José Maria Garcia was a Maehto Yo'owe, an elder maestro (master), a lay priest or spiritual leader. He was also known as Maehito Lo'i, "a lame or crippled maestro," because he walked with a limp. Garcia initiated the first Easter ceremony in Tucson in the early 1900s. It was held in the Bwia Bwalko, or "Soft Earth settlement" located on the banks of the Santa Cruz River at what is now Miracle Mile and Interstate 10. Garcia selected the locations of three Easter ceremonies in the Tucson area. Most of these sites were located along the Santa Cruz River.
| Waluupe |
| Waluupe (Guadalupe in Spanish) was a kia pueplotukan, a pueblo person with no ceremonial duty, who lived alone on Calle Matus in Pascua. Many remember him carrying an image of Jesus around the village for an offering. |
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