Tens of thousands of people are about to celebrate Old Spanish Days’ “Fiesta,” in what has become Santa Barbara’s defining cultural tradition.

But there are many perspectives of the five-day long event from July 31 to Aug. 4

“When the Spaniards got here, that was the end of our world,” said Spenser Jaimes, CEO of Limuw Productions, a film company dedicated to honoring Chumash heritage. “That was our apocalypse.”

Jaimes was one of the three speakers Saturday during a walking tour downtown. The event was titled “Three Perspectives on Old Spanish Days,” and was hosted by Santa Barbara Neighborhood Walks and Chicano Culture SB. Speakers included Jaimes, local historian Michael Montenegro, and Erik Davis, former El Presidente for Old Spanish Days.

The walking tour began at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, then continued to the Santa Barbara Presidio, followed by the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.

It was at the courthouse where a crowd of about 50 people looked up at the mural underneath the courthouse archway. Jaimes described the image, which was supposed to depict the Spanish people’s first contact with the Chumash. The peaceful beach gathering in the mural was far from reality, Jaimes said.

“When the Spanish came here, they put us into missions, they took us away from our families, they separated us, completely turned our world upside down,” Jaimes said.

He explained how Old Spanish Days is built upon the memory of colonization of the Chumash, who he said were “enslaved.”

“Almost all those Fiesta posters have Mission Santa Barbara in them, which was built by slaves, built by my ancestors; there’s people buried inside of that, there’s people buried in the Rose Garden, that has never been acknowledged by the Mission that that is a mass gravesite.”

Montenegro, the founder of Chicano Culture SB, a popular Instagram page, spoke at the Presidio, where he talked about what Old Spanish Days means to Mexican-Americans.

“It is the week where everyone in the city wants to be a Mexican,” Montenegro said. “If you are Mexican-American, this is a week that showcases our culture.”

Montenegro said Mexican-Americans are stereotypically framed as “the help,” but that people need to push back on the “xenophobic” narrative and understand that Mexican culture should be celebrated and appreciated year-round.

“We are the folks who run the retirement homes, we are the ones who clean the mansions, we are the ones who clean the hospitals, we are the ones who clean streets, we are the ones who make the gardens beautiful, we are the ones who trim your trees, we’re the ones who pick your food, we’re the ones who make Santa Barbara beautiful,” Montenegro said.

Davis, a former El Presidente in 2020, said he was speaking on behalf of himself and not as a formal member of Old Spanish Days. He explained how his sister was a flower girl, his dad put on the pancake breakfast, and that Fiesta has been a “family tradition.”

He said that Old Spanish Days is called that because it refers to language that was spoken during the ranchero period between 1826 and 1866.

“There was a great fondness at the time, 100 years ago, where people were dressed beautifully, they had these elegant horses, and hospitality was central and king,” Davis said. “A lot of music, a lot of dance, so they wanted to recreate that.”

The Historical Museum, where Davis spoke, was lined with Fiesta posters from over the years. El Presidente gets to help design the posters, he said, and make appearances with the Spirits of Fiesta as ambassadors of the event.

“A lot of Santa Barbara’s art is fueled by the Old Spanish Days,” Davis said. “If you go to Cabrillo Boulevard, the Amtrak Station, Ralph’s, the Public Market, the courthouse, Arlington, Granada, the airport, El Paseo,” Davis said. “As you go around town, keep your eyes up because there is always something related to Fiesta.”

Old Spanish Days’ Fiesta typically draws more than 100,000 people to the event. Dancers of all ages perform at the Santa Barbara Mission, Courthouse, Paseo Nuevo, La Cumbre Plaza and De la Guerra Plaza. Old Spanish Days canceled the annual carnival that attracted thousands of families and kids.

Among the most popular highlights of the event are the “cascarones,” confetti-filled eggs that people crack over others’ heads as a sign of admiration and friendship. Families typically collect hollowed-out eggs year-round, and then stuff them with confetti and sell them at Fiesta. Most are three for $1, but the prices vary depending on the elaborateness of the design.

Montenegro recalled how his parents, aunts and family members put him and his cousins to work.

“They put us to work to sell those cascarones up and down State Street, and we made $30-$40 in 1995,” he said. “With inflation, that’s like $90 now,” he laughed.