It may have rained on the parade, but last weekend's events succeeded in getting Socorro warmed up for the holiday season.

Santa Claus managed to make it through the cloud cover and kept his appointment for his first public appearance of the year at a tent set up near the Plaza and newly adorned with Christmas lights.

Those who were dampened by the rain that began a little more than an hour before the start of Saturday night's Electric Light Parade were still able to warm up with a bowl of posole at the same tent afterward.

"It was raining before the parade, but it stopped for a while and then just drizzled during the parade," said Deborah Dean, who was in charge of the event. "All in all, it wasn't too bad."

The city-sponsored celebration of the holiday season continues on Friday, Dec. 4, with the annual Luminarias on the Plaza. Members of Socorro County Arts will display their artwork in shops around the Plaza. The City of Socorro will also conduct the official lighting of the Christmas trees. The activities take place from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Although the weather system that passed through Saturday night (Nov. 28) put a damper on the parade, it did do its part to decorate the town for the holiday season and covered "M" Mountain with a frosty cap of snow.

Stars of the Parade

The theme of this year's Electric Light Parade was "Tinsel Town." Judges voted the Socorro Early Childhood Development Center's float as one that best exemplified that theme. Their float included a "Hollywood" sign and such props as cameras, palm trees and Oscars.

The Socorro Youth Program won the second-place prize, while Sage Homeschoolers placed third.

The award for best illumination went to the Socorro County Sheriff's Department. The Girl Scouts Trails Troop 10121 took second place and Midway Elementary School's Parent-Teacher Organization finished third.

Midway PTO also won the coveted "People's Choice" award.

Team Torres is Tops

During the day, posole and tortilla rolling contests were held — but the posole People's Choice award wasn't determined until after all the paradegoers had a chance to sample the three entries and cast their vote.

Darlene and Rosalie Torres are a mother-daughter team that swept the top prizes in the cooking contests.

While Darlene was left to do most of the work in preparing the posole, she said it was because her mother had already contributed enough.

"I learned everything I know from her," Darlene said.

This year was the first time Darlene was competing in the contests. Therefore, she wanted to take a conservative approach.

"My philosophy is, keep it simple," she said.

The Torres' weren't afraid to spice things up, however. Darlene said they put a little pizzazz in their non-traditional posole by adding oregano and lots of garlic.

The rest is a family secret.

"I do have a secret ingredient, but I can't tell you," Darlene said. "And I have a method secret. I cook the meat a little differently."

Whatever they do, it worked. Their green chile and pork posole also earned the People's Choice award.

A Different Approach

Although husband and wife contestants, Julie and Steve Green were competing separately, each took a different approach in preparing their posole.

"I'm making green chile chicken posole and he's doing traditional posole," explained Julie Green, whose non-traditional posole won the top prize last year.

When asked the secret to making a good batch of posole, Julie said, "Patience. And you have to cook it with love."

Hot Hatch chile, cutting the chicken up into bite-size pieces and adding celery at the end are other tips she offered.

Steve Green has a friendly posole cooking rivalry with his wife.

"And we still manage to share a cooking space," he joked, as his 5-gallon pot of posole was boiling nearby.

For Steve, Saturday's contest was just another day at the office.

"I make a ton of posole at work," said Steve, who runs the "M" Mountain Grill at the golf course and serves as guest chef at the Eagle Ranch in Datil. "I'll make a pot this size twice a week."

Fun With Tortillas

A close second to Team Torres in the tortilla rolling contest were the Apache Tortilla Makers from Alamo.

The team had star power, with Miss Alamo, LaTanya Apache, and KABR radio personality D.J. Jade on the team. But the driving force behind the effort was LaTanya's mother, Sarah, who has been making tortilla's since she was 9 years old.

Sarah said tortillas are made three times a day in the Apache household.

"My kids like fresh tortilla — they don't like it even a day old," she said.

The family usually takes turns. Sarah makes them in the morning and LaTanya prepares them at noon. One or the other will make them at dinner time, and even dad takes a turn.

Sarah said it takes good hands to make the dough soft. The key things to remember about flattening the tortillas is to roll in two directions at 90-degree angles to make them round and to not press down too hard, so they stay the same thickness.

Like Julie Green and her posole, Apache said there's an emotional factor that goes into making good tortillas.

"When I make tortillas I'm always happy. If you're not feeling happy, the tortillas won't come out the way you want them," she said.

Also competing in the tortilla rolling contest was Dos Hermanas, the sister team of Abigail and Elizabeth Smoake, students at the University of New Mexico who were home for the Thanksgiving weekend.

Although the Smoakes finished third, their mother, Leslie Johnson, was proud of their effort and was grateful that Socorro could welcome the holiday season in such a warm way.

"I think it's so cool. You have tri-cultures here with the Native American, Hispanic and Anglo — it's pretty representative of Socorro," she said, and added that it didn't matter who won the contest. "It's all about having fun."