Rumor has it the freshwater mermaids that once populated the San Antonio River swam upstream to San Marcos. No one knows for sure why and when the mermaids and merdudes left town, so we didn’t want to overlook their place in our neighborhood’s historic story. The Mermaid Society of Texas helped the Parade recreate a San Antonio folklore that originated from the natives. This legend has been passed down over the years by word of mouth. The story is about a Blue Panther spirit who protects the sacred Blue Hole, the spring that feeds the San Antonio River. When the anhinga birds of the area would stop to drink from the spring, the Blue Panther would pounce to scare away the birds. This would create a shower of spring water droplets that would fall from the large wings of the anhinga birds, thus creating the flora and fauna of San Antonio.
Naturally, it makes sense to assume mermaids flourished in our river during this mystical time that existed over 300 years ago. The Mermaid Society of Texas traveled from the San Marcos River to join our Parade. Their float was created in a color palette that instantly made you feel cool, calm, and think for a quick second your lawn chair was an innertube floating on our own San Antonio River. Rich radiant teals, iridescent blues, seafoam greens, sultry purples, and shimmering golds were accented with various shades of magenta, yellow, and orange river flowers. The mermaids and merdudes wore their best accessories from underwater parasols to crowns made from flowers adorned with spring water shells, all while gracefully posing on top of a hand-painted water float. These mermaids and merdudes made everyone crave the lazy summer river days ahead of us.