The Air Before
Every October for the last 48 years a thousand balloons have danced across the skies over Albuquerque, New Mexico. Until now.
by Ian Beckley
I wind around the gambels and juniperos and hard agaves as the early morning air bites cold against any exposed skin. I work my way east as the first hint of sunlight colors the sky above the Sandias.
From a hilltop overlooking the Rio Grande the sounds of the river and of the tens of thousands of New Mexicans and visitors and fellow “balloonatics” echo up and across the valley.
Like fireflies, the intrepid pilots with the courage to navigate their aerostats around the night-time currents summon their balloon brethren up into the air; a cacophony of fire and color erupt in response.
It begins first as a trickle and then as a torrent: hundreds and thousands balloons and their passengers rise to meet the sun as it appears in the eastern sky.
Beginning in 1972 as a failed attempt to set the world record for the largest gathering of hot air balloons, for 48 years the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta has gathered hundreds and thousands of balloon pilots and balloonatics from around the world, growing from 13 balloons that first year to over a thousand in 2019.
It is a singular experience of color, light, and tranquility as they move across the sky, giving peace and and no small amount of affection for early fall mornings in the desert.
The pandemic may have stolen this from 2020, but the Fiesta’s return in 2021 will be a celebration of our triumph. To learn more about the 2021 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, visit balloonfiesta.com.
