Spirit of community demonstrated in 2022 Fiesta poster and pin
La Presidente Maria Cabrera reveals the Fiesta 2022 poster during La Primavera Saturday at the Carriage and Western Museum in Santa Barbara. See today’s front page for a photo of the pin.
Old Spanish Days soared further into the spirit of this year’s in-person celebration with Saturday night’s unveiling of the 2022 Fiesta poster and pin.
La Presidente Maria Cabrera showed the new poster before the large audience during La Primavera at the Carriage and Western Art Museum in Santa Barbara.
The celebration also featured dancing by Spirit of Fiesta Tara Mata, as well as an appearance by Junior Spirit Layla Gocong, Saint Barbara Lynn Kirst and other dignitaries.
Mrs. Cabrera noted the entire community is represented in the new poster.
The colorful poster features a lively scene of music and dance in front of the Santa Barbara Mission. Mrs. Cabrera stumbled across the watercolor by Arthur Beaumont while archiving Fiesta material in the Santa Barbara Mission archive library.
Earlier, in a News-Press interview, Mrs. Cabrera explained the importance of dance to her.
“I believe God meant us to dance,” Mrs. Cabrera told the News-Press. “It is to share the joy of life. We dance when we’re happy. We dance when we are sad.
“I feel dancing is a way of communication; it’s something God gave us,” she said.
The spirit of dance and community is clear in the poster, and that means everything to Mrs. Cabrera, whose 2022 Fiesta theme is “Todos Juntos en Familia.”
That’s Spanish for “All Together as a Family.”
“Fiesta is a time to just enjoy life being together,” said La Presidente Cabrera.
“Choosing the poster image was meant to be,” she added in a news release. “You see the entire community represented: the dancers, the musicians, the Franciscan Friars, the spectators … We are all there.”
To transform the image into the 2022 Fiesta poster, Patty Dryskel consulted in the printing, and Amanda Vasquez developed the original font used in the typography. The typeface clearly reflects the historic celebration inherent in Fiesta.
Before the poster unveiling, La Presidente Cabrera presented the 2022 Fiesta Pin, which is a 3D silver colored fan used, she said, “for both dancing props and for our comfort.”
“Special to me is that it is a fan that you must pin to your clothing — no magnet!,” Mrs. Cabrera said. “It is used by men and women. As a child, it intrigued me. I always wanted to learn how to use it, to open it and to close it quickly. I can now do that.”
The pin was designed by Old Spanish Days associate and graphic artist Jenna Verbryke.
Old Spanish Days is set for Aug. 3-7 in Santa Barbara — after more pre-Fiesta celebrations.
Up next is Fiesta Ranchera, set for 5 to 10 p.m. June 16 at La Patera & Stow house, 304 N. Los Carneros Road, Goleta, complete, of course, with dancing. Last year, Junior Spirit Savannah Hoover leaped high during her dancing, so it’s definitely a place where spirits can soar.
And El Presidente Party will take place July 31.
This year’s Old Spanish Days will feature El Mercado De la Guerra (in De la Guerra Plaza, of course) and El Mercado Del Norte — complete with food, merchandise and entertainment.
And La Fiesta Pequeña will present dancers Aug. 3 in front of — where else? — the Santa Barbara Mission. It’s a tradition!
Those are just some of the highlights of a festival packed with activity and a sense of community.
For more information, go to sbfiesta.org.
And — it must be said — Viva la Fiesta!
email: dmason@newspress.com
