¡Fiesta! The Party Has Begun!

Yup! San Antonio's annual party-to-end-all-parties is under way! Actually, it sort of had an early start-up for yours truly. You see, South Alamo Street adjacent to the historic King William neighborhood hosts a block-party style event, called "First Friday" every first Friday nite of the month. And I finally got around to attending it the first Fri. of April. It resembled the block-party type events of Fiesta itself; indeed, one cafe on its outside chalkboard (where they write food specials) had chalked up "Fiesta starts here!" And as I told in my previous posting, the City Council two Thursdays ago recognized Fiesta royalty and organizers of Fiesta '06.

But. . . the official start of the party was Friday morning, in front of The Alamo. It just happened that Thursday p.m. & into very early Friday South Central Texas received some much-needed rainfall. Thank you, Lord! But the shower ceased a couple of hours before the ceremony & in en'uf time for seats to dry at the official start site. I was there, sporting my Fiesta necktie, bought in '02. Near the bottom it has the year discreetly printed on a cascarón. This year the Fiesta Store introduced a new Fiesta tie, which the store calls a "cascarón tie"; it's just like mine, without the 2002.

A local TV personality hosted the celebration (broadcast live on TV). The Fiesta Commission President spoke, as did Mayor Hardberger and former Governor Dolph Briscoe (he was Governor the first time I moved to the Lone Star State, in '76). There was live music, recognition of the heroes of The Alamo and of the Battle of San Jacinto, the cutting of a business leader's ugly necktie (accompanied by the other suited men on the platform hurriedly removing & hiding their ties) to signal the casual nature of Fiesta, and finally the breaking of hundreds of cascarones over the heads of the hundreds of folks in attendance.

And of course, lots of shouts of "¡Viva Fiesta!" answered by "¡Viva!"

I browsed the art exhibition & sale in Alamo Plaza next to the official opening site, then took the bus out to the far northwest of the county, to UTSA for their Fiesta event. Each year I try to experience at least one Fiesta event new to me, and this was it. My interest in going came to life due to my recent re-connection to my university-years fraternity, Lambda Chi Alpha. I knew we Lambda Chis have a flourishing chapter at UTSA (also at St. Mary's U. & at Incarnate Word), so I was curious what the fellows in purple green & gold (L.C.A. colors) would be doing at UTSA Fiesta. Well, most of the campus event was food booths - LOTS of food booths. And the L.C.A. brothers' booth featured beef fajita tacos, with the meat being grilled directly behind the booth. So, it was freshly grilled, & dee-ee-ee-licious!

After returning to my room for a few hours respite, I went back downtown for Fiestas Fantasías del Mercado, in the Mexican Marketplace. Amid the food & souvenir booths four stages were set up for live music artists, who perform not only Tejano or conjunto music but also country or rock music. Yup! Food & live music are two BIG, BIG elements of this party-to-end-all-parties! Oh, and also family fun & games, royalty and parades. Which reminds me: the first of the three major parades (along with a number of smaller, shorter) is coming up tonite, the Texas Cavaliers River Parade. Always I look forward to that one!