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All the United States Arizona Tucson El Tiradito
AO Edited

El Tiradito

Make a wish at what might be America's only Catholic shrine to a sinner.

Tucson, Arizona

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mlg
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El Tiradito Shrine in Tucson.   Ammodramus/public domain
El Tiradito Shrine in Tucson.   Ammodramus/public domain
December 2023   ccesare / Atlas Obscura User
December 2023   ccesare / Atlas Obscura User
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Respect the offerings left by other patrons at El Tiradito, some of which have lain at the shrine for years.   mlg / Atlas Obscura User
Rolled-up prayers and wishes are crammed into nearly every surface of El Tiradito.   mlg / Atlas Obscura User
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Plaque in Spanish   ickaimp / Atlas Obscura User
Prayers in the wall   ickaimp / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The stuff of Hollywood legend is rife in the story of El Tiradito, a little grotto in Tucson, Arizona, that may be the United States's only Catholic shrine dedicated to the memory of a sinner instead of a saint.

The legend goes back to Tucson's Barrio Viejo in its early years, when a ranch hand named Juan Oliveras engaged in an affair with an older woman—his young wife's mother. Variations of the story exist, but most hinge on the sad demise of Oliveras, caught in the act and allegedly axed to death on the spot by the husband of his paramour, his own father-in-law.

Oliveras's disconsolate lover-in-law, unable to bury him in consecrated ground due to the nature of their sin, is supposed to have buried him near where he fell. In time, a shrine sprung up in Oliveras's memory. The legend of "El Tiradito" (the little castaway) was born. 

While the shrine has moved from its original site, the grotto has been in its current location for close to 100 years and has evolved into a wishing shrine. Visitors leave candles, offerings, and photos, little slips of papers containing their heartbreaks and hopes rolled into the cracks of the crumbling adobe wall. Legend has it that if a candle burns through the night, the wish of the candle-lighter will be granted. 

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Shrines Grottoes

Know Before You Go

Now on the National Registry of Historic Places, El Tiradito is tucked into a colorful little neighborhood near a historical café and a mural of Tucson. You can walk by at any time.

Community Contributors

Added By

mlg

Edited By

hellogoodbye14, ickaimp, cyccommute, gretch...

  • hellogoodbye14
  • ickaimp
  • cyccommute
  • gretch
  • ccesare
  • IgFan
  • spetrie3
  • lookinggood77
  • pudvarbail

Published

April 18, 2019

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Sources
  • http://kjzz.org/content/10981/untold-arizona-el-tiradito-no-ordinary-shrine
  • http://www.zocalomagazine.com/the-legend-of-el-tiradito/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Tiradito
  • https://tucsonmuseum.org/shrinecurse.htm
El Tiradito
418 S Main Ave
Tucson, Arizona, 85701
United States
32.216173, -110.974697
Visit Website
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