Colorful floats; streets closed with barricades; people covering the sidewalks and setting up their lawn chairs to have a good view, having the day off from school; the Marching Bands from High Schools and Universities, decorating their instruments with ribbons, preparing their formation under Highway 37 on Grayson Street; the Fiesta Royalty putting on their best pairs of decorated shoes before stepping onto their throne, mounted on one of the biggest of the parade floats. If you’re a native San Antonian, you know exactly what grand celebration is about occur and what has been going on for the days before; it is part of Fiesta, the ten-day city-wide celebration; it is the Battle of Flowers parade. The Battle of Flowers is a 2.6-mile parade that runs through downtown San Antonio, typically one of the closing events of the Fiesta celebration. This Parades begins on the edge of downtown, and continues onto three major streets: Broadway, Alamo, and Commerce.1 Local schools participate in this parade; their dance troops, mariachi bands, ROTC, and Marching Band programs participate and walk the parade alongside the Texas Cavaliers, the Fiesta Royalty, and the Mayor. Although this annual event has become a hallmark for San Antonians, many don’t know how or when it all began. Let’s go back to its origins, back to the last decade of the nineteenth century in San Antonio.
Originating in 1891, the Battle of Flowers parade was created as a tribute to all those who fought and who fell at the Battles of San Jacinto and the Alamo.2 The idea of a grand celebration to commemorate these heroes came from a tourist, the native-Chicagoan W. J. Ballard. He believed that a proper tribute should be made, and asked a group of local ladies why this had not been the case just yet. His question extended through the city and made its way into newspapers and gained the approval of the community almost instantly. The anticipated idea aroused a spark of interest in Ellen Maury Slayden, a native Virginian elite, who had found her way to San Antonio by marriage to a merchant and later congressman, James L Slayden. Slayden then decided to bring Ballard’s idea to life, and since she knew it was almost impossible on her own, she decided to enlist the help of another newcomer to the area, J. S. Alexander. They both decided to take this on as a pet project of theirs, with the help and support of their husbands. Alexander, a banker before arriving in Texas, provided information on some familiarity he had had overseas about seeing a parade surrounded by flowers, where carts were decorated with flowers. Slayden also remembered similar instances in celebrations she knew about across Mexico and Spain, giving the basis for what the parade would become. The husbands, and many of the elite men of San Antonio, took over the project and had gentlemen speak on behalf of the ladies at the committee meetings; however, as the project grew, the ladies wanted to make sure that it was still a women’s project and continued to provide input and ideas, thus creating the Battle of Flowers Association.3
The parade was originally intended to be an April 21st celebration to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the victory of the Battle of San Jacinto; however, coincidentally, San Antonio was just then expecting its first-ever visit from the White House, the 23rd president of the United States, President Benjamin Harrison. As soon as word got out, the city became ecstatic and prepared a celebration to welcome the President, including moving the parade a day ahead of its original date. With the dates set in stone, the first official planning committee meeting took place only a mere seven days prior to the event. They were frantically trying to gather flowers from nearby towns, since San Antonio had just experienced some heavy rains, which had destroyed most flower gardens, leaving the city with a shortage of flowers just before the parade. Trains were rushed in with shipments of flowers from nearby towns. Other means of making up for the shortage were discussed as well, such as dressing the children up as flowers and having bicyclists decorate their mobiles with whatever blossoms they found and join the parade.4 In the days leading up to the parade, everything seemed all set to go, except for the weather. The city had been plagued with days of heavy rain, and the whole city was hopeful that the rains would cease as the day approached; however, they were wrong. On the morning of the parade, the rains didn’t have mercy on their plans, and as the President’s train arrived, the downpour became continuous. But the rains didn’t stop the city from providing the President with a warm welcome; however, it did postpone the flower parade for the following week, which, of course, would mean that the President would be long gone by then. When the warm weather finally arrived the following week, the parade went as planned; and it was so successful that the committee pushed to have it continue as an annual celebration. It has since been celebrated since 1891, except for the years during World Wars I and II.5
By 1985, the parade continued to grow into the week-long celebration known today as Fiesta. And as the years went by, Kings and Queens were elected as Fiesta Royalty.6 The Parade continues to grow, and so does its recognition across the city and the state. It is now funded by private associations. To this day the parade is one of the closing events of the city-wide, week-long Fiesta party and continues to generate community involvement. Every April, San Antonio puts on a fantastic show, and without a doubt, it all goes back to a Chicagoan tourist, two ladies, and one united community.
