With the historic Lobero Theatre as a backdrop, 2025 Fiesta El Presidente Fritz Olenberger announced this year’s Old Spanish Days theme “Capture the Spirit”.
“As the Fiesta photographer for many years, my passion is in the dancing,” El Presidente Olenberger said in making the theme announcement. “Time and again, I’ve found myself getting goosebumps behind the lens, feeling a deep connection with the dancer. In Flamenco, there’s a word for this feeling: ‘duende.’ It means ‘Spirit. The feeling of awe and inspiration; the overwhelming sense of beauty and magic’ — that force that fuels the art of Flamenco. But it’s not just in Flamenco—it’s in every form of Fiesta dance, in the music, the pageantry, and in the community, Fiesta brings together every year”.
Flanked by Old Spanish Days officials, and the 2024 Spirit of Fiesta Georgey Taupin and the 2024 Junior Spirit Aleenah Soriano, El Presidente Olenberger also announced that this weekend’s 2025 Spirit Auditions at the Lobero are sold-out. The Auditions will be live streamed via the Old Spanish Days You Tube Channel.
“Our 2024 Spirit Georgey Taupin truly embodies this year’s Fiesta theme, ‘Capture the Spirit,’” he said. “I first met Georgey Taupin in 2017, when she auditioned for Junior Spirit. The very next year, she earned that title. And just last year, in 2024, she served as our Spirit of Fiesta. Georgey is a star student, a singer, an actress, and of course, a gifted dancer.”
(L-R) Missy Robledo Pulido, Division Chief of Dance, Tony Miller, OSD 2nd Vice President, David Bolton, Division Chief of External Relations, El Presidente Fritz Olenberger, La Primera Dama Gretchen Olenberger, 2024 Junior Spirit Aleenah Soriano, 2024 Spirit of Fiesta Georgey Taupin. Courtesy: Alejandro Navarro.
Both outgoing 2024 Spirits will be performing their farewell dances this Saturday as part of the 2025 Auditions. The Auditions determine this year’s Spirit and Junior Spirit who will serve as ambassadors throughout the Fiesta year.
Beyond the Spirit Auditions, El Presidente Olenberger announced the next Old Spanish Days event will be La Primavera, May 17, at the Santa Barbara Carriage and Western Art Museum. Tickets will be going on sale later this week with details at sbfiesta.org. During the La Primavera event, this year’s Fiesta poster and pin will be unveiled.
Fiesta 2025 runs July 30-August 3 this year. Events and celebrations can be found at sbfiesta.org.
