Shame of La Fiesta

I fully agree with your view on the rodeo. It was so nice to see all individuals that took the time out to stand out in the hot sun by the fairgrounds holding up signs to shed a little bit of light on the issue. I also viewed the Fiesta Parade and was quite horrified along with many others when a horse fell to the ground at the Cota and State Street intersection. The horse was able to get up but wasn't wanting to put any pressure on it right rear leg after coming to a stand. The horse was clearly injured and uncomfortable. This was clear to myself an experienced horse person as well as to many other concerned Parade viewers. The Parade was a little held up at this point so the horse was stalled in front of us for several minutes which give us a substantial time to asses the situation. The rider did not even dismount his horse to check it's legs. At this point several of the onlookers including myself went up to him and told him his horse was possibly injured and ask him to dismount, he did not. Then the Fiesta Parade workers in the red vests were asked to tell him to get off his horse, they did not do anything. The Parade began to pick up again and he continued to ride his horse. I am in shock that there are clearly no rules being implemented if a horse has sustained and injured during this event. It should clearly be typed out in some kind of guidelines/regulations manuel for the Parade that if your horse falls, slips or is injured during the event you must dismount and walk you horse(if it is able to) the rest of the way until it can be checked by a vet. When using animals as a form of entertainment in an event such as this it is our responsibility to keep them as safe as possible. It would be a shame for such a historic event such as the Fiesta Parade to be discontinued due to such incidents being handled in such a poor manner. After this incident I took the time to look up all the equine as well as bystander and parade participants that have been injured during the parade and it is an astounding number, something needs to change here.

Someone needs to put a rope around the neck and a cattle prod up the fundament of Fiesta once and for all. A shameless excuse for extracting $$$ from the unwitting wallets of clueless tourists who believe nothing existed here before the Imperial House of Monarchical Spain drove the toxic spike of a crucifix into the ground and Native blood came gushing forth.

The Rodeo was absolutely the best--and most civilized--part of Fiesta. The animals were exquisitely well treated and the grounds impeccable. And the crowd (full capacity--all families) were the best. Thank you, Fiesta--we will be back next year for the fabulous, fabulous Rodeo!

So be nice to the animal before you throw it on the grill and eat it? Emily has the right take of the importance of things. A man died at the rodeo. That is more important than how a future meal was treated. Humans love animals cant stand one another. They fight bulls in Mexico and Spain. Don't go see that it turns out much worse for the bulls. At least here we rope them, set them free, and then eat them. PC be dammed. You really should know what to expect and not go to Rodeos, Zoos, Farms, or Animal shelters. You know the animals are not happy they are in cages and corrals. That is like going to an orphanage and expecting to see happy kids. Be serious. If you are complaining about animal rights and are not a vegetarian you are a hypocrite

I enjoy going to the rodeo..
Of course many animal rights types prefer animals over humans. Does this fact need debating or further elucidation?
I enjoy eating animals.

I realize that the PETA groupies and other radical animal rights types are hopelessly driven to preach the evils of ANYTHING involving the intersection of humans and animals, but my dislike for Fiesta lies in the fact that it is nothing more than a celebration of genocide.

Trouble is, SB makes SOOOO much money off of Fiesta that as it and its citizens preach excruciating political correctness out of one side of their mouths, they are hollering "viva la Fiesta!" out of the other, never realizing just WHAT it is that they are promoting.

Not a popular viewpoint, I know, but I figured it out decades ago when I was a kid, and am still stunned that so-called adults can't seem to figure out that the entire week-long bacchanalian boozefest is REALLY about the Spanish marching in, enslaving, abusing and nearly exterminating the people who lived her first.

I just don't think that is something we should be celebrating.

"Why is “fun” at an animal’s expense okay in this town full of highly educated, highly paid, progressive residents? We are better than that—"

Our education and pay makes us better than what, or whom, exactly?

I am much less bothered by the rodeo than I am by the litter from the cascarones. The rodeo is gone by a couple of days but the litter from the cascarones is around for weeks!

With people like you, it is no wonder why some choose animals first. The man didn't die at the rodeo because of animals, but to entertain you rodeo people with a gigantic TV. Who knew they needed a TV at a rodeo?
As for the fiesta haters, I used to feel the same until I met somebody whose family suffered from one of this countries greatest atrocities: slavery. They participated in taking the image of the wild savage and used it to produce art that shows the subject in the opposite context; empowering themselves while changing the meaning. Look, we should all be aware of history but it is possible to make Fiesta a community celebration and not a modern day festival of abuse, enslaving, and gross consumption. If you know about horses, you would know that riding a horse up a paved street in horse shoes is animal abuse. Next year, the protesters should be at the parade.

The whole "spanish" thing is so overdone anyway. To celebrate land conquest, religious persecution displacement and murder would be like having "old plantation days" in south carolina. Let´s get over the spanish myth people. The red tiles are a 20th century disneyesque pastiche, and santa barbara is about as modern of a melting pot, albeit disguised as a town, as one could imaging. Let´s get over this silly mythology, and move forward.

el presidente would be called "grand master" of ceremonies and be in blackface.....

Make Fiesta something that is "not a modern day festival of abuse, enslaving, and gross consumption?" That sounds positively un-American!

I love how the standard argument against animal rights "types" is to say they prefer animals rights' over humans. That's simply not true. People like to think in black and white, probably because they are simply not capable of more complex thought.

If you enjoy eating animals and don't care about their suffering in any capacity (captivity, rodeo, farming, entertainment etc) that's fine.

But at least have the decency to come up with an intelligent argument about WHY you disagree rather than making up some inflammatory and totally arbitrary comment like people who would like animals to be treated well somehow are anti-human or like animals better.

That just shows how lacking in tools to actually discuss an issue you really are.