Fiesta Day Parade

At ten o’clock on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, the Fiesta Day Parade starts down Northern Avenue in Pueblo’s Historic Bessemer neighborhood. The route runs along Northern to Beulah Avenue, about 2 miles end to end. Thousands line it to watch flag-bearers, marching bands, cheerleaders, dancers, cars, decorated floats and charros on horseback. An announcer calls out each entry as it passes. In 2026 the emcee was Chris Segura, back again in the job. Along the route, people hand out a printed program, El Día de Fiesta, carrying the Queen and Court, the year’s parade honorees, a Fiesta history and the day’s entertainment. Gina Herrera-Parker of Blue Banana Graphics has put the program together more than once.

Before the start, entries gather near East Abriendo and Baystate avenues, by the Steelworks Center of the West and the old Colorado Fuel and Iron administration buildings. The line takes in businesses, nonprofits, schools, dance groups, car clubs, motorcycle riders, bands and political candidates.

Mass at eight, charros by afternoon

The day opens earlier, outdoors, with a mariachi Mass at which the band plays religious songs. In 2026 the Mass was held at 8:00 AM at the Ray Aguilera Park Pavilion. Most Reverend Bishop Stephen Berg presided, and Mariachi de Pueblo played, as it had in earlier years. Mariachi music then follows the crowd through the day, from the parade route to the rodeo arena at the State Fairgrounds.

The parade belongs to the Colorado State Fair. Fiesta Day falls on the fair’s second Sunday, which the fair counts as its busiest day. The Fiesta Queen and Court go from the Mass to the parade, then to the parade awards and the Celebración de los Charros, where riders in traditional Mexican dress work their horses and swing lassos. The fair’s rodeo also brings out the Trained Horses, which the fair calls “a ballet of horses,” dancing at their riders’ command. Women in traditional Mexican-style dresses dance to mariachi music with partners in festive suits. Horses wear decorated saddles, and charros ride with Mexican flags.

Judges, trophies and a theme in gold

Parade entries compete for trophies. The 2026 judges were Charlotte Vasquez, Tomas Martinez-Ortega, Richard Palomar, Steve Lucero, Eddie Perez and Jeannette Hernandez, and Ysabelle Rosales, named as the 58th Fiesta Queen. The Queen and Court presented the winners at 2:30 PM that Sunday on the Pepsi Stage at the fair. The committee afterward congratulated winners for costumes, school spirit, music, classic cars and traditional representation. Bands enter free and compete for cash prizes as well as trophies.

Each year the parade carries a theme. The 2026 parade was held Sunday, September 6, 2026, and billed as the 59th annual. It ran under “Fiesta de Oro: Donde la Cultura Florece - Celebrando 150 Años de Colorado,” given in English as “Festival of Gold: Where Culture Flourishes - Celebrating 150 Years of Colorado,” for the state’s sesquicentennial. New Fiesta banners went up along Northern Avenue for the occasion. Blue Banana Graphics drew the artwork, Kaiser Sign Innovations printed and hung them, and the America 250 - Colorado 150 Commemoration and the El Pomar Foundation supported the project.

The 2026 Grand Marshals were Juan and Deborah Mora Espinosa, recognized by the committee for decades of service, leadership and cultural preservation. The Honorary Marshal was John Carrero, Jr. The committee describes his story as “one of strength, perseverance, family, faith, and a lifelong connection to the Colorado State Fair Fiesta Committee.” The 2025 parade had honored John “Juan” Nava as Honorary Grand Marshal and Lupe Beltran as Honorary Marshal. The 2026 Fiesta Queen was Anahi Vasquez.

The Colorado State Fair Fiesta Committee runs the parade. It is a nonprofit made up entirely of community volunteers, and its stated mission is to promote Hispanic culture in Colorado and fund scholarships for young Hispanic students. The committee calls the parade the largest cultural parade in Colorado.

A Thanksgiving show, 1966

The committee dates Fiesta Day, as it is known now, to the last three days of the 1966 Colorado State Fair. Henry G. Reyes wanted a day dedicated to the importance and influence of Hispanic culture in the community. The idea had been proposed before and never adopted. Don Svedman, newly appointed State Fair manager, was looking for ways to make the fair more successful, and Reyes convinced him.

With George Sandoval, manager of KAPI radio, they contracted a performance for Thanksgiving Day, 1966, by the singer Antonio Aguilar and his wife, Flor Silvestre. The show was well attended. By the committee’s account, Svedman was so impressed that he backed a “Fiesta Day” at the fair.

A committee formed to choose a theme and plan for mariachi music, charros, folklorico dancers and caballos amaestros, with decorations and food. Aguilar would give the grandstand entertainment and bring his trained horses to introduce fairgoers to El Charro Mexicano. “The important part for a successful Fiesta Day,” Reyes once said, “is to find other persons enthusiastic about the idea and then to excite all of Pueblo and the entire State of Colorado.”

The Step of Death and the first queen, 1967

Henry Reyes chaired the first Fiesta Day in 1967. Ernesto Barrios, John Rosales, Hermelinda Vigil, Ramon Valencia, Amos Rivera, Paco Sanchez and Lillie Arriaga chaired its committees, which covered everything from parade coordination to costumes. That year the parade made its first run down Northern Avenue with floats, charros, bands and community groups. In the arena came a Grand Charreada and International Horse Show, with bull riding, bronco riding, trick roping and the Paso de la Muerte, the Step of Death. Aguilar and Silvestre headlined.

On Sunday, August 6, 1967, ten young women competed for the first Fiesta crown. George Sandoval directed the pageant and set its original selection criteria and rules. Rose Mary Ayala won, with Ernestine Salas and Rosie Cortez in her court.

The 1967 program ran bilingual articles and photographs on the Mexican charro as horseman, sportsman and cultural symbol. Local officials, state representatives and congressmen sent it messages of congratulation. At the Fiesta Day Band Shell, The Dukes, the Swing Masters, Los Aztecas and The Continentals shared the stage with folk dancers and accordionists.