Balloon Fiesta's Influence On New Mexican Culture

As the 46th anniversary of the Balloon Fiesta approaches, I belief it would be appropriate to talk about the festival during “culture week.” The article I choose is titled “Balloonists enjoy strong finish” from the Albuquerque Journal written by Kim Burgess, a Journal Staff Writer. This article talks about how successful the Fiesta was last year despite the weather being “finicky”, it shares experiences from regular festivalgoers, and describes the importance of this event to New Mexican culture.

Despite the unpredictability of the weather, millions of people from Albuquerque and all around the world gather in the Balloon Fiesta Park to see hundreds of hot air balloons lift off, while taking pictures of the beautiful sight. The reason why Albuquerque

Starting with 13 balloons its first year, and growing to 550 balloons in 2016. The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is the largest festival in the world of its kind. Making it one of the state’s top tourists attractions. Jay Czar, the Balloon Fiesta’s board president, expresses the importance this festival has on New Mexican culture by saying “I don’t care where you go in the world, when you say ‘Albuquerque,’ they associate it with the Balloon Fiesta. We feel a great responsibility to put on the best possible show and to make all New Mexicans proud…this is our Kentucky Derby, this is our Mardi

Waking up before the sun rises, getting ready and suiting up in our warm attire for the chilly mornings the dessert brings, while drinking our coffee and watching the hot air balloons rise with the sun; the inevitable diffusion of New Mexican culture, and explaining the language to a tourist by teaching them what it means when their waiter says “red, green, or Christmas?” is valuable to New Mexicans. This is all a part of the joyful experience this real culture brings. I have yet to meet someone who has experienced the Balloon Fiesta that does not look forward to coming back and experiencing it again. After my first time going to the festival, I have returned every single year. Living in Albuquerque for almost 10 years I have embraced this tradition with joy and anticipation, because it is definitely a fun experience to live, and a beautiful one to watch. Every year while we wait in traffic to get in the park, my family and I play a game where we punch each other on the side of the arm when we see a license plate from a different state. It really helps me realize the magnitude of this event. The way society comes together when there is a common interest can be powerful. This festival is a big part of New Mexican culture that brings millions of people together. It lets outsiders have a sense of cultural relativism and sometimes even a diffusion of the New Mexican folkways and norms.