Thank you for this piece...it was an illuminating reminder of history, customs, and traditions. And it also underscored that across America, the same lessons of history, customs, and traditions are being tossed out like yesterday's newspaper, and with it, that which made our Nation what it became and is in the best sense of all...even with its horns and warts (somewhat akin to the downsides of the Spanish Conquest). To ignore and dispose of these lessons, and worse to ignore or cast aside the wisdom of those whose esperience, knowledge and perspective make the whole markedly better and enduring is a tragedy. Cheers, Bob
To begin, a fact correction. The article says that the early prominent colonists came from Spain when in actuality with one exception, José de la Guerra, they came here as Spaniards, but were born in Mexico. Also, it is not mentioned that the Fiesta parades, el desfile and the children's parade have been banished from State Street. A majority of the City Council couldn't care less. It might be a winning political campaign to promote bringing back the parades and the horses to State Street.
I had the idea, during my days at the presidio, of bringing horses to the site for multiple events. It is not possible to stable horses there, but the SB Trust for Historic Preservation that operates the presidio for State Parks, also manages the Santa Inés Mission Mills property where the horses could be kept and used to interpret that site of 35 acres,--and transported down to the presidio for events there. A pipe dream sure, but the fact is the horse was an essential part of Hispanic culture in the 18th and 19th centuries, as this article points out. It would be a great to bring the public in closer contact with this noble animal.
Grew up in the undeveloped SF Bay area in the 1940/50's, where the urban fringe was just starting to meet the vast empty ag and grazing lands to the east. Being a 4-H member and participating to the Alameda county fair in Pleasanton every year was an anticipated treat.
Visiting the large animal barns and meeting other young 4-H members who were raising some of these large animals was just one of the cherished memories. And even motivates us from time to time to visit the SB county fair in Santa Maria, just to walk through the animal barns instantly bringing back those long past sights, sounds...... and smells.
Aroma therapy for "les temps perdu." Plus seeing another generation of young people gaining skills and poise also dealing with large animals. Priceless.
Well written Brian. It's unfortunate what some of The City council, staff, and advisors have done to a multi-cultural and multi-generational celebration. Yet some of us remember Old Spanish Days and more to your point the Fiesta Parade, being one of the highlights of the year. Now, nothing more than a memory. I also remember The National Horse and Flower Show during the summers in Santa Barbara. That brought competitors and an equestrian crowd from outside the Santa Barbara area and with that came revenue for the state, county, city and private businesses as Fiesta did in the past. My observance of the situation is a changing demographic in the area. The non profits, private citizens and philanthropic groups did more for Old Spanish Days that the City could hope to do. Government can never duplicate tradition like the private sector does.
When Silvio DeLoreto flipped his last pancake and had a personal greetings for everyone, was the day the old local Fiesta spirit died.
Hat tip to the American Legion for carrying on the pancake breakfast tradition- by all means support them now too.
But now it is down at the beach, full of strangers and tourists in what is almost an alien zone for most locals. A sad loss of Alameda Park as our community in-gathering spot at the end of our beloved State Street parades.
It was only several years ago that I read "1984" for the first time. A truly sage premise, especially considering when it was written. As a 78 year young'un I am terrified, not for me or my wife and generation, but for our childrens' generation, and even more so for their children, that we are hurrying to a 1984-like outcome because of a well orchestrated strategy implemented by a relatively few that plays on the ignorance and/or unwilliingness to challenge the direction things are headed idealogically by the masses. Watching the inanity of Mamdani in NYC - who was elected by a relatively few people due to the apathy of the masses of NYCrs who didn't bother to vote against his ideology, and like sheep are seemingly accepting the stultifying policies he is enacting - reminds me of the masses of Iranians who it is said are apparently aghast at living under the thumb of the Regime, but have not (thus far) collectively said "Enough Already" and moved to throw off the yoke of oppression imposed by a relative few. For Iranians, and many others oppressed across the globe to do so when stripped of all freedoms in all forms, presents a truly bloody and costly overthrow. And if the citizenry of NYC, and further extending the thought to the trend in our Nation, do not nip this ill-conceived drift of governance now, we are all doomed to an eventual 1984 existence...or a rerun of the Civil War, which wasn't a movie.
I certainly agree, horses are magnificent animals and played a pivotal role in our history and culture. Herding cattle, pulling a buckboard, hoeing the fields, all made possible by horses. Even cars and trucks are measured and compared by “horsepower.”
Unfortunately, the liberal left equates horses with racism, control, dominance, colonialism and subjugation of brown and black peoples.
