Despite chill, Tamal Fiesta draws thousands

By JUNO OGLE Daily Press Staff The weather for Saturday’s Tamal Fiesta y Más wasn’t quite as cold and wet as at the first one held in the village of Santa Clara 10 years ago, but the crowd was definitely much larger. “The first one, we got about 100 people,” said Raul Turrieta, who, along with Village Administrator Sheila Hudman, led the committee’s efforts to prepare for the fiesta. “It was cold and windy and snowing,” Hudman recalled. “These guys played in 30-degree weather,” Turrieta said of the Illusion Band, the local favorites who played again Saturday afternoon, as people danced in front of the stage on the parade grounds of Historic Fort Bayard. As emcee of the event, Turrieta dressed in a sparkly red suit and donned a taco hat. Saturday’s edition was cool and cloudy, but that didn’t stop more than 3,000 people from flowing throughout the historic fort’s grounds, which were lined with food and craft vendors and classic cars.

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