Fiesta 2023 Luminaries

Get to Know This Year’s Fiesta Luminaries
El Presidente, the Spirits, Saint Barbara,
and El Desfile Histórico Grand Marshal

By Terry Ortega, Leslie Dinaberg and Ryan P. Cruz |
Photos by Fritz Olenberger & Ken Pfeiffer
August 3, 2023

See more of our complete guide to Fiesta 2023.

David Bolton: El Presidente

This year’s El Presidente, David Bolton, has lived in Santa Barbara for 55 years, having attended Montecito Union, S.B. Junior High, and S.B. High School, then San Diego State University to earn his BA in Journalism and History of Latin America. Bolton lives in S.B. with his husband and this year’s Primer Caballero (“first gentleman”), Gonzalo Sarmiento, and also serves on the board and as official Fiesta historian for Old Spanish Days. “Since its first year in 1924, it continues to bring this community together and helps support local business and nonprofits while recognizing our varied histories, cultures, and traditions,” he said.

When asked how this year’s theme of “Let’s Fiesta” was created, Bolton recounted, “November 2019, I was at a conference with my husband in San Antonio, Texas, and after breakfast one day, we decided to walk and saw a large mural painted on the entire side of the building that said, ‘Let’s Fiesta!’ I told Gonzalo then, ‘If I ever become Fiesta Presidente, that will be the theme.’ ” Coincidence or manifestation?

I asked Bolton about what the role and responsibility of El Presidente means to him, and he expressed how honored he is to follow in the footsteps of past Presidentes. The job has many elements, such as volunteering, fundraising, and government and business relations, while setting an overall tone each year. Bolton is most looking forward to “families celebrating together, and friends reconnecting,” adding, “Fiesta is not about any one of us individually … it is about the entire community, bringing us together … and helping to make this community we live in special.”