Book Launch for Cornyation

In 2009, Trinity professor Amy Stone attended Cornyation for the first time and was taken by both the diversity of the crowd and the campy farce itself — which was first produced in 1951 as a satire of the notoriously elite Coronation of the Queen of the Order of the Alamo and has evolved into a wildly popular, all-encompassing spoof. Certifiably hooked, Stone started digging into the history of Cornyation in 2012 as something of a “pet project” that led to two years of research. Five years in the making, Stone’s new Trinity University Press book Cornyation: San Antonio’s Outrageous Fiesta Tradition presents her many findings in a format that’s part scrapbook, part crash course. Brought to life through 40-plus interviews, excerpts from scripts and more than 100 photos that date as far back as the 1950s, the book offers a fascinating look at Fiesta’s development into a more inclusive “party with a purpose” and Cornyation’s transformation from a “Fiesta for the little people” to a major fundraiser that’s donated more than $2 million to local HIV/AIDS charities. Recently highlighted through a San Antonio Book Festival panel, Cornyation officially launches with a reception, talk and book signing with Stone at Trinity’s Holt Center.