Colors of Fiesta!
Fashion and Design Program of
Academy of Career and Technologies
Charter High School
“Fiesta de Flowers”
Madison Vasquez
Artist Statement:
My Fiesta hat is about the River Walk and it is for Fiesta as well. I made it because it’s for the
culture. I also put in the Mexican colors. It’s for Fiesta in San Antonio, Texas which has lots
of food and music. My hat has flowers, maracas, dots and different colors. I like it because
San Antonio is nice and cool. We have the Alamo too, here in our beautiful city. Lots of
people come to San Antonio for the market square and for the food and the tower of
Americas and the Battle of Flowers. The Alamo Fiesta is on April 10, 2014. Fiesta is a
celebration in san Antonio TX. We like Fiesta because of the food the music and the hats .
“Extravaganza de Fiesta &
Piñata de Fiesta”
Leslie Doty
Artist Statement:
Being that I am not a San Antonio native, I researched what stood out and spoke to me the
most concerning Fiesta. This happened to be the vibrant and bright colors used in Fiesta. I
believe the colors convey so many emotions of happiness and energy, which are very
important in Fiestas. I wanted to use the most diverse colors in a unique way. There are beads,
maracas, flowers and a donkey to incorporate the other elements of creating a Fiesta hat. The
beads will help include the vibrant colors that are so important when creating a Fiesta hat.
Also, the maracas were used because I thought they added a little tradition. The flowers were
added because of the time period during Fiesta, spring time. The flowers also incorporate the
vibrant colors that I love. The Chenille Stems were used to prop up the multi-colored letters
and the three-tiered hat. All of the beautiful colors and items have been added together to
create two very flamboyant and unique Fiesta hats.
“The Colorful Bird”
Haley Howerton
Artist Statement:
The reason I choose The Hemisphere is because it is the sign of San Antonio. San Antonio
celebrates Fiesta every year down town. There’s always lots of colors, music, food, and
dancing. The reason for Fiesta is The Battle of Flowers. People get together to have a good
time and enjoy each other’s company. There’s always lots of things for kids to do. People
make and sell cascarones. Kids get them and crack them on other kids’ heads. It’s a fun thing
for them to do. San Antonio has many of local bands to come and play shows during the day.
Flowers are a big thing during Fiesta. They make shirts with flowers and cascarones and
confetti that usually say “San Antonio Fiesta 2014”. Down town is a big part of San Antonio
and celebrating Fiesta. My hat shows the kid in me that comes from Fiesta. I love the colors
and the cascarones. I am vary happy to be able to make this hat.
It is my pleasure. Thank you.
“Aspects of Fiesta”
Gisselle Barreras
Artist Statement:
Inspiration, when I first started, I had no idea where to start. So I asked myself one question “What is
Fiesta?” When I didn’t know how to answer, I thought how am I supposed to make a traditional Fiesta
hat when I know nothing about Fiesta. I started some research on Fiesta and saw it is an annual spring
festival which started in the late 19th century. It began to honor the memory of the Battle of the Alamo.
I then knew a lot more about Fiesta; it is a celebration for the fallen and the survivors at war. I put many
flowers to represent spring because that is when it is held, spring time. I would also put many party
related things. For example, the streamers, party glasses, the miniature donkey piñata and more to
resemble the celebration that is being held. Music is heard all the time at Fiesta which is why I put
maraca’s, a guitar and music symbols. Now, if somebody were to ask me what inspired me to make my
Fiesta hat I’d simply say… Fiesta! My hat was made to resemble all the aspects of Fiesta, the celebration,
spring time, the food, music and tradition.
“Princesa de Sombrero”
Destiny Villarreal
Artist Statement:
This class assignment inspired me to integrate festive and country themes into my sombrero. I added
“Viva San Antonio” because that is a phrase we use during Fiesta which means “Long live San
Antonio”. My design aims to capture the spirit of Fiesta. Fiesta is a time in our city when we celebrate
our cultural heritage. I incorporated a little twist of country western themes into my sombrero because
we live in Texas and our cowboy background is interwoven into our cultural heritage. I integrated earth
tones in my hat design to represent our cultural treasures of the Alamo and the Missions, a focal point
for many in this multi-week long celebration. I feel honored to do this Hat. It portrays my love and
dedication to our city, as well as my appreciation for being able to represent San Antonio through my
design. I am thrilled that our creations will be in the Institute of Texan Cultures for all of Fiesta month.
As a native San Antonian my Family and I feel honored to participate in Fiesta in this historic manner.
“Viva Los Flores”
Julia Gonzalez
Artist Statement:
Fiesta is one of the greatest festivals that happens right here in San Antonio. The main
purpose of Fiesta is to celebrate the heritage and culture of San Antonio. So I tried to show
that in putting a lot of colors in my hat. I added some Mexico colors to also show the heritage
and a bunch of other colors to show that Fiesta is really colorful. I completely filled the whole
top of the hat with a lot of different colorful flowers for the battle of flowers. I made sure to
put flowers because I know the battle of flowers is a big part of Fiesta. I added on some
maracas and guitars to my hat to symbolize that there’s a lot of music in the culture. Also of
course, I put ‘’Fiesta 2014’’ really big on the bottom of the hat. I hope everyone enjoys my hat
that I made. I had a really good time making something pretty to represent the culture of my
city for people to see.
