Fiesta in the Clouds a smash hit
CLOUDCROFT — An estimated 400 visitors cooled off in the Sacramento Mountains on Saturday while attending Sacred Heart Mission's fifth annual Fiesta in the Clouds.
"We had more visitors this year than previous fiestas," said Fiesta Coordinator Lourdes Blette. "It's been a wonderful day of community and faith. Faith for making something happen from such a little church, we're just a handful of volunteers who make a small courtyard and parking lot become a fiesta."
The fiesta, which was started by Rev. Christopher Williams in 2013, celebrates Sacred Heart Mission's feast day.
"We're celebrating the Sacred Heart of Jesus," said Rev. Alex Ureña. "Even though the actual fiesta is June 23, we're celebrating it ahead of time. We picked a good weekend for families to come together and enjoy the nice weather and Father's Day weekend."
Ureña, who's been with Sacred Heart for a year, led Saturday's mass with two other local priests.
"Father Theo Okafor, who is my assistant, gave the homily and the message was to be always close to the heart of God," Ureña said. "The sacred heart of Jesus overflows with his love and his mercy."
In just a few weeks, Ureña will be moving to Las Cruces to serve the New Mexico State University community at St. Albert the Great Newman Center.
"It's been a pleasure and a fabulous experience to be here," Ureña said. "I'm going to miss (the people of Cloudcroft) and this beautiful weather but I'm sure I'll come back and visit."
Ureña took part in all fiesta activities, from dancing the Cupid's Shuffle with community members to playing live music with the Montoya Brothers.
"We'll miss him terribly but we are so enriched that we had him at all," Blette said. "That's the joy, that he was sent to us even for just a little while."
In their fifth year, Sacred Heart offered attendees great food, live music, local entertainment, a rummage sale, children's games, cake walks and a giant 16-foot piñata bash.
Made from 100 pounds of recycled newspaper and 60 pounds of flour, the event's traditional star-shaped piñata held 50 pounds of candy. Each of the piñata's seven rays represented a deadly sin: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth. Many children got to strike the piñata with wooden weapons that represented virtues to fight sin on Saturday afternoon.
"We definitely want to thank all our volunteers that came up from Our Lady of the Light and St. Francis De Paula Church in Tularosa – they help us every year," Blette said. "We want to thank all of the community and of course, we thank God."