My Best Fiesta Photos for 2024

Fiesta, in case you are not from San Antonio, is a raucous local holiday that blends Easter, a bit of Day of the Dead, and the LGBTQ Pride festival all in one. There are parades, bright colors everywhere, and plenty of frivolity. As a new resident of San Antonio, this was my first Fiesta, and I hit it hard. I attended just about every free event and thought I might share my adventures with you in today’s blog. So strap on your medal sash and prepare for some fun memories as I share my best Fiesta photos for 2024.

The History of Fiesta

Way back in 1891, the women of San Antonio decided to honor the heroes of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto by throwing a parade, known as the Battle of Flowers. During the parade, participants threw flower blossoms at attendees – hence the name. To this day, the Battle of Flowers parade is the only such parade to be completely planned and directed by women.

As luck would have it, the parade was a success and it became an annual event. Over the years more and more events were added to the days surrounding the Battle of Flowers parade, and thus Fiesta as a 10-day holiday was born. These events eventually crystalized into the carnival, coronations, and ‘royalty’ that we have today. The holiday has taken place every year except for 1918 (WWI), 1942 through 1945 (WWII), and 2020 (Covid-19).

Fiesta Events

I attended just about every free event Fiesta had to offer. From the opening day ceremonies of Fiesta Fiesta, to every single parade, I took it all in and was busy every day with shoots. I did not, however, attend events such as NIOSA (Night in Old San Antonio), the Oyster Bake, or Taste of New Orleans.

These events are mainly centered around eating expensive food and watching bands perform. Since these are paid-ticket events, it also means that I cannot resell the photos to stock agencies, so I decided to focus my efforts elsewhere. Indeed, the only paid event I attended was the Day in Old Mexico at the Rancho del Charro. This was well worth the $20 admission fee.

My Favorite Fiesta Event

My favorite event to photograph was the opening ceremonies of Fiesta Fiesta. This was my first introduction to the big hats and bright colors and the event was a fantastic photo opportunity. All the real characters of the city came out to Fiesta Fiesta and I ended up taking over 1,200 photos that day.

Fiesta: Expenses and Hassles

Speaking of money, I have to say that living downtown was the best investment I made. I was very lucky that I could simply walk to events and not have to find parking. Furthermore, I could go home and eat a snack rather than pay $13 for chicken on a stick (though I do wish I had tried this iconic dish). There were many complaints this year that concessions were at Coachella-level prices and that the construction downtown made getting to and from events very difficult. I completely agree with both points and feel very thankful that all I had to do was walk a few streets home after a late night out.

Highlights from Fiesta

The photos I have included in this blog post are truly some of my favorite images that I have taken since I arrived in San Antonio. This is but a fraction of all the photos I took, however. I am pleased to announce that the editing is finally done, and you can find all of my Fiesta images on my gallery here.

I will also have another blog post going up on my travel and photojournalism blog (www.blog.Kelly-Williams.com). This post will focus on photo tips for anyone looking to take the hardcore approach to photographing Fiesta next year.

Enjoy the images, and as usual, I will have more photo adventures for you next week! You can never get enough parades in this town, and I am off to the Cornyval Festival and Rodeo in Helotes this weekend.

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