“Papitas de Fiesta”
Kevin Orlando Alvarez– Reyes
Artist Statement:
Inspirations come in many ways. For me inspiration is my sister. She made feel inspired by her handmade and really classy dress. My sister showed me how to be ambitious in making a project. I liked the
concept of using bags of chips as her main material, and admire how dedicated she was in the process
of making the dress. There are ways to appreciate your culture and I choose making a hat. The fact that
it’s hand-made shows a part of Mexico. There are still Indians making hand-made crafts. That is why I
am making a hat with my own hands. The hat represents my culture and tradition. Being Mexican is like
a blessing to me because of all the history and traditions of Mexico. I know that it might have some
flaws but it is important to look at all the national treasures that it offers us. I am very proud of my roots
and being part of this beautiful project. It gives satisfaction, helps the community and shows my art. I
hope people feel inspired with my flawless hat and it will make them want to participate next year. It is
very important to embrace your background and always find new ways to show your appreciation for
your culture.
“Sombrero de Fiesta del Rio”
Jessell Segura
Artist Statement:
The reason why I would like to create my own hat is because I like to be creative with new
things. It is a class project that I can put anything I want on it. When people ask how I made
the hat I can say that it’s my design and all the cool things that I am going do and make it is
going to look so awesome and different from all the hats other hats that are going to be there.
I am going to be putting different things on the hat and it is just going to look so amazing.
Another reason why I want to do this is I love to show off my talent that I have so that
everyone can say; I would love to have that girl come and design my hat for me. It is so fun to
do things like this and I can be so creative with it, that’s why I would like to do this project.
“San Antonio River Walk”
Ashley Wright
Artist Statement:
I decided to create a hat because I think it will be fun for me to do. My hat represents me by the different
shades of brown throughout the hat. I wanted my top part of the hat to be dark, to make the other stuff on it
pop. The bottom part of the hat is lighter so it can soften it up. I chose to pick the river walk as my theme
because it’s one of the nation places were tourist come to talk about. The flowers all around the hat are to
bring out the Fiesta sign on the top of the hat. I also put the flowers on to represent the Fiesta fill. The
maracas on the edges of the river are to show off some spirit. The bright colors from the word Fiesta and the
flowers make the hat pop! I wanted to make my hat original to show off our river walk downtown. The river
walk is something we need to remember.
“Celebracion de Fiesta”
Marisa Mesa
Artist Statement:
This class assignment inspired me to integrate festive themes into my sombrero. I added
“Viva Fiesta” because that is a phrase we use during Fiesta which means “Long live the party”
My design aims to capture the spirit of Fiesta. Fiesta is a time in our city when we celebrate
our cultural heritage and therefore I wanted my design to reflect the spirit of that time. I’m
incorporating vibrant colors in my hat design to represent the general feeling of happiness,
excitement and citywide closeness associated with our multi week long celebration. The
colorful flowers represent The Battle of Flowers Parade, the oldest event and largest parade
of Fiesta San Antonio. Being able to participate in Fiesta history with my fashion design skills
is a memory that I and my family, as native San Antonians, will cherish with pride.
“Sombrero de Flores”
Chyian Guajardo
Artist Statement:
I chose this design because when it comes to Fiesta here in San Antonio I think of my
favorite things that I love about Fiesta. The live music, all the food and bright colors, and the
decorations you see all over town and I tried to incorporate that look in my hat by placing
different musical instruments and music notes all over the hat and filling it up. It has all these
bright colors and different types of colored flowers. I also have some beads around the hat.
The words San Antonio and 2014 are on the front of the hat and I have the beads outline the
words.
“Violeta de Fiesta”
Alyssa Perez
Artist Statement:
The inspiration of my hat came from seeing other ideas online. I’m making my Fiesta hat very
colorful and wild. I’m putting mixed colors in this hat to show the Fiesta spirit. The colors of
Fiesta are symbolic of spring arriving in full force. Women often wear embroidered
Mexican/Oaxacan styled dresses with brightly colored designs. Fiesta hats are wide brimmed
sun hats that have colorful ribbons and lots of attached seasonal items. And of course there
are sombreros: customize one yourself or check out the mariachi store on West Commerce
for a non-touristy option. Guayaberas are popular with men, and Dos Carolinas can fix you up
with a custom pattern. I personally love wearing shirts with calaveras (skeletons in a Mexican
folk art style) and lotería cards. So I wanted to express the meaning of Fiesta in my own hat. I
am using big flowers to make my hat pop out and get noticed. I put on a lot of ribbons and
different Fiesta items on my hat to symbolize the craziness.
“La Dama y el Burro”
Elexis Bermejo
Artist Statement:
At first I wasn’t able to do a hat. I just sat back and watched my classmates design theirs. I saw
how they each put stuff together to design such cool and unique hats. Then my teacher told
me I was able to do one as well if I wanted because there was an open spot. So I took the
opportunity. I wanted to make my hat very bright ,big ,and colorful. Many things inspired me
to do my hat a certain way. I had an idea to have big colorful flowers on my hat. So I know I
wanted that for sure. I also wanted to add the Hispanic lifestyle onto my hat, something Fiesta
like. I had this crazy idea in my head, I knew just how I wanted to do my hat. Unfortunately I
was informed that I only had three days left to do my hat. So I had to think of something that
wouldn’t take as long to make. So after taking some time to think of what I wanted and how I
could design my hat to look really nice within three days… I figured out how I wanted my
hat. Thanks to my class mates, they inspired me.
“Crazy Fiesta”
Isabel Espinoza
Artist Statement:
What inspired me to create my hat was the Fiesta celebration. To me Fiesta means family
coming together and having fun with music and dancing. They dress in bright colors that
represent the loud and exiting celebration. The colorful flowers represent the beauty in the
happy families. The animal stripes on my hat expresses the peoples outgoing personalities and
just being themselves. The feathers meaning is how everyone just wants to be free. The shiny
glitter and the hat itself represents how people party in San Antonio Texas.