SAN ANTONIO \u2013 Fiesta officially kicks off on Thursday with Fiesta Fiesta. For many San Antonians, one of the biggest draws is not just the food, music or people-watching.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the medals.<\/p>\n
At Travis Park, collectors were already showing off their favorites, trading medals with others and talking about what keeps them coming back year after year.<\/p>\n
\u201cChasing Fiesta medals. It\u2019s a sport? It\u2019s a sport, I guess,\u201d Fiesta medal collector Noreen Espinoza said. \u201cI don\u2019t know, but it\u2019s a lot of fun.\u201d <\/p>\n
For some, the hobby quickly turns into something bigger.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went crazy, got medal fever and been doing it ever since, but I don\u2019t know what drives it,\u201d Fiesta medal collector Sal Rios said.<\/p>\n
Collectors said part of the appeal is the exclusivity, and the effort it takes to get certain medals.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust innocent fun? Yes, it is. It can be a little competitive,\u201d another attendee said. \u201cI feel some people, you know? It\u2019s a sport. The dedication to get in the line. \u2018Who has the best medals, or who has the more exclusive medals.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
That dedication can lead to sizable collections.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust over 300,\u201d one collector said when asked how many medals they have at home.<\/p>\n
Others said the medals mean more than just collecting.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition to these all the other events, you have a memory of what that is, and you are able to keep it,\u201d Fiesta medal collector Edward Riojas said. \u201cAnd whenever you want that memory to come back, you go ahead and just bring out that medal and look at it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Everyone seems to have their favorites.<\/p>\n
\u201cSA Potholes. I stood in line for this one,\u201d one person said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd, of course, the Virgen de Guadalupe,\u201d another attendee said. \u201cEveryone loves this one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even the small details and designs spark excitement in the crowd.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I see her spine! That\u2019s beautiful!\u201d one person said while looking at a medal.<\/p>\n
While Fiesta Fiesta is packed with color, energy and tradition, some attendees said the event\u2019s community feel is what makes it stand out.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdam Caskey, he\u2019s the best. I love him,\u201d one attendee joked when asked what makes Fiesta Fiesta feel like the people\u2019s event.<\/p>\n
The event is more than just medals. Fiesta-goers are also encouraged to bring their wildest Fiesta gear, trade medals and take part in the People\u2019s Parade.<\/p>\n
As one attendee put it, no Fiesta celebration is complete without a favorite beverage.<\/p>\n
\u201cBig Red,\u201d one attendee said. \u201cEveryone loves Big Red.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fiesta Fiesta is set for April 16 at Travis Park and serves as the official kickoff to Fiesta season. <\/p>\n
More recent Fiesta 2026 coverage on KSAT: <\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2013 Fiesta officially kicks off on Thursday with Fiesta Fiesta. For many San Antonians, one of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252980,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[7797,7185,74290,82,84,83],"class_list":["post-252979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-broadway","tag-fiesta","tag-fiesta-fiesta","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}