Hundreds Keep Olivas Fiesta Tradition Alive

Don Raymondo Olivas never considered himself a trailblazer, just a rancher trying to carve an honest living out of the scrub grass and hills of 1840s Ventura.

But 150 years later, Olivas was remembered Sunday at the Olivas Fiesta y El Mercado for helping to open the county to settlement.

Hundreds of people who attended the 16th annual celebration were treated to serenades by strolling mariachis, a puppet show seasoned with Latino themes, Chumash story-telling and performances by colorfully clad ballet folklorico troupes.

The event also featured a number of demonstrations, ranging from quilting to tin jewelry design, that gave participants a chance to learn how settlers lived during the period.

Before closing in 1899, the Olivas Ranch prospered as one of the most successful cattle and sheep operations in the state.

In 1972, the adobe, which Olivas built with help from the Chumash, became a historical landmark and has since been an object of regional pride.

According to Jennifer Eaton, a cultural affairs expert with the city of Ventura, the fiesta has its roots with Olivas family members, who held long celebrations at the adobe.

“This is a tradition that, really, the Olivas family started,” she told the crowd clustered in the adobe’s courtyard.

“They had a reputation for 10-day-long gatherings with music and dancing. . . . So, if you can, imagine yourself at that kind of fiesta.”

Event organizer and adobe manager Richard Senate said this year’s celebration was one of the historical site’s most successful.

“I hope that people are going to come away appreciating our early Latino settlers and what they did to found modern California’s society,” he said.