Tucson Music Hall will be rechristened Linda Ronstadt Music Hall in May, the latest city facility to bear the famous Ronstadt name.
The renaming ceremony will take place May 7, during the 40th annual International Mariachi Conference Espectacular Concert, which returns to downtown Tucson for the first time in a decade. The mariachi conference and festivals will be held April 20-May 8 featuring workshops, student showcases and concerts including the big Espectacular and the Fiesta Garibaldi that same day in the Tucson Convention Center Plaza and neighboring Leo Rich Theater.
During a renaming ceremony that will take place May 7 during the 40th annual International Mariachi Conference Espectacular Concert, the Tucson Music Hall will be renamed theΒ Linda Ronstadt Music Hall.
Ronstadt, who has been invited to the event, was one of the founders of the mariachi festival in 1982 along with Mariachi Vargas De TecalitlΓ‘n, Mariachi Cobre and the late Lola BeltrΓ‘n. Five years later, Ronstadt released the seminal mariachi album, βCanciones de Mi Padreβ (Songs of my father), which sold 2Β½ million copies and still ranks as the biggest selling non-English language record of all time.
It is βtime to honor her legacy and her ability to tell the story of our culture through music,β Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, said in a written statement.
βHer contributions, and those of her family, have elevated Tucson,β Romero said. βShe has inspired and entertained generations of young women and musicians. Honoring Linda Ronstadt during the Mariachi Conference celebrates her contributions to mariachi and the music of the Sonoran Desert.β
Linda Ronstadt Music Hall is the latest city building bearing the Ronstadt name. The city in 1991 dedicated downtownβs main transportation hub the Ronstadt Transit Center in honor of the family, which traces its roots to Tucson back to the 1850s.
βI am fortunate to be a member of a large musical family that has been associated with the city of Tucson since the 1800s,β Ronstadt said in a written release. βMy entire career was informed and nurtured by the music we made as I was growing up here, and so I am very pleased and proud to accept this honor on behalf of the entire Ronstadt Family, and to say thank you very much to the people of Tucson.β
The TCC Plaza also will get a new name. The city is proposing renaming it after community activist Alva B. Torres, according to Victor Mercado, a Romero spokesman.
In the written statement, Ronstadt, who has lived in San Francisco since 2005, did not say whether she would come back for the renaming event. The last time she was in Tucson for a public event was in 2018, when she participated in βA Conversation With Linda Ronstadtβ at Fox Tucson Theatre.
Ronstadt, 75, retired from music in 2009, two years after she performed her last Tucson concert in 2007 at the AVA at Casino del Sol. In 2013, she was diagnosed with Parkinsonβs Disease.
Tucson Music Hall is home to the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and Arizona Opera.
Photos: Tucson-native, Grammy-winner Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt arrives at Tucson International Airport on Sept. 16, 1976 for a benefit concert for the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
Linda Ronstadt arrives at Tucson International Airport on Sept. 16, 1976 for a benefit concert for the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
Linda Ronstadt signs autographs at Tucson's Symphony Cotillion Ball in 1977.
Linda Ronstadt make a face while signing dozens of autographs at Tucson's Symphony Cotillion Ball in 1977.
Linda Ronstadt at Tucson's Symphony Cotillion Ball in 1977.
Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys at Minus One Coffeehouse on 6th Street Nov. 24, 1966.
Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys at Minus One Coffeehouse on 6th Street Nov. 24, 1966.
Ad for a Linda Ronstadt concert at TCC in 1972.
Linda Ronstadt appearance in Tucson in September, 1976.
Linda Ronstadt concert in Tucson, February, 1975.
Linda Ronstadt in concert at the Tucson Community Center on Sept. 16, 1976. The original negatives are missing from the archives, but the photo assignment and contact sheets of all the outtakes remain.
Linda Ronstadt in concert on Feb. 9, 1975 at Tucson Community Center. Note the changed spelling on the original photo request.
Linda Ronstadt in concert at McKale Center on Nov. 2, 1980. The original negatives are missing from the archives, but the contact sheets of all the outtakes remain. Note the comment on the photo assignment.
Linda Ronstadt in concert at Tucson Community Center on Sept. 16, 1976. The original negatives are missing from the archives, but the contact sheets of all the outtakes remain.
"Heart Like a Wheel" by Linda Ronstadt, the album that started it all and went Platinum.Β
FILE - This Feb. 20, 1977 file photo shows singer Linda Ronstadt is flanked by Ringo Starr, left, and Paul Williams after she was named best pop singer for her "Hasten Down the Wind" at The 19th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. A documentary, βLinda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice,β will premiere on CNN on New Year's Day. (AP Photo)
FILE - In this 1976 file photo, California Gov. Edmund Brown Jr. and singer Linda Ronstadt stand with members of the Eagles rock group during a concert in Maryland. Brown and Ronstadt dated for several years before going their separate ways. Brown, who was re-elected to the governor's office in 2010, leaves office Jan. 7, 2019, after a record four terms in office, from 1975-1983 and again since 2011. (AP Photo/Karin Vismara, File)
FILE - This Aug. 5, 1979 file photo shows Linda Ronstadt performing during the Lowell George Tribute in Los Angeles. Now at 74, the 10-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has been recognized as a βLegendβ at the 33rd annual Hispanic Heritage Awards. (AP Photo)
Singer Linda Ronstadt performs at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, R.I., on Aug. 8, 1978. (AP Photo)
Singer Linda Ronstadt visits British rocker David Bowie backstage during his break in the Broadway play "The Elephant Man," at the Booth Theater in New York, Dec. 5, 1980. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Actor Kevin Kline, left, arrives at the premier of the film version of "The Pirates of Penzance" with his co-star Linda Ronstadt in New York, Feb. 18, 1983. (AP Photo/G. Paul Burnett)
Linda Ronstadt singing at Mariachi Espectacular at Tucson Community Center in on May 9, 1986.
