Last night I went to the opening of Old Spanish Nights, or Fiesta as its called most commonly, at the steps of the Santa Barbara Mission. I was lucky enough to win a pair of tickets to sit and watch the show up close. I took my camera, and my tripod (which was a mistake). 
The "Queen of the Missions" is a magical spot. On clear days, when you go up that hill, and sit on the stairs looking over the ocean, you can blur your eyes, and imagine landscape... nothing but trees that stretch to the ocean. I sit and think how amazing it must have been to be the first people there, building this structure. There is so much history, and I won't bore you with the details, but you can feel the spirits there. And they are exceptionally rich in that area. Many many lives passed that way. I wish my receptors were more fine tuned. I would love to pick up some of spirit action around there. 
Most of the time I feel very relaxed and calm at the mission, but last night, I was a bit taken back by the events. By the middle of the performances, I had to get up and leave. I felt a lot of angst for such a celebration of life. And I like being around people. Maybe because I attended the event alone, I felt something "missing", not having someone to share the experience with. Because it was quite amazing.Thankfully, I treated myself to that Nikon so many months ago, kept me focused on the events, and not myself. These are my favorite shots of the evening.
Viva la FIESTA!
Que Viva!
ReplyDeleteReminds me of the Fiestas de Santa Fe, which we usually attend, but we're going earlier this year. Bummer.
Awesome pics!
ReplyDeletedid you take your son with you?
ReplyDeletebecca: no, wasn't an event he would have enjoyed. He stayed at home with my neighbor, and had his "guy" time. ;-)
ReplyDelete