"All attempted revivals of Spanish folkways in Southern California are similarly ceremonial and..."

All attempted revivals of Spanish folkways in Southern California are similarly ceremonial and ritualistic, a part of the sacred rather than the profane life of the region. The 3,279 Mexicans who live in Santa Barbara are doubtless more bewildered by these annual Spanish hijinks than any other group in the community. For here is a community that generously and lavishly supports the ‘Old Spanish Fiesta’ - and the wealth of the rancheros visitadores is apparent for all to see - but which consistently rejects proposals to establish a low-cost-housing project for its Mexican residents.

The residents of Santa Barbara firmly believe, of course, that the Spanish past is dead, extinct, vanished… the Mexicans living in Santa Barbara have no connection with this past. They just happen to be living in Santa Barbara. To be sure, many of them have names, such as Cota or Gutierrez, that should stir memories of the dolce far niente period. But these names are no longer important. They belong to the profane, and happily forgotten, side of the tradition.

The sacred side of this tradition, as represented in the beautifully restored Mission, is worshipped by all alike… The restored Mission is a much better, a less embarrassing, symbol of the past than the Mexican field worker or the ragamuffin pachucos of Los Angeles.