The Mesquite Online News - Texas A&M University-San Antonio

Fiesta 2016 fashion

By Kimberly Rivera, Felicia Palomo, Amanda Tetens

¡Viva Fiesta! It’s the time of year when people look forward to the gorditas, turkey legs, parades, and carnival, while others prepare for the most important thing: their outfits. Fiesta 2016 may be over, but let’s take it back to the streets of Fiesta, where the biggest, loudest, and strangely unique outfits were spotted all the way from the other side of the chicken-on-a-stick booth.

This year marks the 125th anniversary of Fiesta San Antonio, an annual event for locals and tourists to honor the memory of the heroes of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto.  After the celebration, Fiesta-goers look forward to coming back the following year.

Fiesta de Los Reyes at Market Square

Located in the heart of the city and a popular tourist attraction, Market Square becomes a home for Fiesta-goers to enjoy free events throughout the day during Fiesta de Los Reyes at Market Square.

On a recent sunny Friday afternoon, a crowd of San Antonians and tourists gathered around with their chicken-on-a-stick in hand and drink in the other while listening to live music.

Jennifer Rodriguez, wearing a traditional paper-mache multicolored flower crown and a Fiesta flamboyant outfit, tread through the crowd deciding which food stand to stop at. Her Fiesta ensemble this year included a trendy floral print dress from a recently opened plus size downtown  boutique Eye Candy, located at the intersection of Navarro and Houston Streets.

A handmade ribbon sash wrapped around Rodriguez’s dress, showcasing current Fiesta medals, including some from The Pearl, The Current, San Antonio Zoo, and San Antonio Teach for America. Rodriguez laughed, saying she’s showing off “just 25” of her 40 plus Fiesta medals.

Rodriguez said her favorite medal is one she handmade at a local event by San Antonio Public Library and Make San Antonio. The two organizations hosted free DIY Fiesta Medal workshops from March 22 to April 16 at local libraries.

Fiesta is a good opportunity for visitors to experience the culture and food that San Antonio has to offer.

Irene Delgado brought her brother, Martin Vela, visiting from El Paso, to experience what goes on at Market Square.

Delgado, like many Fiesta-goers, wore her Fiesta sash decorated with her collected Fiesta medals.

“Last year I collected 10 medals. This year I started collecting early, like in March,” Delgado said. “I follow this page ‘Fiesta Medal Maniacs’ on Facebook and every time a medal comes out, they tell you.”

Delgado and her family usually attend Fiesta Arts Fair and the King William Fair, but decided to expose visiting family to other Fiesta events.

Another trend in Fiesta fashion every year is handmade hats. Fiesta-goers make hats to fit their personality and moods.

Paulo Gonzalez and girlfriend Yvonne Ponce, gazed at the crowd dancing to the blaring Latin music. The couple met in Las Vegas and have lived in San Antonio for a little more than two years. They wore bright and fun hats, which Gonzalez said she made from materials gathered at local craft stores.

“Wait until you see this,” Gonzalez said enthusiastically as he kneeled down to show off the contents of his hat.

Photo by Felicia Palomo
Erin Campos wore her mother’s traditional Fiesta vest, but added lights to it after her father suggested it. Photo by Felicia Palomo

Metallic colored plastic eggs and confetti filled his pinata-style Fiesta hat. Gonzalez said he draws inspiration from throughout San Antonio.

Ponce also accessorized with another of Gonzalez’s creation, a straw hat, bedecked with bright paper-mache flowers and dancing dolls wearing traditional Mexican dresses.

A Night in Old San Antonio

Erin Campos sported a bright fuschia tank top at a Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA), with blue jean capris, black wedges and a blue jean vest adorned with Fiesta medals.

“This was my mother’s collection,” Campos said about her colorful blue jean vest. “She passed away six years ago and asked me to keep the tradition alive.”

“It’s a family tradition to come every year and wear the vest now,” she said. “The lights were my dad’s idea.”

As part of another family tradition, sisters Sherri Kamp and Shelli Korn make it a point every year to come out to NIOSA to have a girl’s night out in style.

