Six Flags: The Mexican Section — 1961

by Paula Bosse

six-flags_mexican-section-lights_1962_ebayBienvenidos!

by Paula Bosse

The image above is from a Six Flags Over Texas postcard. The description on the back reads:

Geometric Patterns — Mexican Section
Multi-colored lighting effects reveal a fascinating and beautiful picture of the Canopied Garden Walkway leading into the Mexican Section at this new 105-acre $10,000,000 family entertainment center.

Here it is in the daytime, still kind of attention-grabbing, but nowhere near as cool-looking:

six-flags_canopied-entrance_colliervia Ken Collier

I just wanted to post this Six Flags picture I’d never seen and move along, but why not add a few more postcards showing attractions in this part of the theme park: the “Mexican Section.”

There was the Fiesta Train (which I was surprised to see was originally called Ferrocarril Fiesta), which was topped with colorful sombreros and chugged by all sorts of “festive” scenes which might seem a little culturally eyebrow-raising today.

six-flags_mexican-section-fiesta-train_colliervia Ken Collier

six-flags_mexican-section_burro-ridervia Ken Collier

There were animatronic bull fights. “Olé!”

six-flags_mexican-section_bull-fightvia Gorillas Don’t Blog

There were … dancing tamales. DANCING TAMALES! (Designed by Peter Wolf.)

Dancing Tamales — Mexican Section
One of the most popular of the many colorful and comical animations on the Fiesta Train ride, this group of Dancing Tamales perform to the gay strains of Mexican music that fills the air.

six-flags_dancing-tamales_flickrvia Flickr

And speaking of Mexican music, there were strolling mariachis.

six-flags_mexican-section_mariachis-flickrvia Flickr

And there was an even an El Chico restaurant.

el-chico_six-flags-gazette_091061Six Flags Gazette, Sept. 10, 1961

Here is an interesting article about what visitors to the brand new amusement park could expect to encounter on their visit to the Mexican Section, written by the Six Flags promotion department (click for larger image).

six-flags_mexican-section_six-flags-gazette_080661a   six-flags_mexican-section_six-flags-gazette_080661b
Six Flags Gazette, Aug. 6, 1961

And, no, I couldn’t find a 1961 photo of the sombrero ride!

UPDATE: Found one (from 1965)!

six-flags_el-sombrero_FWST-collection_1965_UTA

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Sources & Notes

Sombrero ride photo is from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection, University of Texas at Arlington Libraries, