Fiesta San Antonio

[3] In 1909, local businessman John Carrington established The Order of the Alamo with the purpose of crowning a queen, a princess and 24 duchesses — 12 from San Antonio and 12 from out of town.

Today, more than 100 local nonprofit groups, members of the Fiesta San Antonio Commission, stage more than 100 events over 17 days with the help of some 75,000 volunteers.

Music offered includes Tejano, jazz, mariachi, rock, big band, classical, and pop.

Several school districts within San Antonio treat the day of the Battle of Flowers as a local holiday and consequently don't hold classes.

In their place, he sardonically suggests some unappetizing Anglo-Celtic foodstuffs and "Riverdancing on the Riverwalk" to the tune of bagpipes and banjoes.

"[6] Writer and producer John Phillip Santos, who characterizes the annual visits made by King Antonio (crowned by the Cavaliers) to his childhood schools as "ostentatious," "distant," and "aggressive," says Fiesta rituals did not include the Mexican American community.

[6] Artist Mel Casas (1929-2014) mocked Fiesta queens in a large painting made in 1969 called Humanscape #58 (San Antonio Circus).

[5] Cordova proposes a change of date and a "decoupling" of Fiesta from commemorations of battles: "Keep the party, lose the war.

The commission is governed by an all-volunteer board of community leaders and representatives from its nonprofit participating member organizations.

The group works throughout the year, coordinating the details and day-to-day tasks required to plan the citywide event.

The commission also serves as a liaison between its nonprofit members, the local military activities, and the City of San Antonio.