO: Oh, man. Well, I'd say about, my, when I was probably about eight 'til about preteens, 13, around there. Yeah, and then, 'til, 'til, we outgrew, you know, 'til we thought we out-- 'til we thought we outgrew it and were off to-- doing other stuff. But, uh, ah, it was, uh, looking back, [we] kind of left it too early, and so, yeah, it was one of those cherished memories, cherished moments of growing up.

MB: Did you have siblings that you would go with?

IO: Yeah, yeah, my older-- I had two older brothers, and uh, and a younger brother, and eventually, you know, my older brothers, they, they were, they thought they were 'too cool' to be hanging out with us, so, but it was at the end, towards the end it was, me, it was me and my little brother, and uh, yeah, so, we-- 'til about, 'til about preteens we were going there, we kept going there, and then uh, and then uh, pretty much the, the baseball games started, uh, dwindling, and it was not as regularly, it was not as, it wasn't as nightly, and I think that was a little bit [of] a contributing factor to that, to our gradually... and then, then teenage years came along, and it was, it was all about my friends then. [laughs]

MB: Were the baseball games organized by like, a neighborhood--

IO: Yeah, oh, yeah, they had uniforms, they had, uh, umpires, they had the scoreboard lit, the, the whole nine yards. They even had a scorekeeper up, you know, the, the, yeah, it was the whole nine yards. It was, uh, it was, organized and everything. They kept records, and uh, I'm sure, uh, I don't know how the-- they had playoffs and all that, I, I can't remember how that went, but uh, I remember my dad, uh, would always say, "yeah, they won last year", and uh, this and that. He would pretty much tell us the, uh, the standings, you know, who was, what team was who, what team was winning, what team was in first, and all that. So, yeah, he was, he was pretty formative, pretty much told us, pretty much all about baseball through those games.

MB: Do you still play?

IO: Well, not as often. No, no, now, but I did, I did go and I played, uh, [in] high school, and I played, uh, in Little League, and at Randolph, and Pony League, and base-- and then high school, high school. Yeah, yeah, and it was all from that. It was the residue from, from learning, and uh, but I'm still a big baseball fan.

MB: Do you have any other memories of the park?

IO: Well, yeah, just, um, some, just going out, just going and, uh, and just, like, cruising, you know, just, like, on Sundays, going here and there, just...or, or, getting, uh, some fast food, and the closest [place] would be right there, and I'd eat, eat there, and, um... yeah, yeah, I was, a casual pass-by, and, uh, yeah, or just stop and relax just along the way. Cause, it's 22nd and so, you know, it was frequent, frequently traveled, and so, yeah, what I was, what I was-- I mean, later on, like, with my friends, or with my, uh, lady friend, or whatever, you know, we'd go and, and uh, yeah, or, or just, just go eat, or have a picnic, sometimes, here and there.

MB: It was one of your main places to go.

IO: Yeah, yeah, that and Randolph, like I said--

MB: Yeah.

IO: That and Randolph, cause it's, uh, it was right there on 22nd so it's easy, you know, even when you're not going there, you're passing, you're passing it, you know, it's...and, uh, and I, I've seen all the changes, from, you know, through the years, you know, and the pool closed, and the swings are gone, the slides are gone, there's-- uh, as far as baseball, sometimes I see games going, but I don't know if they're org-- if they're organized, or if they're just pick-ups, or, or, uh...but they do look like they're leagues, but, eh, they don't have uniforms, they're uh, I don't know how organized they are, you know. So, um, yeah, and, uh, I know there were, um, they were at one time talking about widening 22nd, and uh, but uh, the citizens committee, they, uh, they protested that, and so they pretty much put the kabash on the widening. I think they were supposed to, uh, 22nd was supposed to go under the, the railroad, and then, so, Randolph-- Santa Rita was gonna extend over 22nd, and, but, they were gonna knock down a lot of those houses, along the, along the, um, the side of 22nd, and uh, on the south side of 22nd, a lot of those houses were gonna be demolished, so that's what they, they protested about. I, I happened to go to a lot of those, I went to a lot of those meetings because I knew, I knew some of the, the members that were on there, and, uh, I knew the history of it, and just, this history is what, uh, I was curious, and so that, I got to go to a lot of, I went to a lot of those, I went-- pretty much, almost all of them. I think I only missed, like, one, because of a prior committment, but, uh, yeah, so I kinda of saw, the, how it went down, and uh, yeah, there was a lot of protests on, um, on, you know, um, on how the were gonna knock down the houses, and uh, they, they were talking about gentrification, and, so, yeah, so. Cause, uh, 22nd from, uh, what is it, Campbell-- east, you know, they've got the Kino Bridge, and all the-- 22nd's supposed to be redone, [the] 22nd street bridge, and, so, then they were gonna-- supposed to widen it from, from Campbell to the I-10, but that's what, uh, [the] citizen's committee, they protested, and uh, yeah, they, they-- it didn't, it didn't happen, so. Who knows if, what's happening, what's gonna happen in the future.

MB: What do you think of the proposed changes for the park?

IO: Oh, yeah, it's great, I mean, it's, uh, it's, it's, it's a nice little gem here, you know, it's like, tucked in, it's uh... but, yeah, it's, it's, it's a nice am--ammenite. It, it could use a little sprucing, but, uh, that's what's gonna happen, and it's gonna be, yeah. I, I look forward to, uh, how this is gonna look, and it's, it'll be great for the, for the residents here, and they can be proud, and use it more, and, uh, entertain the kids, have something for the kids to do, and so, yeah, it's, it's gonna be-- yeah, it's gonna be good, it's gonna be great, great.

MB: Still no swimming pool, though, but--

MB, IO: [both laugh]

MB: But maybe there'll be more baseball games.

IO: Yeah, yeah, how, wow, yeah, that'll be, that'll be something, that, maybe there'll be-- yeah, 'cause, I mean, the baseball fields are there, you know, they're, they're still there, you know, and they're nice! You know, they're got nice, nice facilities, nice area. So, I don't know, maybe, maybe that's an idea that could, uh...or, or, if not games, you know, it could be used for practices, you know, organized practices, or...but, you know, I mean, the possibilities are there for leagues to use it, you know. Yeah, that would be, that would be nice, bringing that back.