07/06/2026
Happy 290th Birthday, Juan!
He put Tubac on the map. He led an incredible expedition of settlers on a journey from north to south across the present United States founding the city of San Francisco. That journey was comparable in size and scope to any westerly movement, without covered wagons, without conflicts against indigenous people, and with just one death. He did it a half of century before anyone shouted, “Wagons Ho!” and traveled through heat and cold, desert, and fast flowing rivers.
Juan Bautista de Anza, II was born July 6, 1736. He was born under a wanderer’s star, with a force inside him that made him an excellent friend and formidable enemy. He always had his eye on the goal, whether finding an overland route through to San Francisco (at the age of 39) or forging a trail from Santa Fe to Arispe (at the age of 44).
Anza was honest with his soldiers, fair to his enemies, and successful in his missions. He rode thousands of miles on horseback and slept outside on the ground much of his adult life. He died at the young age of 52 after being appointed commander of all the troops in Sonora.
He left a legacy as a Basque, as a Sonoran, and as a frontiersman.
Tubac: Where Art and History Meet, Established 1752
Re-enactor: Bill Islas
Photo Credit: Bob MacDonald
