Every Spring--sometime after Easter-- La Sociedad Floclorica sponsors a traditional and very fun event--the Baile de Cascarones..............

A Cascarone is a decorated hollowed-out egg that is filled with confetti. The premise of the evening is that any gentleman who wishes to dance with a young lady must first crack a cascarone over her head--so each dance begins with a light-hearted celebration............

The music for the evening was provided by local gents well versed in the old-time traditional Santa Fe dances.........................

The lovely Miss Barbara manned a table with silent auction items--some of them being the most intricately decorated cascarones...................

I guess Dwight wants to dance with me, but he is getting waaaay to excited about the "egging" part......................

As you can see, the eggs are cracked ABOVE the head, not ON the head as I always supposed. As a young girl, I often wondered how many a loving couple might have broken up over a cracked noggin.................

No real Santa Fe affair is complete without a lively and elaborate Grand Marcha..............

Among the many, many friends and former students we visited with at the Baile, is former Mayor Valdez...............

And sweet Miss Sarah--who was in this year's Fiesta Court just as she was starting her first year of Medical School...................

This is a great event to meet and greet fellow Santa Fesanos................

Liz and Michael bought a handful of cascarones.......

Sisi gets egged--BIG TIME!.......................

Miss Beth--The loveliest senorita of 'em all! (OK, so she's actually a Senora--but she's toooo cute and fresh to be called that)....................................

Now it's Dwight turn to get asked to dance.......................

And he's mighty thrilled about it too........................

She might be a bit stiff, but this comely seniorita is one of the most popular ladies at the dance. Men will be fighting over her before the evening is through.......................

The elegant Senora Rivera..................................

Henry, another fantastic former student, has been involved in local historical events for years. He has designed and sown many an outfit for the Fiesta Court--including a stunning purple Grand Cape for his sister when she was Fiesta Queen. Also--a first on this blog--I am "unmasking" him as the face of Lobo Louie for many years! You saw it here, folks...............

The very accomplished Miss Donna was also on this year's Fiesta court as a Princessa.............

This is the Padrino/Madrina Dance. Each couple gets a set of mis-matched aprons and ties. You must then search for the person with the tie or apron that matches yours and dance with them. In the old days that person was considered your padrino or madrina for one year. In times of a rather stratified society, this helped the community to expand and circulate. My padrino is a local radio personality......................

Dwight meets his madrina--who as it turns out is quite a wonderful dancer................

There was a special Daddy-Daughter dance..............

Who wouldn't want to dance with this little doll.....................

As the Sociedad's candidate for Fiesta Queen, Danielle addresses the crowd. Of course, she won for queen and represented our city in such an outstanding way at Fiesta time..................

The little "stiffy" finally gets to dance...............

I told you that the men would be fighting over her..................

Of course, she's a whole lotta woman--compared to the guys who have to dance with this broom.................

Long time member Amelia relishes the Baile..................

Time for another dance! I like the egging--the confetti on my hair makes me feel like a "popular girl"! Of course, maybe not as popular as Stiffy or the Broom--THEY"RE icons!.....................

I think this was a line dance. The Sociedad members explained the directions and significance of each dance as it was introduced.

Sometimes a girl's gotta do what she's gotta to do to get herself a dance partner................

Mary and Joe--sadly this is one of our last photos of them together. Joe passed away last fall--what a special man we have lost..............

Every man in Santa Fe is a king when he dances this waltz with two partners.................

So, if you are looking for a fun and historical time this upcoming spring, consider attending the Baile de Cascarones--AND A GOOD TIME WILL BE HAD BY ALL!