It’s not often that our readers get to know our contributors, who write for our paper on top of the rest of their busy lives. This week we want to introduce Camie Barnwell, one of our contributors to this Fiesta issue.
What was your process for this year’s cover story? How is it different with it being 100 years, and what stood out to you most while writing it up?
I’ll admit upfront that this story was one of the most challenging I’ve ever tackled on the topic of Fiesta. I was writing about unfamiliar territory and trying to compress a books’ worth of research into a readable feature story.
In the past three decades, I’ve written about Fiesta from every angle I could think of — the Best Fiesta Margarita-Crawl; how the event used to be scheduled to take place under the full August moon; the true origins of the horses that grace the parade; backstage Fiestamama madness and surviving the week with my dancing daughter; as well as stories about the Spirits of Fiesta, the food, the vendors, the Presidentes, the seamstresses, the shoes, the dance forms, the musicians, the romance, the subculture, and everything that make this week-long party what it is.
This story required me to research the way of life in Santa Barbara leading up to the first Fiesta in 1924. This was challenging due to the vast amount of work, documentation, diverse perspectives, opinions, and missing voices surrounding this event and Santa Barbara’s history. I was very concerned about doing justice to this topic without vilifying any particular group or oversimplifying the details. A goal and challenge I had in writing this was to lay out the story in a way that would be easy to follow and entertaining to a broad range of people — not just Fiesta fans, but people who care about Santa Barbara as a community and are interested in the history of how this beautiful town came to be the way it is today.
Two important things that did not make it into the story:
1) Fiesta is and always has been the product of the collective hard work, sacrifices, and dedication of volunteers, civic groups, writers and photographers, seamstresses, dance teachers, business folks, performers, moms and dads and grandparents, who rearrange their lives to put this party on. I’m in awe of the time and effort devoted, and that we actually pull it off every year. I like to think that one of the ways I’ve contributed to this event over the years is through my writing.
2) Along with reading and rereading all of the books I could find about Santa Barbara history and Fiesta, I spent time researching in libraries in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. I want to thank a few people who helped put me in touch with the goods: Dacia Harwood and Emily Alessio of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum; Anne Petersen and Dez Alaniz of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation; and Peter Hauge of the Los Angeles Public Library. Thank you to Michael Todd for helping me sort it all out; to Marianne Partridge who served as therapist, consultant, and editor; and to Brian Barnwell, my Fiesta co-conspirator whose thoughtfulness and encouragement helped me find the story.
How does your daughter’s participation in Fiesta keep you involved, and what are some of other Fiesta celebrations you’ll be having?
I’m so happy to say that Sofia is performing in Fiesta this year. She was invited to be part of a special routine choreographed by Timo Nuñez that will be premiered at Fiesta Pequeña on Wednesday evening and hopefully a few other venues in town. She graduated from college and now lives in San Francisco and is halfway through her Master’s program at the University of San Francisco to become a Marriage and Family Therapist. We were lucky that her summer recess allowed her to be home to participate in Fiesta and be here for another exciting moment in our family: our little 3 ½ year-old granddaughter, Afton Barnwell, will make her Fiesta debut this year as part of a flamenco dance troupe.
What do you do for work when you aren’t contributing to our paper?
I worked for Santa Barbara Unified for several years, but about 2.5 years ago, I moved to the Santa Barbara County Education Office. I am the Director of Communications and Public Information Officer!
What made you interested in majoring in journalism? Was it your original career path, and has the study has helped you in other areas?
I found my way into journalism as a sophomore at USC after a prodding from a World History professor — journalist/author Ed Cray — who told me that I asked good questions in class and that I should come see him at the journalism school. I’m SO glad he did. At the time, I was a Spanish major and was not sure what I wanted to “be.” Once accepted into the journalism school, I knew that I had found my place and people. In college, I worked at the Daily Trojan and interned at the Hollywood Reporter, which led to being hired by a news agency in Spain. After several years in Madrid, I came back to the states and was hired as a bilingual crime, courts, and immigration reporter for the Visalia Times-Delta. I did not think I would survive that beat, but I did, and that led to being hired as the education reporter for the Santa Barbara News Press nearly 30 years ago. Every single thing I learned as a reporter has helped me in the work I do today — particularly writing on deadline and the ability to get to the heart of things.
How long have you been in Santa Barbara? What are some of your favorite things to do in town?
I came to Santa Barbara in 1997 and it was a true cupid’s arrow for me. I’m so in love with this town and see it as the most magical place on earth next to Paris. I like to spend time with our family and friends, walk around downtown or at the beach, take an urban hike, and discover new things and people. Probably one of my greatest indulgences is crowding our family into a red-leather booth at the Chase Restaurant for an evening of stories, laughter, chicken picatta, and a dry martini, double olive.
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