<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=10SMG3_1GxHFbJE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=10SMG3_1GxHFbJE00" width="1149" height="728" ><figcaption>(Press Staff Photo by Juno Ogle) Gretchen Lopez, left, lines up what would become the winning toss for accuracy in the chancla toss at Saturday’s Tamal Fiesta y Más at Historic Fort Bayard.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0mKxsk_1GxHFbJE00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0mKxsk_1GxHFbJE00" width="1300" height="866" ><figcaption>(Press Staff Photo by Juno Ogle) Ellie Garcia, 4, takes a swing at the piñata during the Tamal Fiesta y Más on Saturday at Historic Fort Bayard.</figcaption></figure>Daily Press StaffThe 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.Children and even a few adults took swings at piñatas and, of course, there was the chancla toss.The chancla toss started in 2021, and Turrieta said the committee wasn’t sure how it would go over. At that time, the Tamal Fiesta took place on Santa Clara’s Fort Bayard Street.“We threw it the first time down in Santa Clara, right in the middle of the street. Everybody was lined up. We were worried about bagging a couple of people and stuff like that,” he said. “We’ve been doing this for a while, and it’s been a lot of fun doing it.”Rain on Friday meant a long night for the crew setting up. The committee had borrowed a stage from Cobre Consolidated Schools for performances, and they were out until about 3 a.m. to make sure it was covered to protect it from the moisture.This year, an increase in the entries for the car show expanded the space for the fiesta. Where vendors had previously lined the road leading to the former officers’ housing, they now encircled the parade grounds, with parking on the north end.Hudman said the village plans to work with the state, which owns the fort, to make the area more accessible, with a sidewalk around the perimeter of the parade grounds. The vendors could then be lined up along the sidewalk.“We can’t make it all concrete, because it’s a historic site, not an event space,” she said.Turrieta said the fiesta and Fort Bayard are beneficial to the entire Mining District.“Fort Bayard is a jewel, and I can’t believe they let it get run down. We’ve got to find a way to keep this surviving, keep it above ground,” he said.Turrieta had won election earlier in the week to the District 39 seat in the state House of Representatives, and said he believed he would be named to committees that will help the region.“I think the Mining District needs a lot of help, and I think I would love to do a lot for the Mining District,” he said.Juno Ogle may be reached at juno@scdai lypress.com.</div></body>

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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,...

Despite chill, Tamal Fiesta draws thousands

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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 cro

Despite chill, Tamal Fiesta draws thousands

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