Fiesta tradition continues with Old Spanish Days costume sale

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.- Santa Barbara’s nearly century long tradition, Fiesta, continued Saturday morning with the Old Spanish Days costume sale.

“ (The sale) is a way of many of our dancers to clean up their closet and pass those beautiful costumes on to those members of our community who want to participate in Fiesta,” says Fiesta President Maria Cabrera.

The colorful costumes hold immeasurable sentimental value to dance moms like Beatriz Flores, who explained, “Part of Fiesta is just being exuberant and happy and joyful and yellow has always been her favorite color. So all these dresses were handmade for her. All in yellow. She designed these. And when she was little, when she was nine years old, she was junior spirit runner up. And a woman in Spain made her a dress just for her for trying out.”

Beatriz was overjoyed that her daughter’s dresses found a new home, sharing, “I sold that dress today to the 1965 Spirit of Fiesta. Her name is Marta. She's a beautiful, lovely lady.”

Marta Babson who expressed some sadness that she didn’t still have the original dress her mom sewed for her in 1965, said that she was thrilled Beatriz’s daughter’s dress fit her.

“I looked at it and I thought, ‘That's very interesting and very pretty and very small. I think I’ll try it on’ and I just loved it,” says Babson.

Marta wasn’t the only Spirit of Fiesta winner showing her support for fiesta.

Yvonne Robles, Spirit of Fiesta winner from 1960, shared how her mother encouraged her to compete in Fiesta over 60 years ago, stating, “That was an honor and an experience you don’t ever forget.”

The tradition continues with this year’s Spirit of Fiesta winner Tara Mata who hopes to bring unity and joy to Fiesta this year.

“It’s always about embracing Santa Barbara’s rich history and enjoying the town as it is today,” says Mata.