Viva Fiesta!

It’s called the Party with a Purpose, the two-week long Fiesta San Antonio festival that began 125 years ago as a remembrance of the heroes of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto.

For the first time in many years, the Health Science Center joined in the festivities by sponsoring a float during the Texas Cavaliers River Parade, themed “River of Champions,” on the San Antonio River downtown. The university’s float, titled “Champions of the Cure,” honored Dot Delarosa, a lung transplant survivor, and 14-year-old Raven Labrador, a patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Others on the float included Health Science Center President William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP, and his wife, Mary; Presidential Ambassador Scholars Award recipients; and the band Morning, led by dentistry faculty member Bud Luecke III, D.D.S., M.S.D.

The money raised through the parade is donated to children’s charities in the San Antonio area through the Texas Cavaliers Charitable Foundation.