- Battle of Flowers, Official Website: Battle of Flowers About us (battleoflfowers.org, 2018). ↵
- Handbook of Texas, June 2010, s.v “Fiesta San Antonio,” by Mrs. Willard E. Simpson, Jr. ↵
- Jack Maguire, A Century of Fiesta in San Antonio (Austin, Texas: Eakin Press, 1990), 13-15. ↵
- Jack Maguire, A Century of Fiesta in San Antonio (Austin, Texas: Eakin Press, 1990), 17. ↵
- Jack Maguire, A Century of Fiesta in San Antonio (Austin, Texas: Eakin Press, 1990), 17; Laura Hernandez-Ehrisman, Inventing the Fiesta City, Heritage and Carnival in San Antonio (New Mexico Press,2008), 21. ↵
- Handbook of Texas, June 2010, s.v. “Fiesta San Antonio,” by Willard E. Simpson, Jr. ↵
117 comments
Christopher Hohman
Nice article. Battle of Flowers is one of my favorite holidays and events to celebrate. My High School band and I would march in the parade each year, and it was such fun. It is such a colorful event that really fits in with the season of spring. And of course because it is such a big deal we would always get off a couple of school days to celebrate the event and go to the different parades. For me personally it also is the beginning of the end of the school year which is always something that I look forward to.
Engelbert Madrid
I was so happy to read this article, because I think it is necessary to know the history of this significant annual event that has been important to San Antonio’s culture. As a San Antonian, I believe this event is one of the best for tourists to come and experience the wonderful music, food, and parties that form Fiesta. I think this article does a great job on bringing great information about the origin of Fiesta.
Eric Ortega Rodriguez
I have never gone to Fiesta or San Antonio’s Battle Of Flowers before but I can imagine how gorgeous it looks. I really enjoyed diving into the history, I never know that Ellen Maury Slayden was the one who started this event and that it even almost was a reason one of the presidents would have come to see it, if it was not for the weather, meaning it would have to be postponed. Overall, this was a great article because it gives more background to an event which happens yearly in the city of San Antonio.
Michael Hinojosa
I’m upset I hadn’t found this article sooner because the Battle of Flowers is one of my favorite events despite the fact I actually didn’t know a lot of the details behind it. So thank you for being the one to provide to me the proper history and background needed to better comprehend the idea of fiesta and the Battle of Flowers as a whole! I really enjoyed reading every word of this and I hope to find more articles like it in the future!
Alexander Manibusan
Even though I’m native to San Antonio, I feel so ignorant that I know so little about the history of the Battle of the Flowers parade. For instance, I had no idea that the idea originated such a long time ago- in 1891. It’s impressive that it all started as a small idea that grew so big that it’s now part of a ten-day celebration we know as a Fiesta. Without a doubt, it must’ve taken a lot of commitment and a lot of teamwork.
Madison Downing
Being from San Antonio and loving the state of Texas I can’t believe how uneducated I have been with local events like Fiesta and The Battle Of Flowers Parade. Who would have thought that people from different states would have such a big influence on the most popular part of San Antonio’s culture. I think it is amazing that this city brought people together and even brought attention from the President of the United States, who sadly didn’t get to see the parade, but still what an honor it was! Now many presidents are attracted to this unique state that is living in two worlds, with the United States and Mexico.
Honoka Sasahara
I was so interested in this article and the celebration because I came this city just two months ago and I have wanted to know details of “fiesta.” This article gave me many information about it, which made me like San Antonio far better. I would like to join the celebration next spring and enjoy it with my friends I met here. I’m sure that it would be one of the best memory in my life!
Roman Olivera
It’s kind of crazy to think that one of San Antonio’s biggest celebrations didn’t even come from the local people who live here their whole lives. I guess its good that two out of staters had to take a look at local history and push for it to be celebrated. Well thank God for them, because it has became the biggest parade in a 10 day long fiesta for San Antonio that this city just would not be the same without. Coming from Los Angeles the Rose Parade still is one parade that cannot be matched, but the continued celebration in with the Battle of the Flowers and what is celebrated has great historic meaning to Mexican American and American people all across the nation.
Faten Al Shaibi
I have been lived in San Antonio for five years and I never attended any of these celebrations, but after this article l am really sure that I will attend the next celebration on April, It’s great to live in a city which have a history and tournaments.I think it’s nice for countries to keep celebrating such occasions so as not to forget the memory of these heroes over the years.
Alexis Martinez
I have lived in San Antonio all my life and anyone from San Antonio knows that Fiesta is one of the biggest and most important things we celebrate in the city. Fiesta is beautiful and vibrant, and it really does show our history and appreciation. One thing I found truly fascinating was the fact that the Battle of the Flowers was first presented by a tourist.