Seems insane, but some on the left view horses as a dog whistle for inequality. Do horses even know color or race, or is this just another lunatic attempt by the left to justify their nutty woke ideology? Believe it or not, some on the left equate horse ownership with Republicans and use the PHONY narrative of Border Patrol agents on horseback forcing back illegal immigrants from entering our country. The Biden administration going so far as to falsely accuse border agents of whipping migrants.
Yes, horses throughout history have been used for evil purposes, but what does that have to do with enjoying and celebrating these mighty creatures, created by God?
The left in this town can go on resenting our culture, the Mission, the Spanish, Catholicism, the oil industry, but the reality it’s a part of what has made us great and free. Like it or not, it’s part of our heritage. Sure beats the hell out of grown men dressing up as unicorns, parading on State Street!
I have liberal friends and family that own horses, yet I see your point. I think it is simple naivety, and the new mindset to not just erase history, it's to re-write history to fit a political narrative.
And yet, liberals from San Francisco want to “reimagine” our very own Earl Warren Showgrounds by reducing the number of Equestrian facilities and introducing, wait for it….workforce housing! Why is it the left CONSTANTLY wants to “reimagine” our history and culture? Horse culture has been such a big part of our local history that on some older streets in SB still have horse tie rings, one of our local streets is even actually named “Equestrian.” We already know how lefty “activists” feel about Rodeos! What’s next, tear down the statue of Earl Warren on horseback, because it could be interpreted as white supremacy?
Saw report today, somewhere are turning under-utilized schools into low-income senior housing. Win-win: reduce the local teachers union impact on our local elections and create a housing supply that does not stagnate under zero turnover.
One classroom with bathroom facilities makes a very easy conversion. With food service facilities already on site. Stack and pack another few floors, with lots of surrounding playgrounds to convert to green space.
I miss the sights and smells at Jedlicka's.
Thank you for this piece...it was an illuminating reminder of history, customs, and traditions. And it also underscored that across America, the same lessons of history, customs, and traditions are being tossed out like yesterday's newspaper, and with it, that which made our Nation what it became and is in the best sense of all...even with its horns and warts (somewhat akin to the downsides of the Spanish Conquest). To ignore and dispose of these lessons, and worse to ignore or cast aside the wisdom of those whose esperience, knowledge and perspective make the whole markedly better and enduring is a tragedy. Cheers, Bob
To begin, a fact correction. The article says that the early prominent colonists came from Spain when in actuality with one exception, José de la Guerra, they came here as Spaniards, but were born in Mexico. Also, it is not mentioned that the Fiesta parades, el desfile and the children's parade have been banished from State Street. A majority of the City Council couldn't care less. It might be a winning political campaign to promote bringing back the parades and the horses to State Street.
I had the idea, during my days at the presidio, of bringing horses to the site for multiple events. It is not possible to stable horses there, but the SB Trust for Historic Preservation that operates the presidio for State Parks, also manages the Santa Inés Mission Mills property where the horses could be kept and used to interpret that site of 35 acres,--and transported down to the presidio for events there. A pipe dream sure, but the fact is the horse was an essential part of Hispanic culture in the 18th and 19th centuries, as this article points out. It would be a great to bring the public in closer contact with this noble animal.
Amen!
Grew up in the undeveloped SF Bay area in the 1940/50's, where the urban fringe was just starting to meet the vast empty ag and grazing lands to the east. Being a 4-H member and participating to the Alameda county fair in Pleasanton every year was an anticipated treat.
Visiting the large animal barns and meeting other young 4-H members who were raising some of these large animals was just one of the cherished memories. And even motivates us from time to time to visit the SB county fair in Santa Maria, just to walk through the animal barns instantly bringing back those long past sights, sounds...... and smells.
Aroma therapy for "les temps perdu." Plus seeing another generation of young people gaining skills and poise also dealing with large animals. Priceless.
Well written Brian. It's unfortunate what some of The City council, staff, and advisors have done to a multi-cultural and multi-generational celebration. Yet some of us remember Old Spanish Days and more to your point the Fiesta Parade, being one of the highlights of the year. Now, nothing more than a memory. I also remember The National Horse and Flower Show during the summers in Santa Barbara. That brought competitors and an equestrian crowd from outside the Santa Barbara area and with that came revenue for the state, county, city and private businesses as Fiesta did in the past. My observance of the situation is a changing demographic in the area. The non profits, private citizens and philanthropic groups did more for Old Spanish Days that the City could hope to do. Government can never duplicate tradition like the private sector does.
