WITH DAVID TRUJILLO
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David Trujillo, 27, was selected (on May 3) to portray Don Diego de Vargas during the Fiestas de Santa Fe (Sept. 7-9).
SFR: What have your Don Diego de Vargas duties been thus far?
DT:
Once they choose you to portray Don Diego, you immediately have to get a group of guys together-my 'cuadrilla'-and so I have to choose 17 of them. That's a hard thing to do because it's a busy summer and they'll have just as big a commitment as me.
Is the cuadrilla basically just a Fiestas version of Entourage?
[laughs] Almost. I guess Johnny Drama would be my older brother and I'd be Vinnie Chase. No, the guys I choose for the cuadrilla are actually portraying historical characters. All the captains that were with de Vargas, all the soldiers, the padres-everything down to the drummer and the trumpeter will be portrayed.
How close are you to filling all the slots?
I pretty much have a full cuadrilla. I have two brothers, a nephew, two cousins and the rest are friends. We hand-selected everyone in our group.
A few years ago, de Vargas and his cuadrilla caused a drunken ruckus at the Mariachi Extravaganza. Will you be running a tighter ship?
We're really selective with who we have on the cuadrilla. Not only are we portraying the roles, but we're also ambassadors for the city, so if people saw us doing that kind of stuff it obviously wouldn't be positive. I want to make sure it's a positive celebration. It's an honor to portray Don Diego, but I'm not doing it for status. There was somebody before me and there will be somebody after me. I just want to be remembered as somebody who did something good with the role and did something good for the celebration.
Did you know what you were getting into?
Yeah, I did. My brother [Tommy Trujillo] was actually de Vargas back in [1998] and I got to be on his cuadrilla, so I saw what he had to go through.
So this should be a walk in the park for you.
[laughs] So to speak. I know what's coming, but things are a little different now than when he was de Vargas. I don't think the role itself has changed, but I think the community aspect of [the Fiestas] has. There's still a lot of involvement-it's the oldest community celebration in the country-but I think some people are losing track of the culture and the history. That was my inspiration for running. I want to do it in a way where people will be excited about the Fiestas and want to be a part of it.
I'd imagine local pueblos might be divided over celebrating a reoccupation. Are the Fiestas exclusionary for this reason?
No, this is the City Different. I'm honored to be part of a city that embraces all cultures but still holds fast to our traditions also. In fact, a member of my cuadrilla is a Native American from Santo Domingo. This summer, you'll see a Native American mass at [St. Francis] Cathedral. We also have three Indian princesses from the surrounding pueblos, so I don't think we're exclusionary at all.
Were you nervous before the competition [May 3 at the Lensic] to portray de Vargas?
I was really nervous the day before. Then I went to the La Conquistadora Chapel downtown and lit a candle. I also went to my dad's gravesite-he passed away last summer-and I got some dirt and some little trinkets of his and I put them in my pocket when I gave my speech and that gave me a lot of strength.
What's your earliest memory of the Fiestas?
Going to the parades as a kid, joining the pet parade, eating roasted corn, Navajo tacos and fry bread, dancing in the Plaza and watching the mariachis on the bandstand. It wasn't until I was in my teens that I started to see the religious and historical aspects of it.
Pop quiz: What's the full name of Don Diego de Vargas?
That's a good one. Here goes: El Capitán General y Gobernador, Don Diego de Vargas Zapata y Luján Ponce de León, El Marqués de la Nava de Barcinas.
Second pop quiz: Name the two current Santa Fe city councilors who've previously portrayed de Vargas.
Carmichael Dominguez and…Ron Trujillo.
Nicely done. Any plans to carry on that tradition at City Council?
Nah…at least not at the moment. They're all doing a good job over there.
If you had to sum up the Fiestas in four words or less…
I'd say tradition, faith, values and honor.
I was actually going for 'Que viva las Fiestas!' but yours is a lot more poignant.
Thanks, man.