Korn sported a colorful sombrero made by her sister. A parrot-inspired mini pinata topped the hat, surrounded by Fiesta colors and flowers.

“We always have a girl’s night every year and come out to NIOSA on Wednesdays,” Korn said.

“Fiesta Y’all,” is visible on top of Kamp’s tall Fiesta sombrero, along with a cactus, an armadillo dressed in Spurs attire. The finishing touch? A bedazzled crown.

“Oh my gosh! Do I have to admit that I have been coming to NIOSA since I was in high school in 1990?” Kamp said as others lined up to take pictures of her and her Fiesta outfit. “It took me six hours to make this hat.”

There is no age limit for NIOSA goers. Found at the South of the Border section of NIOSA, Olga Samaniego wasn’t dancing with her senior dance group as she usually does, but dancing solo with a colorful and unique outfit.

Samaniego danced and shook around to the beat of a Tejano band wearing a hot pink skirt, a white lace blouse and a green scarf tied around her waist to bring it all together.  What really made her Fiesta ensemble was her foam “Fiesta Diva” crown.

“Everything is my favorite,” she said. “Here, I always have fun.”

“Oooh, I have been coming to NIOSA for forever!” Samaniego said. “I am 76-years-old. You can only imagine how long I have been coming.

The years of Fiesta experience seemed to add up quickly for the colorful green couple found at the Irish Flat section in NIOSA.

Topped with a bright green leprechaun hat and a green vest both filled with an abundance of Fiesta medals, Lloyd Miller enjoyed the night as he has for the past 17 years.

Miller’s date, Velma Galle wore a similar bright green attire. She outdid her date in NIOSA visits with this year being her 19th visit while he was only on his 17h. 

Juan Rios used the recycling technique as his inspiration for this year’s Fiesta hat attire.

“Girl, yes I made this. All 18 pounds,” Rios said when asked if he made the tall purple and green hat himself.

“It took me a week to make [this hat] and it’s all stuff that I brought back from Mardi Gras,” Rios said. “It’s Mardi Gras meets Fiesta!”

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Sherri Kamp took approximately six hours to make her Fiesta hat. Photo by Felicia Palomo

Juan Rios made a trip to Mardi Gras back in February and was inspired to use everything he brought back to make his heavy “Mardi Gras Meets Fiesta” hat.

Jacob and Sandra Infante know what it’s like to wear big hats all night too.  The pair wore Spurs inspired sombreros and Mrs. Infante was sporting her Spurs and Fiesta inspired manicure and pedicure.

Selling cascarones right outside the Irish Flat, Nanette Freyer spent her night volunteering in style while supporting a great cause. Wearing black cowboy boots trimmed with turquoise and a bright floral satchel, she explained that both items were handmade by Guatemalan women with all proceeds going back to the Guatemalan women.

Freyer loves to volunteer for NIOSA, but also likes to come and enjoy herself.

“One night I come to work and one night I get to come and play,”  Freyer said.  

Whether big or bright, handmade or store bought, there is a thought that lingers with Fiesta- goers at the end of the festivities, how can I make next year’s outfit better?

“I have made [fiesta] hats for four and a half years,” Justin Samora said. “Last year was beads; next year’s will be bigger!”

Samora had more than just a giant, colorful, handmade sombrero on his head, but also carried around a “pinata cane” he made to match his hat.

Fiesta may be over, but Fiesta revelers are already thinking about next year’s outfits. Gaining more medals, material and inspiration from years past, one can only imagine what is expected and what trends will spark new ideas for outfits and headgear for years to come.  

 

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About the Author

Felicia Palomo
Felicia Palomo is a staff reporter for The Mesquite at Texas A&M University- San Antonio. In her last semester before graduation, Felicia keeps busy with 12 hours of classes, a 15 hour a week marketing internship with Sea Island Shrimp House, and works 30 hours a week at Nationwide Insurance as a Commercial Claims Specialist. Felicia is a proud mother to her three year old son, Ayden, who is her motivation in everything she does.

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