When Silvio DeLoreto flipped his last pancake and had a personal greetings for everyone, was the day the old local Fiesta spirit died.
Hat tip to the American Legion for carrying on the pancake breakfast tradition- by all means support them now too.
But now it is down at the beach, full of strangers and tourists in what is almost an alien zone for most locals. A sad loss of Alameda Park as our community in-gathering spot at the end of our beloved State Street parades.
Apologies...another thought came to mind...
It was only several years ago that I read "1984" for the first time. A truly sage premise, especially considering when it was written. As a 78 year young'un I am terrified, not for me or my wife and generation, but for our childrens' generation, and even more so for their children, that we are hurrying to a 1984-like outcome because of a well orchestrated strategy implemented by a relatively few that plays on the ignorance and/or unwilliingness to challenge the direction things are headed idealogically by the masses. Watching the inanity of Mamdani in NYC - who was elected by a relatively few people due to the apathy of the masses of NYCrs who didn't bother to vote against his ideology, and like sheep are seemingly accepting the stultifying policies he is enacting - reminds me of the masses of Iranians who it is said are apparently aghast at living under the thumb of the Regime, but have not (thus far) collectively said "Enough Already" and moved to throw off the yoke of oppression imposed by a relative few. For Iranians, and many others oppressed across the globe to do so when stripped of all freedoms in all forms, presents a truly bloody and costly overthrow. And if the citizenry of NYC, and further extending the thought to the trend in our Nation, do not nip this ill-conceived drift of governance now, we are all doomed to an eventual 1984 existence...or a rerun of the Civil War, which wasn't a movie.
Scary...
I certainly agree, horses are magnificent animals and played a pivotal role in our history and culture. Herding cattle, pulling a buckboard, hoeing the fields, all made possible by horses. Even cars and trucks are measured and compared by “horsepower.”
Unfortunately, the liberal left equates horses with racism, control, dominance, colonialism and subjugation of brown and black peoples.
Seems insane, but some on the left view horses as a dog whistle for inequality. Do horses even know color or race, or is this just another lunatic attempt by the left to justify their nutty woke ideology? Believe it or not, some on the left equate horse ownership with Republicans and use the PHONY narrative of Border Patrol agents on horseback forcing back illegal immigrants from entering our country. The Biden administration going so far as to falsely accuse border agents of whipping migrants.
Yes, horses throughout history have been used for evil purposes, but what does that have to do with enjoying and celebrating these mighty creatures, created by God?
The left in this town can go on resenting our culture, the Mission, the Spanish, Catholicism, the oil industry, but the reality it’s a part of what has made us great and free. Like it or not, it’s part of our heritage. Sure beats the hell out of grown men dressing up as unicorns, parading on State Street!
https://milestoneequestrian.ca/blog/2020/6/8/v464uz8ww600oo1u39mzz863omduwo
I have liberal friends and family that own horses, yet I see your point. I think it is simple naivety, and the new mindset to not just erase history, it's to re-write history to fit a political narrative.
And they can continue to "hate the rich" whose personal philanthropy is what long made this town extremely blessed, among its peers.
Thank the rich; don't hate them. You could have chosen Oxnard if you just liked the beaches and the weather.
And yet, liberals from San Francisco want to “reimagine” our very own Earl Warren Showgrounds by reducing the number of Equestrian facilities and introducing, wait for it….workforce housing! Why is it the left CONSTANTLY wants to “reimagine” our history and culture? Horse culture has been such a big part of our local history that on some older streets in SB still have horse tie rings, one of our local streets is even actually named “Equestrian.” We already know how lefty “activists” feel about Rodeos! What’s next, tear down the statue of Earl Warren on horseback, because it could be interpreted as white supremacy?
https://www.noozhawk.com/earl-warren-showgrounds-in-santa-barbara-envisions-grand-redesign/
Saw report today, somewhere are turning under-utilized schools into low-income senior housing. Win-win: reduce the local teachers union impact on our local elections and create a housing supply that does not stagnate under zero turnover.
One classroom with bathroom facilities makes a very easy conversion. With food service facilities already on site. Stack and pack another few floors, with lots of surrounding playgrounds to convert to green space.
The horse and the parade was paramount with Fiesta until the shut down crowd put their mitts on it.
Instead of a very significant bridge for businesses in Old Town the Parade is a ghost of what it used to be and the attractions to downtown.
They will use any means to choke what is the Chase Legacy and the reason people used to come to Santa Barbara.
Now Phi......laugh.....really?
Nice.....but who is the dumbass riding the magnificent Appaloosa?
Stop. Great pic great group represented in that photo.