Most people don’t realize that San Antonio is the second largest city in Texas and the seventh largest in the country, or that it has a capacity for partying that rivals New Orleans. Every year, San Antonio hosts a 10-day citywide bacchanal, with parades, parties, and open containers in the streets. Technically, Fiesta commemorates the Texas Revolution, when the state gained independence from Mexico and became, briefly, its own country in 1836. Texas independence from Mexico, celebrated with Mexican food, Mexican beer, tequila, and mariachi. Yeehaw!

Why San Antonio and not another Texas city? At its center lies the Alamo, taking up far more psychological space than it does physical. In recent years, how San Antonio should remember the Alamo—amid a $550 million restoration project—has become bitterly contested.

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But the party rolls on. The average San Antonian shows up to have a good time, not debate museum signage. The most iconic object of Fiesta is the medal—two or three inches of decorated metal on a ribbon, produced by anyone: corporations, nonprofits, drag collectives, schools, individuals. They’re worn on sashes and vests until the weight becomes its own spectacle. Facebook groups with 25,000 members exist solely to trade them, though they’re worth almost nothing.

And outside San Antonio, the medals, and Fiesta itself, are virtually unknown. One former resident, having moved to Dallas, considered fashioning her collection into a door wreath, then thought better of it. None of her neighbors would know what they were.

Links:

• An Ode to the Fiesta Medal, That Fabulous Piece of San Antonio Flair – Tommie Ethington, Texas Monthly, April 11, 2023

  
  

• The Weird History Behind Fiesta Medals – Jack Morgan, Texas Public Radio, April 24, 2015

  
  

• Medal Collecting Frenzy In Full Swing As Fiesta Nears – Joey Palacios, Texas Public Radio, March 15, 2017

  
  

• Is It Time for San Antonio’s Fiesta to Secede from San Jacinto? A Modest Proposal – Ruben C. Cordova, Glasstire, June 23, 2021

This post is part of The American 250, a series featuring 250 objects made by Americans, located in America, in honor of the country's 250th anniversary. 250 words on 250 works, from January 1 to December 31, 2026.

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[1] From Hickey's book Invisible Dragon: Four Essays on Beauty (1993): https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/872030-beauty-is-and-always-will-be-blue-skies-and-open