Fiesta!

It’s the first day of Fiesta here in San Antonio and, as always, I’m excited. What’s Fiesta, you ask. It’s a 10 day citywide party celebrating … well, celebrating how good it is to be alive and living in San Antonio.

The event began back in 1890 with a parade to honor the heroes of the Alamo. Since then, Fiesta has come to include a huge array of events with a royal court, fancy balls, street festivals, numerous concerts, giant fairs and lots and lots of eating and drinking. It’s like our version of Mardi Gras, as culturally significant and marvelously strange as what goes on in New Orleans.

Most people outside of South Texas have never heard of Fiesta, even though the event brings in hundreds of thousands of people and several hundred million dollars every year. Down here, schools are even closed for the main event, the Battle of Flowers parade. And few of us put in much work at any point during these ten days.

For anyone looking for a good taste of some authentic American culture, there’s nothing like Fiesta. It’s one of the biggest reasons why I make this city my home.