Dressing La Fiesta

Meet the tireless seamstresses who make the $300,000 worth of flamenco outfits that make Santa Barbara’s Fiesta.

By Indy Staff August 3, 2016

7 min read

Dressing La Fiesta — A SAGA OF SEWING: Seamstress Maria Lazcano (pictured right) often worked late into the night with her sister Socorro Avila to make more than 90 dresses for this year’s Fiesta. “It’s very emotional for me to see the dancers up onstage in a costume I’ve made for them,” said Lazcano. “It’s very satisfying.”

“Olé, and viva la siesta!”

Fiesta begins in earnest at tonight’s La Fiesta Pequeña, but for the seamstresses who have toiled tirelessly on hundreds of handmade dresses, this week is the calm after the storm.

After months of sewing marathons to produce the colorful and customized flamenco costumes paraded across Santa Barbara this week, months of meticulous artistry is finally complete.