This year marks the 300th anniversary of Fiestas de Santa Fe! I was so excited to experiece this annual event for the first time! My friend Christina and I attended Zozobra, the Desfile de la Gente Parade and Bandstand on the Plaza. I posted a few photos from Zozobra and videos from both Zozobra and Bandstand on the Plaza. I also posted a brief synopsis of the history behind the Fiestas below.
Burning of Zozobra - Old Man Gloom!
Bandstand on the Plaza
Fiesta de Santa Fe History
The historic capital is one of the oldest in the United States. It was
established by Don Juan de Oñate at San Gabriel in 1598 and moved over
30 miles south to the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains where Santa
Fe was founded in 1610. In 1680 the Indians revolted, burned the city
and drove out the Spanish colonists, who fled to Guadalupe del Paso, now
Juarez, Mexico. They rescued from the burning church the 29-inch wood
carved Marian statue, La Conquistadora, originally brought to Santa Fe
in 1625 by the missionary, Fray Alonso de Benavides.
Twelve years
later, the King of Spain appointed Don Diego De Vargas to join the
exiles in Guadalupe del Paso and organize a campaign for the
resettlement of Santa Fe. He accomplished this difficult and remarkable
mission without bloodshed on September 4, 1692. In December of the next
year, the Indians resisted when De Vargas returned from a trip to
recruit more colonists, so he set up an encampment outside the city near
the present site of the Rosario Chapel. The anxious colonist placed La
Conquistadora on a makeshift altar and implored her to intercede for the
successful re-entry into the town. Before the end of December 1693, De
Vargas led his triumphant forces back into the City of the Holy Faith
where La Conquistadora was likely enshrined temporarily in the Palace
chapel. Crediting the Madonna’s intercession with his victory, De Vargas
is said to have vowed restoration of her throne in the parish church
built by Fray Benavides in 1692 and destroyed by the Indians in 1680.
The General De Vargas died on April 4, 1704 without achieving this goal.
Eight
years after the death of De Vargas, Lt. Governor Paez Hurtado who had
been one of this Captains and a close friend, influenced city officials
to draft a proclamation for an annual celebration commemorating the
peaceful 1692 resettlement. The 1712 proclamation establishing the first
Fiesta de Santa Fe, was signed by Governor Marquez de La Peñuela. The
document specified a mass, vespers, and a sermon, thus setting the
religious tone still characterizing modern fiestas. La Conquistadora is
among the most venerated Marian figures in the world. She was crowned in
1954 by Cardinal Francis Spellman and again in 1960 by an apostolic
representative of Pope John XXIII. Her golden crown is studded with
precious stones, including a three-carat diamond. Her extensive wardrobe
includes an exquisite lace mantilla from Sevilla Spain and an elaborate
costume fashioned from ancient French vestments found in the old
Cathedral museum. They appear to be of the secular and American periods
of Bishop Lamy’s clergy. And so it is that La Conquistadora, a conqueror
of hearts, and De Vargas, a conquistador of the new world, join forces
to inspire our unique and enduring celebration, la Fiesta de Santa Fe, a
time of prayer, rejoicing and hospitality for all.
