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Photos: Presidio celebrates 340 years since town’s founding

Local band Zauna performs outside Presidio’s city hall. The night’s line-up included several local acts, including Proyecto D and Terlingua-based singer-songwriter Chet O’Keefe.
Annie Rosenthal
/
Marfa Public Radio
Local band Zauna performs outside Presidio’s city hall. The night’s line-up included several local acts, including Proyecto D and Terlingua-based singer-songwriter Chet O’Keefe.

On Saturday, Presidio residents braved cold and fog downtown to celebrate the 340th anniversary of the community’s founding. The event lasted long into the evening, with performances by local musicians, a craft sale, and a late-night dance party.

The festivities concluded a days-long celebration that included a reading by Lipan Apache poet Margo Tamez, an exhibition of local art, and a dinner honoring longtime Presidio teachers John Ferguson, Lucy Ferguson, and Laurie Holman.

Arian Velazquez-Ornelas helped to organize the events as head of the Presidio Convention and Visitor Bureau. Addressing the crowd, she noted that Presidio’s roots go back even farther than 1683 — Indigenous history in the La Junta region can be traced back thousands of years. Velazquez-Ornelas said the evening was an opportunity to honor Presidio’s multicultural past and present.

Arian Velazquez-Ornelas, head of Presidio’s tourism board, shows off a t-shirt celebrating the town’s 340th anniversary. Other new merchandise highlighted classic features of the community, from dusty streets to dark skies.
Annie Rosenthal
/
Marfa Public Radio
Arian Velazquez-Ornelas, head of Presidio’s tourism board, shows off a t-shirt celebrating the town’s 340th anniversary. Other new merchandise highlighted classic features of the community, from dusty streets to dark skies.
Ricky Garcia mans the tripita station. Food offerings at the event spanned the range of Presidio’s local cuisine, from tacos al pastor to Filipino barbecue.
Annie Rosenthal
/
Marfa Public Radio
Ricky Garcia mans the tripita station. Food offerings at the event spanned the range of Presidio’s local cuisine, from tacos al pastor to Filipino barbecue.
Customers wait in line outside local food truck A La Carrera Street Tacos.
Annie Rosenthal
/
Marfa Public Radio
Customers wait in line outside local food truck A La Carrera Street Tacos.
Generación X amps up the crowd with everything from Selena to a rendition of “Las Mañanitas,” dedicated to the town.
Annie Rosenthal
/
Marfa Public Radio
Generación X amps up the crowd with everything from Selena to a rendition of “Las Mañanitas,” dedicated to the town.
Late-night dancers in downtown Presidio take their lead from Chihuahua-based headliners Generación X.
Annie Rosenthal
/
Marfa Public Radio
Late-night dancers in downtown Presidio take their lead from Chihuahua-based headliners Generación X.

Annie Rosenthal was Marfa Public Radio's Border Reporter, a role she held in partnership with Report for America. She worked at the station from 2021 to 2024.