When Fernie Soto was eight years old, he fell in love with Fiesta.
“Fiesta made me want to go to UC Santa Barbara,” Soto said, so he could continue reveling in the festivities as a college student.
A Santa Barbara native, he especially enjoyed watching the regional bands and dancers perform at the Mercado de la Guerra.
Now 33 years old, Soto has returned to Fiesta—this time running his own booth at the Mercado de la Guerra, Finney’s Pizza, where he puts a spin on traditional street fair food that he believes would appeal to UCSB students,with items like “pickle pizza” and “hot cheeto fries.”
The mercado was bursting with activity Wednesday afternoon. People were cracking cascarone eggs on heads, chowing down on churros and strolling through downtown.
With the 103rd annual Old Spanish Days Fiesta officially underway, attendees can find Finney’s Pizza and more at the Mercado de la Guerra. From Wednesday until Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., attendees can expect $6 tacos, ice-cold horchatas and agua frescas, churros, ice cream, live performances and dancing.
There are a total of 23 booths in the main Mercado — some from Santa Barbara, while others come from Los Angeles, Ventura and as far as Fairfax in the Bay Area.
Several booths will donate their proceeds to a nonprofit or school — a tradition that dates back to Mercado’s origins in 1949. Elubia’s Kitchen will donate their sales to Cottage Children’s Medical Center and Fernando’s Churros will benefit Adelante Charter School, for example.
New additions to the Mercado include a beer garden and a number of booths offering “squishy” toys.
Some attendees were experiencing the Fiesta Mercado for the very first time.
Moving to Carpinteria from Los Angeles, Julissa Hernandez, said she is still adjusting to a new city, so she decided she’d explore Fiesta to see what all the buzz was about.
“I thought it’d be more packed, and I would have to struggle to find parking,” said Hernandez, who noted it was still early.
She had initially heard about Fiesta through someone she was dating, but the plans fell through. Hernandez thought she’d still go by herself anyways and enjoy some tamales at Mercado as a newcomer.
Others have been coming to Fiesta for years.
A faith-based men’s rehab center from Ventura, Lifeline Outreach Resource, has been serving birria tacos and enchiladas for eight years at the Mercado. They took over the booth of a partner church in Santa Barbara, who was previously there for over 50 years.
“My favorite part of Fiesta is seeing the smiles on people’s faces,” said Paul Castadena, director of operations at the rehab center. “We believe in helping the community.”
