Fiesta del Valle de Española Organizers Search for Parade Stars

Fiesta del Valle de Española organizers are searching for this year’s Juan de Oñate and La Reina, who will star in the fiesta’s parade.

The annual July event — a weekend celebration which began in 1933 — returned in 2022 following a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The summer celebration includes a carnival, a Gran Baile (street dance) and a Mass service. It also commemorates the 1598 arrival of Spanish conquistador Don Juan de Oñate.

Dates for this year’s fiesta have not been announced.

The two New Mexicans chosen for the roles of Oñate and La Reina will be featured during the Entrada de Oñate y La Reina. In previous years, the Oñate rode through the parade on a horse and La Reina, the parade queen, on a horse-drawn buggy.

According to the Fiesta council, which organizes the event, La Reina candidates must be unmarried, between the ages of 19 and 29 and not have any children. Española City Clerk Debbie Garcia said this year’s La Reina and Juan de Oñate should be fluent in Spanish, have knowledge of their heritage and have a passion for the community and the Fiesta del Valle de Española. 

Fiesta organizers said they will select additional “court members” for the event as well. The council has not yet announced requirements for those positions or begun soliciting candidates. 

The next fiesta council meeting will be held Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the Northern New Mexico Regional Art Center at 702 Bond St. The council plans to elect its officers — including a president, vice president and secretary – and discuss committee formations. 

In order to run for an officer position, candidates must be members of the council. Membership dues are $25 per person.

Anyone interested in candidacy for the Oñate or La Reina roles should attend the Feb. 6 meeting.

The first fundraiser for this year’s fiesta will be held Feb. 23 at the Beatrice Martinez Senior Center from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., organizers said. Enchilada plates will be sold for $10 per plate. 

The council currently has $14,410 in its bank account, all of which will go toward the fiesta, organizers said.

The fiesta has generated controversy in previous years, drawing opposition from Native Americans and others who say the event glorifies a Spanish colonizer, Oñate, who committed atrocities against native peoples during the Spanish conquest of New Mexico. Similar events have also drawn protests in Santa Fe. 

Organizers of Oñate events have defended them as community-building gatherings rich in local tradition, and not intended to cause offense.