My mixed memories of yesteryear’s Fiestas include longhorn cattle rumbling up State Street, wild-looking horses, rowdy crowds at El Paseo, and a blacksmith float rolling along afire.
I never saw actor Leo Carrillo ride his horse into a downtown bar, but old-timers swear he did it more than once. One day, they say, Leo got in a fight with a man who took exception to Carrillo’s flirtation with the wife. Leo got punched out.
Things have tamed down now, a virtual pony ride down the primrose path compared with the sometimes raucous Fiestas of past Old Spanish Days.