The Fiesta Parade, El Desfile Historico Brings Out Horses, Floats, and Fun

With traditional costumes, horses, flowers, floats, and fun the annual Fiesta parade, El Desfile Historico brought out thousands to the Santa Barbara waterfront and downtown today.But before the parade started, a car parked too close to the railroad tracks, upset the train schedule on the parade route and delayed the event by about 20 minutes.Then the celebration began with the flower girls, Fiesta dancers, and mariachi musicians leading the way.El Presidente Ricardo Castellanos was on a horse with a silver saddle and when he was asked, “how often do you ride?” He said, “never! “Then he rode off laughing, waving and smiling at the cheering spectators.One person who found a front row seat on Cabrillo Boulevard was Karen Hinds. “That’s the secret,” said Hinds. “Come down here because up there (downtown) is where the crazies are.” She said, however, she was going that direction later.Up the parade route, Martin Irabien was wearing a basket hat and a red shirt with a bull on it. He was celebrating the Mexican and Spanish cultures. The parade had about 900 horses, and 92 entries. There was also a tribute to the late Hattie Feazelle who died last year at the age of 100 following Old Spanish Days. She had participated in every parade since the event began in 1924. A replica horse with an empty saddle was part of the parade in her honor.There were many families on the route, that were celebrating in line with the theme “Viva La Familia.”At the end of the parade, the city firefighters sprayed water in the air on each corner, to shower the audience and get the kids screaming.KEY News Senior Reporter John Palminteri has our story.