Fiesta changes offer hope for community
Call us hopeful — talks between various community groups interested in making changes in Fiesta de Santa Fe seem to be making progress. With people of goodwill gathered around the table, it is entirely possible that in 2018, Fiesta can become a broader community celebration for all of Santa Fe.
Such an outcome is best for Santa Fe. For the past few years, loud protests at the historical pageant recalling the re-entry of conquistador Don Diego de Vargas into Santa Fe have drowned out the festivities.
In 2017, amid great tension, police arrested eight people. Officers were on rooftops and in the streets. Protesters were cordoned off into a “free speech” zone. The pageant at the heart of the controversy was moved to an earlier time so it could go on without commotion. We said at the time, and still believe, that Santa Fe was fortunate no one was injured.
The controversy centers on the Entrada historical pageant, which is not itself an intrinsic part of Fiesta. The original commemoration, after all, dates back to a proclamation in 1712 that called for an annual gathering “with vespers, Mass, sermon and procession through the Main Plaza.”
Its roots are even earlier, dating to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 when Indians expelled the Spanish from the area; in 1692, Don Diego de Vargas came to negotiate a return for the settlers. It is that meeting the Entrada purports to portray — focusing on a peaceful moment of negotiation, leaving out the bloodshed of occupation that came before and after, not to mention the centuries of conflict since.
To critics, the Entrada is dishonest and bad history, and causes real hurt to the original occupants of this region. We believe those feelings must be respected. To find a better way to honor our mutual past is the reason for the months of talks. The city of Española has decided to distance itself from its fiesta, which honors the conquistador Don Juan de Oñate.
After the protests last fall, the All Pueblo Council of Governors asked to meet with city officials. Archdiocese of Santa Fe Archbishop John C. Wester said publicly the Entrada needed to change, and in December, officials from the city, church and pueblos began talking. Last week, members of the Fiesta Council and the Caballeros de Vargas joined. We think their participation is essential, considering the Fiesta Council puts on the show and the Caballeros are responsible for presenting the Entrada. We should be reaching a turning point, and the timing is perfect.
This Sunday, the heart of Fiesta begins — far from controversy and the spotlight. Catholics in Santa Fe keep the spirit of the original procession discussed in that first proclamation alive.
They take La Conquistadora, now known as Our Lady of Peace or Nuestra Señora de la Paz, from the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi to Rosario Chapel, holding her aloft in procession.
Once at Rosario — where de Vargas is thought to have encamped — the faithful hold a series of early morning and evening Masses, returning the statue the following Sunday and ending the Novena with a Mass in the cathedral on the Monday morning after her return. The event is deeply moving for many, with the people of today continuing to honor a promise made by their ancestors.
Later in the year, there will be time for Zozobra — parades, parties and the other activities now identified with Fiesta. The recent talks, however, should signal the end of the current Entrada. Santa Fe is strong enough to present its checkered history — warts and all — while taking pride in the resilience of its people and the strength of a culture formed over centuries.