Linda Ronstadt sings to her father, Gilbert, at the Mariachi Espectacular concert to close the Tucson International Mariachi Festival on May 9, 1986.
Linda Ronstadt at the Mariachi Espectacular concert to close the Tucson International Mariachi Festival on May 9, 1986.
Linda Ronstadt (left), Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton (right) rehearse for the annual Country Music Association awards show at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville on Sunday, Oct. 13, 1986. The trio will perform during the show on Monday. (AP Photo/Dan Loftin)
Linda Ronstadt singing with her father, Gilbert, at Mariachi Espectacular on April 24, 1987 at Tucson Community Center.
Linda Ronstadt in Los Angeles on Dec. 7, 1987.
Linda Ronstadt in Los Angeles on Dec. 7, 1987.
Linda Ronstadt in Los Angeles on Dec. 7, 1987.
Linda Ronstadt with Mariachi Vargas at Centennial Hall on Feb. 11, 1988.
Linda Ronstadt with Mariachi Vargas at Centennial Hall on Feb. 11, 1988.
Linda Ronstadt, center, during an interview about a school exchange program in Arizpe, Mexico, in October, 1989.
Chuck Berry shares the stage with Linda Ronstadt during his 60th birthday celebration at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 17, 1986. Ronstadt is one of the guests during the concert, which was filmed for a motion picture documentary titled "Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll." (AP Photo/James A. Finley)
Actor Robert Wagner pictured with singer Linda Ronstadt rehearsing on the set of "Saturday Night Live," Dec. 9, 1989. (AP Photo/Timothy Clary)
Linda Ronstadt, one of the Hall of Fame's first five inductees, brought mariachi music to the masses with two popular LPs.
In the 1924 photo, Federico Ronstadt and his wife, Lupe, pose with their four sons, (from left) Bill, Edward, Gilbert and Alfred. Gilbert is Linda's father.
FILE - Singer Linda Ronstadt appears at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 28, 1984. Now at 74, the 10-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has been recognized as a βLegendβ at the 33rd annual Hispanic Heritage Awards. (AP Photo, File)
Grammy winner Linda Ronstadt teams up with veteran arranger/conductor Nelson Riddle to perform classic ballads in Linda Ronstadt in concert with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. Featuring songs from Ronstadt's hit LP "What's New" in 1998.
Chuy Rodriguez of Los Camperos de Nati Cano's Chuy Rodriguez sings with Linda Ronstadt during the Mariachi Conference Espectacular concert at the Tucson Arena on Friday, April 24, 2009.
Tucsonan Linda Ronstadt performs with Sam Bush at the Berger Performing Arts Center here on June 12, 2002.
Linda Ronstadt performs during the Mariachi Espectacular concert in the Tucson Arena on Friday, April 24, 2009.
This Sept. 17, 2013 photo shows American musician Linda Ronstadt poses in New York to promote the release of her memoir "Simple Dreams."
Tucson native and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Linda Ronstadt talks with Jeff Haskell during the resurrected Sunday Evening Forum at the Fox Theatre, 17 W Congress St. The Grammy award winner and pop and country music icon recently announced she has been diagnosed with Parkinson Disease. In addition to being inducted in the Hall of Fame she was also honored with the National Medal of Arts. The interview series, in which the moderator takes written questions from the audience, only recently returned in March after a 30-year hiatus. Admission was free and no reservation were accepted. The photo was taken on Sunday, October 5, 2014, in Tucson, Ariz.Β
President Obama shakes hands with musician Linda Ronstadt in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 28, 2014, where he presented her with a 2013 National Medal of Arts. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Front row from left, Susan Pompeo, 2019 Kennedy Center Honorees Michael Tilson Thomas, Linda Ronstadt, Sally Field, Joan Ganz Cooney, Lloyd Morrisett and Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter, back row from left, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 2019 Kennedy Center Honorees Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson, characters from "Sesame Street," Abby Cadabby, Big Bird, and Elmo, Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein, Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss pose for a group photo following the Kennedy Center Honors State Department Dinner at the State Department on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Maria Muldaur, left, and Linda Ronstadt onstage at the 19th Annual Movies For Grownups Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Grammy-winning singer and Tucson native Linda Ronstadt stands before a Rock Martinez mural of her as she is honored during the renaming ceremony of the Tucson Music Hall, which became the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, in 2022.
For years, Linda Ronstadt railed against the razing of the barrio to make way for the Tucson Convention Center. Now her name has become a part of it with the renaming of the Tucson Music Hall to the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall.
Tucson native, Emmy and Grammy winner Linda Ronstadt honored at a ceremony before the International Mariachi Conference's Espectacular Concert with the renaming of the Tucson Music Hall as The Linda Ronstadt Music Hall. Video by Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star
