The Rey Feo Consejos Educational Foundation will start charging for entrance to the Historic Market Square on April 17. Credit: Shutterstock / Christian Hinkle

Despite pleas from distraught vendors and the local LULAC chapter, City Council voted 7-4 on Thursday to allow the Rey Feo Consejos Educational Foundation to charge a $5 entry fee for Market Square during Fiesta to help cover security costs.

The Rey Feo foundation said the admission charge will prevent it from losing money on added security expenses, while vendors and others expressed concern about charging admission to a Fiesta event that’s long been free and accessible to working-class San Antonians. The debate became heated as council weighed those considerations.

District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez said the rhetoric from some defending the $5 fee was racist and classist.

“You see young brown boys and automatically assume trouble,” McKee-Rodriguez said. “When in reality, children and families are begging for things to do in our city. Fiesta does offer that opportunity — sometimes an expensive one — but Market Square is always accessible.”

Members of the Rey Feo foundation argued that the group needs the funds to pay for heightened security following a 2024 Market Square shooting during Fiesta, which left two people dead and four injured. The organization, which raises money for education scholarships, said it lost more than $80,000 last year because it covered security on its own dime.

Even so, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones told the Rey Feo foundation its fundraising model could use improvement.

“Spending $1 million to raise $85,000 is like spending $1,000 to raise $85,” Jones said of the group’s scholarship fundraising. “I know we’re going to have additional conversations about what security needs to look like and who funds it. But I also welcome the Consejos’ thoughts and input on a different model that could help generate more revenue.”

Jones, McKee-Rodriguez, District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo and District 6 Councilman Ric Galvan all voted against the imposition of the entry fee. However, the remainder of council were unswayed by arguments that the event should remain free of charge.

That means entry to Market Square will cost $5 starting at 6 p.m. Friday, April 17. The group also will charge admission after 1 p.m. April 18-19 and April 24-26, and after 6 p.m. April 20-23.

District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur said that if residents with limited incomes really want to go to Market Square during Fiesta, they should adjust their schedules to arrive early.

“If it were me, I would take VIA from my house, I would take the No. 2 downtown and I would get in at 5:45 p.m.,” she said.

Meanwhile, District 3 Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran, whose district include some of the most economically disadvantaged areas of San Antonio, said the conversation “totally brought down the Fiesta vibe.”

“I am committed to helping my residents, but there are a number of free events around the city that people can go to.”

Viagran, who also previously called her constituents “codo,” or cheap for being skeptical of Project Marvel, said those who can’t afford to go to Market Square for Fiesta because of the new cover charge can call her office for assistance.

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Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...