El Tiradito

Address 418 S. Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ

El Tiradito — Spanish for 'the little castaway' — is a small open-air shrine in Barrio Viejo, just south of the Tucson Convention Center. It is said to be the only Catholic shrine in the United States dedicated to a sinner buried on unconsecrated ground. The little corner is hung with hundreds of candles, paper milagros, photographs and folded notes.

Local tradition holds that if you light a candle and it burns through the night, your wish will come true. The site has been recognised by the National Register of Historic Places — a first for a folk shrine. Free and always open.

things to do sight barrio viejo
A story
Local lore says that in the 1870s a young man named Juan Oliveras was killed by his father-in-law after he was found in an affair with his mother-in-law. The Catholic Church refused to bury him in consecrated ground, so neighbours buried him where he fell and lit candles for him. The shrine has burned continuously ever since.

Other places in Barrio Viejo