Easter Weekend in Barrio San Felipe

Belinda Hernandez and her family camp out in San Felipe every Easter.

Easter weekend is always a fun and festive time for the family in San Felipe. With popular camping sites like Lions Park situated on San Felipe Creek, celebrations can last multiple nights outdoors. Around Brown Plaza on Saturday, you could visit an outdoor chalk art contest if you found yourself camping nearby at Rotary Park. 

Belinda Hernandez, the matriarch of one family RV camping this Easter weekend, tells me about her time celebrating on San Felipe Creek.

"We have family coming from different parts of Texas just to come and celebrate with us, so we’re here in Del Rio right in the heart of it in downtown San Felipe!" Belinda shares. 

If you’ve ever driven under the BARRIO SAN FELIPE arch on Canal Street, you’ve driven past Belinda’s little family campground that she owns across the street from Rotary Park and Brown Plaza. Over the weekend, she expects 40 to 50 family members traveling from as far away as New Braunfels and San Angelo to camp out together here.

With fresh spring water flowing past 200 feet of grassy bank, Belinda’s campsite wasn’t always the oasis it is now. She explained to DRN how restoring her neck of San Felipe Creek was a "labor of love."

"Myself, my son, my husband, my grandchildren. We’ve all been out here[…] cleaning the creek and cleaning the [campground]." With the whole family involved, they were able to show her local ecosystem some needed love. "We’ve cleared tons of trash from the creek. We’ve pulled shopping carts, carpets, and a stove!" 

Now clean and inviting, Belinda’s site by the creek has become her family’s favorite reunion spot for various holidays throughout the year. Throughout the weekend they'll enjoy family meals, games like volleyball and Jenga, and, of course, swimming. She says they plan to meet back here at Cinco de Mayo and the Fourth of July.

"We have a love for our city, our community, and our Barrio. It’s beautiful. It’s a beautiful thing."

While the breezy conditions and overcast skies make for some cool camping, the chalk art contestants just a short walk over at the Plaza watched for signs of rain while working on their masterpieces. Strolling through the chalk drawings, you’d see some familiar works. Artists were directed to take inspiration from the ‘great masters’ of the art world.

Alexandra Dewey finishes up her 1st place Picasso-inspired chalk-art piece.

One artist, Gabby Lopez, chose to re-create DaVinci’s Mona Lisa. With colors and proportions impressively true to the original, Gabby took second place. Another artist, Alejandra Dewey, created a memorable original piece in the style of Picasso. Using vibrant, nearly neon, colors and the depiction of a mother with her children that evoked a sense of love and warmth, Dewey took first place and a $300 prize.

Gabby Lopez took 2nd place with her recreation of DaVinci's Mona Lisa.

Lupita De La Paz, event organizer and director of the Casa de la Cultura, wonders about the relationship between the rain and the annual chalk-art contest.

"We’ve noticed the past couple years it always rains right after we do this. So maybe it’s some sort of special thing that it brings rain to our community."

The artists were able to finish out their allotted time without a drop of rain. But 12 hours later, a downpour did eventually wash the street anew, continuing the meteorological phenomenon. 

Campers would weather a storm overnight, but wake up to clear skies Easter morning beside their family and friends. Through generations of tradition, Barrio San Felipe continues to foster meaningful connections to culture and community.