An Unexpected Adventure to Santa Fe

 Cece found herself in Santa Fe this past Saturday for a great adventure...and she did not have her camera as she did not anticipate the adventure!  A new acquaintance sent her to the plaza and gave her directions as to how to get there and how to find West San Francisco Street and wished her good luck to find a parking space on the street.  Cece was able to find the street and once she turned onto it, she discovered a parking garage to her delight!  She pulled up and spoke to the woman in the booth.The woman told her how much to pay.  "The parking is how much?" Cece asked.  "Why is it so expensive?"  The woman replied "It is Fiesta! This is special event parking."    Cece asked her "What is Fiesta?"  and the woman looked at her like she had two heads.  The woman told Cece to go ahead and enjoy herself and then the parking fee would not bother her any more.  Cece did just that and the woman was correct.... several hours later, the parking fee did not bother her.

Cece was on an adventure!  She had to be back to ABQ for a party, but some how time orientated Cece did not care about the  time.  She was having such a good time gallivanting  around that she knew she would eventually make it back to the city.

She remembered that this past Thursday was the burning of Zozobra...Old Man gloom.  A large puppet is made to signify the trouble and problems of the past year and he is set ablaze to signify that the troubles of the past are burned away and forgotten. This is the beginning of Fiesta time in Santa Fe.

Cece learned that, "Fiesta has been celebrated in Santa Fe since 1712 by proclamation of the then-governor of the province Jose Chacon Medina Salazar y Villaseor, the marquis of Penuela. It is the oldest civic celebration of its kind in North America. ZOZOBRA, which has gone up in flames every year since Will Shuster created it in 1924, became one of the symbols of the city, a potent reminder of the madcap celebrations of those times and one artist's generous dedication to his adopted home."

In the plaza, there was a grand Fiesta going on with lots of live music and craft booths and food.  When Cece finally got her party hours later and had not eaten all day, a friend asked her , "Well there is so much food there, why didn't you eat?"  Cece said all she smelled was deep fried food."  Her friend said, "And that  is a problem WHY?"  Cece just laughed.  She  did see some delicious looking roasted corn, but at that moment she was lured by live music.

One of the best parts of her great adventure was gallery hopping. She discovered some pottery by her  Favorite Hopi Potter Al Qoyawayma.

"If I can see the beauty in my hand,

if it touches my inner heart,

and I can mold it into harmonious beauty,

then I have met the challenge"

Cece also saw pottery buy another of her favorite artists, Barbara Gonzales from San Ildefonso Pueblo.  Barbara is the oldest great granddaughter of Maria Martinez and was given the name Sunbeam by Maria.  Cece has been fortunate to have met Barbara and to watch her fire her pottery.

Cece Finally made it back to ABQ after finally leaving the fiesta and doing a few more errands around Santa Fe.  The party was in full swing and they were just beginning to eat when she arrived!  Perfect timing!  It was wonderful to see friends and spend time with them!