My grandmother Kathy Cota passed away a year ago, in June just before the 100th celebration of what her father put together as a last-minute show to bring people together in 1924. My great-grandfather Juan Cota started what would become Old Spanish Days Fiesta to unite the town, to share the beauty of Santa Barbara, and to welcome visitors with pride and joy.
This year, as Fiesta began again, the weight of my grandmother’s absence felt even heavier. Not just because she’s gone, but because what she stood for, what she built, what she danced for is disappearing, too.
My family didn’t just participate in Fiesta — we helped create it. Juan Cota was called “Mr. Fiesta,” a true Californio, and the city honored him for preserving the dances, songs, and stories of Santa Barbara’s roots. His passion lived on through my grandmother Kathy, who carried the tradition with grace, founding Danza De Cota and keeping the flame alive for multiple generations of children who grew up in Santa Barbara dancing under the stars at Noches de Ronda and La Fiesta Pequeña.
For us, Fiesta was never a performance. It was never a costume. It was our lived identity — our gift to the city, and our way of gathering community around beauty and pride…