McALLEN — Another holiday tradition is lighting up lives in the Rio Grande Valley, this time here at Quinta Mazatlán where officials sparked brightness into the night Tuesday with the annual ILLUMINA Fest.
Rows of luminarias illuminated the trails here at the nature preserve, which hosts the festival with music, food and fun for the holidays annually.
According to Executive Director Colleen Hook, the luminarias represent the celebration of light.
“We are celebrating the winter solstice, as you get to some of the darkest times of the year, everybody around the world celebrates with light,” Hook said. “It is a great time for all of us to remember that we have to share our light with others and make a difference.”
The event kicked off with a performance by the La Joya Palmview High School Mariachi group accompanied by a dance from the Folklorico group.
The colorful dresses dancers twirled provided a glimpse of the elegance that awaited beyond the entrance.
As one walked in, they were immediately greeted by the Mariachi group singing “Feliz Navidad” followed by a trail of red, blue, purple, and green lights that lit the entryway into the park.
Hook said the park is decorated with 3,000 luminarias and 30 different art installations along the trails that illustrate holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Lunar New Year, Diwali, Native American Traditions and Nature at Night.
The event also included performances from 40 different performers including LED dancers and Native American arts.
“The Valley is such a great melting pot so it’s great to be able to celebrate so many cultures and spiritual events around the world,” Hook said.
Ashely Owings attended Tuesday’s event with her sister and children.
“We’ve come every year and it’s a really fun experience,” said Owings, adding that her daughter would be performing later in the evening.
As one follows the trail of luminarias they are led to a tree of red, green and blue lights projected onto its leaves creating an almost fairytale-like scene.
“Look at the fairies!” the kids in attendance exclaimed Tuesday.
David Hovar of McAllen attended Tuesday’s event with his parents and children, whose ages ranged from 18 months to 11 years old.
“They (his parents) suggested doing this as a family and I thought it was a great idea to spend a Tuesday evening here going through appreciating the natural beauty and the art that people have produced,” Hovar said.
Although they had only seen the beginning of the trail Hovar explained that his children seemed to be in “awe” of the lights and decorations.
The luminarias and illuminated trail are viewable through Saturday from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at Quinta Mazatlán, located at 600 Sunset Drive in McAllen. For ticket information, call (956) 681-3370.
To see more, view Monitor photojournalist Joel Martinez’s full photo gallery here:
Photo Gallery: Luminarias celebrate winter solstice at Quinta Mazatlán in McAllen
