It's the biggest community celebration in the Tri-Counties. While there’s music, dancing, parades, food, and parties, Old Spanish Days is also a chance to look at Santa Barbara’s roots.
Darcia Harwood, Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, said they are bringing some of that history to life.
"This year we are doing two exhibits. The first is Arte de los Mantónes, which focuses on the amazing collection of Spanish shawls the museum has. The second, primary exhibition is Finding Saint Barbara, and that's really to celebrate the saint's role in Fiesta for the last hundred years, and to give the backstory as to why she is very treasured here in Santa Barbara."
If you go to big fiesta events, there is a woman there who portrays Saint Barbara. In fact, if you look around the city and know what to look for, you'll find images of her everywhere.
Who was she?
"She lived in Anatolia around 300 AD. She lived in a time when Christianity was spreading to that region, but her family (was) not Christian," said Emily Alessio, the Santa Barbara Historical Museum’s Director of Education. "Her father didn't want her to convert. She did. She lived in a tower, and added a third window to symbolize her conversion. It was the Three Trinities: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When her father found out, he was very displeased, and he had her beheaded. As the story goes, immediately after she's martyred, he's struck and killed by lightning."
"She's known as the patron saint to protect us against lightning and sudden death," said Alessio. "She's also the patron saint of artillerymen and stone builders, and architects. Sebastián Vizcaíno was sailing with the Spanish in 1602. He christened this area in honor of Saint Barbara, and that's how we got our city's name."
The museum’s new exhibition Finding Saint Barbara explores how she's been portrayed over the centuries.
"We are seeing examples of Saint Barbara throughout this exhibition in fine art, historic photographs, in sculpture, even in costume," Alessio explained. "She always has these attributes going back to her story, like holding a sword. Or she might be carrying her tower with a third window."
This year marks the 100th anniversary of a person being chosen as Saint Barbara to preside over fiesta activities. In the museum, there’s a wall with images of all 100 Saint Barbaras.
But Saint Barbara isn’t just portrayed in the museum exhibition. She’s all over the city.
The museum’s education director took us on a hunt for some of the hidden saints.
"We're in the courtyard of the San Marcos building in downtown Santa Barbara. We're looking for a small frieze of Santa Barbara. If you look above, you will see there are friezes of Spanish and Portuguese explorers, namely all men. But, if you look close enough, you will spot Saint Barbara, holding her tower and palm frond."
We walked a few blocks to the Santa Barbara County courthouse. Just like a scene from an Indiana Jones movie, as we looked down at a first-floor courtroom hall, we stepped onto a Saint Barbara artwork.
"It's on the ground. It's a medallion at the very end of the hall if you were going to court in the Santa Barbara Courthouse. You can see Saint Barbara's tower is depicted right in the center."
The museum is challenging visitors to see the Finding Santa Barbara exhibition, then try to find as many Saint Barbaras around the city as possible.
They're everywhere: In little plaques and sculptures on the side of buildings. In one case, a Saint Barbara is floating above an ATM on State Street.
