Our Lady of Belen Fiestas to be celebrated this weekend

BELEN — For 232 years, the Our Lady of Belen Fiesta has celebrated the faith of the church and it continues to do that, as well as welcoming in the entire community for a weekend of fellowship and family fun.

This year, the Fiesta — marked by the theme “Fan the Flame of Hope” — will be held from Friday, Aug. 15, through Sunday, Aug. 17, at Our Lady of Belen Catholic Church, 101-A N. 10th St., Belen.

The two couples chosen as padrinos for this year’s Fiesta — Marcos and Patricia Jaramillo and Teresa and Ron Chavez — called the duty to serve their church an honor.

“When they first told us, I just thought, ‘Wow, this is awesome.’ It’s definitely an honor,” said Patricia.

She and Marcos have been members of OLB their entire lives, with Marcos being baptized there in 1979.

The Fiestas are well known for its amazing array of live music, the midway and carnival and of course, the Fiesta burgers, but the padrinos agree it’s about much more than that.

“This gives us the chance to meet more people. We definitely know each other better now,” Ron said of the couple’s relationship with the Jaramillos. “Vespers is absolutely a highlight of the Fiestas.”

Teresa said the Fiestas is a time of faith and to “bring people together, whether they’re Catholic of not.”

Marcos agreed, adding serving as padrinos gives the couples an opportunity to set a good example for youth in the community.

“That’s what it’s all about,” Marcos said. “We come together and made good things happen.”

Teresa also called the Jaramillos a role model to she and her husband.

“They’ve been together 50 years and us, two,” she said.

Marcos said he was glad the four of them were going to be working together, to which his wife quipped she was glad to be working with a young couple “to do the hard work.”

During the Fiestas, the couples will help in any way needed to keep the event running smoothly, everything from cleaning to decorating.

Seeing the children and youth having a good time at the Fiestas, makes her proud, Teresa said.

“It’s the beginning of the school year. It’s kind of a reunion. I remember being so excited to see all my friends and having fun right at the beginning of school,” she said. “It’s fun to see the new generation doing something we grew up doing.”

Being named padrinos was an honor everyone wanted to thank the selection committee for.

“It shows their faith in us and I’m thankful for that,” Marcos said. “This is something we do for the church but the whole community as well.”

Carnival tickets are available for sale at the OLB Parish Office for $25. Tickets are $35 at the carnival. Wrist bands are good for one day, all day. Purchaser chooses the date.

Some of the bands featured at the Fiestas this year include the Daniel Solis Band, Sal Vigil, Uno, Tripple X, Black Pearl Band and Severo y Grupo Fuego.

A blessing of the Fiesta grounds will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15.

Some of the other events include the annual parade, which begins at 10 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 16, on South Main Street and travels north to Aragon Road.

A car show begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday, with bingo at 3 p.m. in the Parish Hall.

The Salo Garcia Chile Contest will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 17, along with more music, bingo and a raffle at 8:30 p.m.