A Day in the Life of Sylvia: Spanish Market 2008

It is Spanish Market Weekend here in Santa Fe and it is my favorite event of all in Santa Fe. The artists are amazing and I love looking at each booth at all the incredible pieces on display. Most of the artists are from Northern New Mexico and their love for their Spanish Heritage comes through in their artwork which is passed down from generation to generation. One of the requirements to participate in Spanish Market, is the artist must prove they are of Spanish decent.

Gene and I got up early. We went to have breakfast at The Santa Fe Baking Company, our favorite breakfast spot and then we headed over to the Plaza. It gets very crowded but it wasn't too bad this morning because it was raining and it seemed to keep some people away. We were able to walk without tripping or stepping on someone. The summer rain felt great and we walked around in the rain checking out all the beautiful artwork and chatting with the artists. Once the rain let up, people appeared from no where!

The best part of Spanish Market is the Youth Market. There is one youth artist in particular that I am a big fan of; Christina Valdez. She is now 14 and will be entering high school this year. When she was in 3rd grade she was in my class. She creates Retablos (painting on wood with natural colored elements) and her work is just gorgeous! I bought a Retablo from her when she was a 5th grader and I have it hanging in my dining room. I am her biggest fan! She has won honors for her work and has a few of her pieces hanging in the Spanish Heritage Museum. I made sure to go straight to her booth this morning.

This year, a very dear friend of the family was in Spanish Market for the first time ever. Della creates Straw Art Applique. Her work is absolutely stunning! There was a write up about Della and her work in one of our local papers. We went to her booth and I couldn't believe all her gorgeous pieces. People were buzzing around her booth and purchasing her work. Congrats Della!

We really had a great morning and saw a lot of people we knew enjoying the music, food and especially the artwork. Everyone was happy and despite the rain in the morning, Spanish Market 2008 was a success!

Gene standing in front of the bandstand... there is some great music always going on at Spanish Market!

My former student Christina at her booth with her Retablos. She had sold several in the early morning and only had 3 left on her table!!

Della in from of her gorgeous Straw Applique pieces at her booth. Beautiful work Della!

Great music on the Plaza Bandstand! Gene was having so much fun listening to the music and I could see him from a distance moving his shoulders and feeling the music.