Way Back Home
(by The Prickly Pears)
La Ciudad Urban Park near 19th St. / Polk St.
Recording captured of a concert at an outdoor amphitheater in a park built to commemorate the historic site known as La Ciudad
La Ciudad Urban Park near 19th St. / Polk St.
Recording captured of a concert at an outdoor amphitheater in a park built to commemorate the historic site known as La Ciudad
When George Luhrs and other European-Americans came to Phoenix in the late 19th Century, they found the local indigenous people and their historic structures and canals. Out of racism, the White Americans insisted that the canal system and the ancient sites could not have been constructed by the local indigenous people, and they carried out a program of propaganda and cultural erasure that created the myth that a different group of people built this valley and “mysteriously disappeared.” This included giving many of the historic sites names of Spanish or other European origin—Montezuma Castle was named after the Aztec Emperor who lived in what is now Mexico City in the 16th Century, but Aztec influence did not reach nearly this far North, and the communities in this Valley represent an entirely separate and self-sufficient society. The myth made it so the American settlers could conveniently deny indigenous claims to the land, and they swiftly proceeded to crowd indigenous communities out of the most fertile farmlands, shrinking indigenous-managed territory again and again over the years until they were divided and confined by the small “Reservations” allotted to them. This pattern was repeated dozens of times, with the majority-White community creating policies and social and economic conditions that crippled communities of different heritage who had begun to thrive. Eastlake was a core African-American community that developed east of Downtown Phoenix from the very earliest days of the city. It grew up around Eastlake Park, a manicured urban oasis built along the tram line to the East of the town center in 1890—the oldest park in Phoenix. Due to red-lining and other segregation policies, African Americans were not allowed to buy homes and have businesses along main street, so African Americans and other minorities were forced to build their communities on the fringes of town. Thus, communities like Eastlake were set up for failure—but they often persisted and independently thrived despite the obstacles set against them by the White majority. By the early 20th Century, the community of Eastlake had developed enough nationwide clout that Booker T. Washington came to give a speech in the park in 1911. The neighborhood also hosted the city’s first Juneteenth celebrations in 1921. Phoenix’s first elementary school for black students, named for Booker T. Washington, was built in 1928 and still stands at 1201 E Jefferson St. However, the tram was discontinued in the ‘40s, and racially discriminatory housing and economic policies— including the routing of Interstate 10 through the middle of the neighborhood—forced the inevitable decline of Eastlake. In 1964, Martin Luther King, Jr., gave a speech to 8,000 people at ASU’s Goodwin Stadium in Tempe. Later that same day, he visited Tanner Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, at 8th St. and Jefferson in Downtown Phoenix. The structure, built in 1929, is still home to an active Church community that organized in the earliest days of Phoenix. Similar to Central United Methodist Church, this community built and outgrew multiple long-since-demolished structures prior to settling in their current home. When MLK spoke at this church, he said that the fight for civil rights was a fight for the soul of America. Sixty years later, very little remains of Eastlake. The old school building, some preserved homes, Tanner Chapel, and—across 8th St—Mrs. White’s Golden Rule Café help carry on some of the neighborhood’s legacy. Community housing projects and other initiatives are being undertaken to revitalize the area, but one persisting issue is the shuttered buildings and vacant lots that break up the continuity of the community and make true revitalization effectively impossible. Smack dab in the middle of the whole thing is St. Luke’s Behavioral Health center—the only high rise structure between the East side of “Downtown” (officially 7th St) and the North-South leg of the I-10 that marks the eastern edge of Phoenix’ urban island (the two interstates that converge in Phoenix go around rather than through Downtown, contributing to its geographically and culturally isolated status). It’s built at an angle following Villa St., which bounds the campus on the North side. Villa St. follows the path of a canal ditch dug by Jack Swilling, who had a canal company during the early days of Phoenix. The ditch diverted from one of the ancient canals and cut through a space where Swilling and other settlers found an ancient townsite. It included what may have been a kiva or a ritual spiritual structure, a ball court, numerous homesteads, and a multi-story community center. In 1917 the area was mapped out and labeled “La Ciudad” (The City) and covered over. Much of the site is now beneath St. Luke’s. The location of the ball court is mostly under one of the apartment complexes on 20th St., between Taylor and Fillmore—across from the compact Mediterranean grocery store that packs a serious punch. Commemorating the site and the historic Eastlake community, the City of Phoenix recently constructed a temporary public park between St. Luke’s and these apartment communities. The temporary park was created through a grant-funded partnership between a 3D-printing company and a local A.I. startup. It has since been recycled. This recording is from a concert at the outdoor amphitheater in the park during its grand opening festivities. The name of the band refers to the fruit of the Prickly Pear Cactus, native to the Sonoran Desert.
(Some of the information in these liner notes is fictional, presented here in the attempt of satire)
(Some of the information in these liner notes is fictional, presented here in the attempt of satire)
LYRICS
It’s big and it’s black
With little white lines
Sometimes the yellow one’s
On my right side
Then they’ll all be yelling at me
Saying “You God damn drunk,
You’re gonna get yourself killed
One of these days”
I’m trying to make
My way back home
That’s all I can
Say for myself
I’m trying to make
My way back home
That’s all I’ve
Ever wanted
The roar of the crowd
As we go racing by
Doing all we can
To reach the other side
Verdant pastures, waiting for us
But we’ll never know
Just how green
Just how far we can go
We’re trying to make
Our way back home
That’s all we can say
For ourselves
We’re trying to make
Our way back home
Where our lovers
Will be waiting for us
Riding out beneath
That blue and open sky
Stretches from my fingers
Across the ocean wide
But I won’t know ‘til I die
Just what I might find
Out beyond
That blue and open sky
I’m trying to make
My way back home
That’s all I can
Say for myself
I’m trying to make
My way back home
Where the sky will be
Waiting for me with open arms
I’m trying to make
My way back home
Where the sky will be
Waiting for me with open arms
With little white lines
Sometimes the yellow one’s
On my right side
Then they’ll all be yelling at me
Saying “You God damn drunk,
You’re gonna get yourself killed
One of these days”
I’m trying to make
My way back home
That’s all I can
Say for myself
I’m trying to make
My way back home
That’s all I’ve
Ever wanted
The roar of the crowd
As we go racing by
Doing all we can
To reach the other side
Verdant pastures, waiting for us
But we’ll never know
Just how green
Just how far we can go
We’re trying to make
Our way back home
That’s all we can say
For ourselves
We’re trying to make
Our way back home
Where our lovers
Will be waiting for us
Riding out beneath
That blue and open sky
Stretches from my fingers
Across the ocean wide
But I won’t know ‘til I die
Just what I might find
Out beyond
That blue and open sky
I’m trying to make
My way back home
That’s all I can
Say for myself
I’m trying to make
My way back home
Where the sky will be
Waiting for me with open arms
I’m trying to make
My way back home
Where the sky will be
Waiting for me with open arms
© 2025 Malno Music