Chama Days filled the village’s streets and hotels with revelers again this year, carrying on a tradition that goes as far back as anyone can remember.
“Great Chama Days this year,” said Mayor Archie Vigil, who has organized the softball tournament for the last nine years.
Vigil said he thinks more out-of-towners than usual came to the festival. He attributes their attendance to last winter’s snow emergencies, saying people wanted to show their support.
The softball games are one of Chama Days’ biggest events, with teams traveling from all over New Mexico and Colorado to participate. The schedule was rigorous, with games taking place at the improbable hours of 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. on the lighted field. The bleachers behind the field stayed full Saturday afternoon, as well.
“It’s very competitive,” Vigil said. “And they love it.”
Among the audience Saturday was Gilbert Arrazolo, who has sponsored a softball team for three or four years. He said he was surprised at how high the games’ scores were. He was also surprised to find the team had changed its name from the Caballeros to the Arrazolo Law Firm.
“I didn’t know they were gonna do that,” he said. “It sounded a lot better as ‘Caballeros.’”
Besides softball, the event featured a rodeo, a basketball tournament, dances and the ever-popular parade.
The Saturday morning parade had spectators lined up for miles to watch the floats, fire trucks and horses. Rupert Espinoza brought his wife and mother-in-law to Chama from El Rancho for the event. They were staying with his family in Tierra Amarilla, and Espinoza even brought his custom-made motorcycle with him.
“I let my uncle drive my trike in the parade,” he said, referring to the type of motorcycle that has two wheels in the rear and one in front. “I built it myself. It took me two years to do it.”
After collecting candy in the parade line, children at Chama Days had plenty of activities to keep them busy. Climbing walls and inflatable castles were popular attractions in the vendors’ area. Judy Bellinger, of Chama, said she has been coming to Chama Days for several years.
“It just gets better. At least the kids say it gets better,” she said. “They have so much stuff.”
Gary McConnell, of Chama, said he always enjoys the event, though the additional traffic in town can get frustrating.
“The closest red light’s in Pagosa,” he said. “It’s kind of exciting when anything happens around here.”
Despite a lot of camping trailers parking near the rodeo grounds, hotels in town reported filling up. Rose Soto, whose husband manages El Meson, said they were hosting a family reunion that filled the hotel and had to turn a number of callers away. Jill Lane, with the Elk Horn Lodge, said softball teams, rodeo participants and others filled the Lodge to capacity.
“We try to incorporate everybody into the act,” she said. “We had a full house, as normal.”
Vendors were also doing brisk business Saturday, with lines forming around booths selling funnel cakes, shaved ice and giant turkey legs.
“We got our butts whipped earlier,” Robert Alarcon said Saturday afternoon.
Alarcon traveled from Las Vegas to cook for the Fat Brothers concession stand.
The stand was selling food including its specialty, tortilla burgers, at Chama Days for the fourth year.
“It got better this year,” he said. “This has been our busiest year.”