From calacas to Chili Queens, here are the best Fiesta medals
Fiesta medals make everybody feel like a winner. So it’s only fitting we make a few winners out of all those medals.
That’s right, it’s time to reveal the winners of this year’s Express-news Fiesta Medal Contest.
Each year, we sort through a treasure trove of Fiesta medal entries to highlight the most colorful, most original, most puro San Antonio pin-ons you can stick on your shirt or sash.
Our thanks to all who submitted a medal for the contest. Be sure to check them out in the slideshow below.
And the wearable winners are…
1st place: Untitled Fiesta 2023 medal
We all know Fiesta will never die. David L. Durbin just proved it with his winning medal, a lively depiction of a Día de los Muertos calaca, or skeleton, making sweet
Fiesta music for the eyes as well as for the medal collection.
Durbin’s afterlife accordion player would do Flaco Jimemez proud in both Fiesta style and squeeze-box skills. The bone man in black rocks the fanciest Western wear, while the bellows of his accordion scream “!VIVA!” with a papel picado banner. A heart-shaped milagro charm and pair of bright green tassels complete
Giveaway by Durbin at Fiesta events.
2nd place: A Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA)
In 1948, the Conservation Society of San Antonio gave one of the city’s oldest festivals a new name and a new home with the first “A Night in Old San Antonio” during Fiesta. This year marks NIOSA’S 75th anniversary, so what better way to celebrate that history than with a timeless Fiesta medal?
NIOSA’S 2023 pin-on honors the classic Chili Queens who ran the old-time chili stands in San Antonio’s downtown plazas. In 1947, Conservation Society members created replicas of the stands to sell their own homemade chili.
NIOSA’S medal monarch wears a traditional Fiesta dress and floral crown with the Conservation Society symbol in her hands, all topped with an equally colorful NIOSA logo. $12 at NIOSA.ORG and NIOSA souvenir booths.
3rd place: Shoebox Float Fiesta Medal 2023
Every San Antonio kid has made a Fiesta shoebox parade float for school or just for fun. Mitzi Moore honors that tradition with a shoebox medal she rightly describes as having “layers upon layers of San Antonio love.”
The colorful pin-on sure ticks all the shoebox, um,
boxes. A doll in a glittery dress showing her shoes like a true Fiesta royal? Check. Said doll’s orange-and-white cup “throne” and accompanying table tent as a nod to a certain beloved hamburger chain? What a concept! And the iconic Tower of the Americas made with stacked salsa cups and a bowl of queso? Clever creativity, indeed. $12 at saflavormedal-*
Honorable mentions
Battle of Flowers: “Where Fiesta Reigns” is this year’s theme for the Battle of Flowers Parade. This year’s medal for said parade and theme likewise rules, thanks to an ornate crown design with festive florals and an imitation teardrop pearl. $10 at fiestamedalssa.com.
UTSA: It’s an orange cascaron. It’s an orange cascaron that “cracks” open to reveal the UTSA roadrunner logo. It’s a simple yet effective way to show your love for both San Antonio institutions. $10 at UTSA Roadrunner Express website.