Editor's note: A version of the news story will be published Wednesday in La Estrella de Tucsón, the Star's weekly Spanish publication
On the anniversary of Elisa Gastellum's death, her family and friends plan to join community leaders in an official ceremony adopting the road.
During the ceremony, the Rev. Liam Leahy will bless a 6-foot-tall, 4-foot-wide wrought iron shrine installed a week ago into the side of a berm off North Greasewood Road south of West Speedway.
The arbor-shaped shrine was designed by Elisa's cousins Al and Kathryn Gastelum. Local artist James Meador welded the piece.
It is an image of the Virgen de Guadalupe and Elisa, an 18-year-old mariachi singer who worked in youth ministry.
"When we envisioned this piece, we wanted the affinity between the Virgen and Elisa to come through. We wanted a formation showing both of them united," Al explained.
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Elisa died last year in a two-vehicle crash on Greasewood near West Speedway, about 11 p.m. on Feb. 24. Her car crossed the center line and collided with a southbound car. Police said Elisa was speeding and was legally impaired, with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 percent.
Elisa, a graduate of Cholla High Magnet School and a Pima Community College student, was pronounced dead at the scene. Soon afterward, her friends built a roadside shrine that still beckons them to the serene desert near the PCC West Campus.
At 9 a.m. this Saturday at nearby Greasewood Park, city and county officials will be present for the dedication of Greasewood Road. The road was adopted by the Elisa Gastellum Memorial Foundation Inc. through Tucson Clean & Beautiful, a nonprofit organization that works with groups to keep roadways, parks and public areas litter-free.
Nearly a mile of Greasewood, between Anklam and Speedway, is being kept clean by Elisa's loved ones. They have gathered eight times since July to pick up trash and dead brush.
Terri Gastellum, Elisa's mother, said the family is still healing from the death of her daughter.
They keep busy trying to raise money to help others in Elisa's name through the memorial foundation and the Las Cruces International Mariachi Conference in New Mexico.
Elisa's father, Bobby Gastellum, is working on producing a CD of Elisa singing with Mariachi Cobre of Orlando, Fla., Mariachi Plata de Las Vegas and Mariachi Los Arrieros of El Paso.
In Las Cruces, those who knew and worked with Elisa in the annual mariachi conference raised $16,000 for a memorial scholarship endowment honoring her.
The first vocalist to receive that endowment is Alberto Rangel, a University of Arizona graduate, who received $1,100 and plans to enroll in graduate school in the fall.
Last August at the Viva Arizona Hispanic Performing Arts Conference at the UA, Victoria Sánchez, a Tucson High Magnet School student, was awarded a $500 scholarship for private voice lessons.
In May, the foundation plans to award a $500 scholarship for PCC to a Cholla High School senior who studied mariachi.
The foundation also has helped Our Lady of Fatima teen ministry raise money for spiritual retreats. At 5 p.m. Saturday, a Mass will be celebrated for the intention of Elisa at the church. And at noon Sunday, a queen palm tree will be blessed and planted on the parish property in Elisa's memory.
"I plan on writing a biography on Elisa to raise money for the foundation. It will be about our relationship," said her mother, Terri. "The book will be aimed toward youth and parents." She will work with author Patricia Preciado Martin.
"It is in our hearts to establish this foundation so we can reach out to families who have lost a child in a car accident as we did. We want to help them spiritually and financially if they need help," Terri said.
She said she and Bobby are available to speak to youth and community groups about how the death of their child has altered their lives.
ADOPT-A-sTREET
What: A ceremony officially recognizing the adoption of North Greasewood Road between West Anklam Road and West Speedway by the Elisa Gastellum Memorial Foundation Inc.
When: 9 a.m. Feb. 24
Where: Greasewood Park, southwest corner of Greasewood and Speedway
Information: Call 883-2671 to learn more about the foundation's work.
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