Zuleyma came to Tucson from Nogales with two kids and no plan except fashion. She worked five years for free at Border Fashion Week, started the Capricorn Market so other small businesses had a table, and says the quiet part out loud: fashion is a rich people's sport, and she is building anyway. In this one she announces the Tucson Project House, a hub for every creative in this city, for the first time anywhere.
Introducing Tucson to itself.
Gregorio C., El Tucsonan
CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
2:24 Spanglish, and a six-week business class
6:00 Two things: fashion and the Capricorn Market
7:19 Nogales, a border town
9:32 Border Fashion Week and Domingo Toledo
10:46 Five years unpaid, paid in knowledge
12:50 Eddie Corps and learning to sew
17:18 Her second show, at the U of A
18:42 Starting the Capricorn Market
27:24 Sky Bar, Screw Bean and Brooklyn Pizza
29:13 Why it is called Capricorn
35:14 New York, Beyond Walls and cactus leather
39:42 Border Fashion Week, Oct 1 to 3, Juan Gabriel
43:09 Tucson Fashion Week is gone
44:27 Fashion is a rich people's sport
48:46 Shein, quality and the $10 find
57:53 The job she turned down
1:01:51 I didn't do anything in my 20s
1:03:42 The paper form on a first date
1:11:17 Relationships, money and starting over
1:29:27 The mom tribe is a lie
1:34:17 A mind that will not slow down
1:41:05 Producer Questions
1:53:58 The Tucson Project House
1:59:40 Favorite brands, and Law Roach
LINKS
Become a supporter: eltucsonan.com/supporters/sign_in
Sponsor the show: eltucsonan.com/pages/sponsor
Instagram: @eltucsonan
TikTok: @el.tucsonan
YouTube: @Eltucsonan
ZULEE
Instagram: @zuledelrey
TikTok: @zuledelray
The Capricorn Market: @thecapricornmarket
Border Fashion Week: @borderfashionweek | borderfashionweek.com
Everything else: linktr.ee/zuleymazepeda
TUCSON PROJECT HOUSE
@tucsonprojecthouse
Zule's Enterprise presents Tucson Project House: Music, Fashion, Film.
Market and launch party, Saturday September 19, 5PM to 9PM.
Café Passé, 415 N 4th Ave, Tucson, AZ 85705.
Free and family friendly. RSVP required, guest list only: forms.gle/Cs47ZqtmUkdjM24e8
BORDER FASHION WEEK
October 1 to 3, 2026, Nogales, Sonora and Nogales, Arizona. Tickets are on sale now.
LAST EPISODE
Steven Cota-Robles: https://youtu.be/jP-4YpiS5gg
BOOKS & WRITERS
None this episode.
NAMES MENTIONED
Domingo Toledo, founder of Border Fashion Week in Nogales, Arizona, and the friend and first boss Zuli assisted starting in 2017.
Eddie Corps (Eduardo Corpus), Tijuana-born designer whose 2023 Border Fashion Week collection she calls one of her favorites.
Raquelle Pedraza, New York couture designer and celebrity tailor whose credits include Salma Hayek and Shakira. The job Zuli was offered and turned down.
Juan Gabriel, the theme of this year's Border Fashion Week gallery and collective.
Law Roach, celebrity stylist and Project Runway judge, the "Cinderella dress" she describes.
Aldo Rendón, Mexican stylist she recommends for brand suggestions.
SKIMS and Shein, discussed in the conversation about material and quality.
Versace, and Gianni Versace, her favorite house and the Medusa story behind it.
El Tucsonan is produced by Self Media Productions LLC, Tucson, Arizona.
