Drive-thru farolitos
Questions remain on how many shops will partake in revised tradition,
In a year unlike any other, a Santa Fe Christmas tradition continues. And by all accounts, preparations for the celebration of candlelight appeared this week to be just as busy as in years past.
Although the decades-old tradition of an evening stroll along a farolito-lined Canyon Road — complete with thousands of people, carolers, bonfires and open shops — has morphed into a drive-by event, art galleries said they were preparing to lay out hundreds of farolitos.
But just how many shops along the vehicle-only route would take part in the festivities remained an open question Wednesday, said Carlos Acosta, a gallery owner on Canyon Road and co-president of the Canyon Road Merchants Association.
Nathalie, Canyon Road Contemporary, Karina on Canyon, Giacobbe-Fritz
Fine Art and Acosta Strong Fine Art all committed to laying out farolitos to keep the tradition alive, Acosta said.
Several galleries have gone out of business during the pandemic, and others did not commit, Acosta said.
“It’s a tough year for everybody. I’m sure it’s very difficult for people to get into the spirit,” Acosta said. “But all we’re trying to do is just keep the tradition alive.
“We just have to make do with what’s in front of us … and to have some sense of normalcy, at least by putting out these farolitos,” he added.
Deborah Fritz, owner of Giacobbe-Fritz Fine Art, said she ordered 120 farolitos this year and was looking forward to Christmas Eve.
But she said the person who makes her farolitos had only two galleries request orders. She usually receives orders for about 40 galleries, Fritz said.
“It’s just been a really tough year for the businesses, and I think a lot of them weren’t planning on doing it,” Fritz said. “But I hope they are because it’s an event that has been around since the ’70s, I believe.
“Usually we get, I’m not even
lying, 20,000 people up here,” she added. “It’s so special. It’s just people singing carols and the farolitos — they’re so unique to New Mexico. It’s a real treat. And we’re usually open for business, but not this year.”
In the spirit of keeping the tradition alive, city officials said the event could proceed so long as people remained in their vehicles.
The event, slated to start at 5:15 p.m. and scheduled to end at 8:30, will be closed to pedestrians.
According to the city, vehicles should approach south of Canyon Road on Paseo de Peralta, pass through a police post and then turn right onto Canyon Road. They’ll cruise along Canyon Road and then exit at Camino Cabra. Police will block side streets that intersect with Canyon Road.
“The Canyon Road Association has been supportive of continuing this tradition and we are grateful for their participation and enthusiasm to keep our traditions alive in a COVID-safe way,” the city said in a statement.
Nora Meyers Sackett, a spokeswoman for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, said in an email the event will not violate the state’s public health order forbidding mass gatherings because people will not be exiting their vehicles.
“The vehicle aspect of the mass gathering rule applies to a gathering of stationary vehicles, where people could get out of their cars and interact, as opposed to moving vehicle processions,” she said.
And although it remains to be seen just how many farolitos will be on Canyon Road for the event, Jeff Saiz, who makes them for numerous clients, said his business hasn’t slowed down despite the pandemic.
Saiz, a career firefighter in Los Alamos who lives in Santa Fe, said he received orders to make roughly 2,400 farolitos for shops along Canyon Road alone.
Not being able to gather on the street puts a damper on the holiday cheer, Saiz said. But the “drive-thru thing is great, because we’re still keeping the tradition alive.”
And though some streets will be closed to traffic, eastside Santa Fe Realtor Linda Murphy said many people plan to light up their neighborhoods, too.
Murphy said she hired someone to line up farolitos for 30 to 40 clients this year, including at Plaza Chamisal and the Stewart Compound on Acequia Madre, which will be closed to the public on Christmas Eve.
“This year of all my responses when people wrote back and emailed me or called me, it was more grateful than ever,” she said. “It was so nice to have this little gift of light and happiness and joy. So it was really special, more special for me this year than ever.”