Browse Items (21 total)

Woman in Fiesta costume standing in front of archway

Woman in embroidered shawl.

Man wearing sombrero and serape riding a donkey

At Casa de la Guerra, two costumed dancers are surrounded by musicians

Today, tents and booths line De La Guerra Street and De La Guerra Plaza; in the 1920s and 1930s, an open air market welcomed visitors and residents alike to De La Guerra Plaza and El Paseo.

A Fiesta participant in costume at Old Mission Santa Barbara.

A tradition kept to this day, icons of the city were used as hubs of social activities for Fiesta. Here, participants gather at the Santa Barbara Mission in preparation for Fiesta activities.

El Paseo, built in the early 1920's around Casa de la Guerra, was the heart of Old Spanish Days Fiesta with a mercado, performances, and public gatherings. Here, one lovely lady performs a romantic Spanish dance surrounded by a six-piece…

Gathered in El Paseo, Fiesta performers would dress in traditional Spanish attire that also evoked the current Hollywood interpretation of California history.

With large gourds resting on their heads, these women travel around the mercado with flowers, vegetables, and fruit.

One of many traditions that have carried on from the original Fiesta, the mercado is still a local favorite. The original mercado featured vendors selling luscious fruit and vegetables.

Bernard and Irene Hoffman, the benefactors who hired James Osborne Craig to design El Paseo, hoped that the Street of Spain plan would be just "the beginning of a wonderful evolution which will take in all of the old Spanish town." Here, Fiesta…