On May 31, the Los Banos Divino Espirito Santo (DES) Association held its annual festa.
The event began with a procession from St. Joseph’s Catholic Church to the DES hall, where DES President Luis Oliveira and his local committee members welcomed other Portuguese delegates from cities like San Jose, Gustine and Dos Palos, along with their festa queens.
The Los Banos High School band, under the direction of Grant Yates, led the procession along with a Portuguese band from San Jose. Then the DES committee members carried the statue of St. Isabella, followed by the queens from the various communities.
The procession concluded with the 2026 Los Banos DES queen, Katelynn Oliveira, and her sidemaids, Sidney and Kaley Silveira, arriving at the DES hall. Then some 492 guests sat down to a traditional Portuguese sopas dinner.
After dinner, the committee held an auction of donated items, with Scott Silveira, Garrett Jones and Los Banos High School freshman Max Menefee collecting bids on items ranging from many Portuguese food items and plants to decorative items and two cute Chihuahua-mix puppies.
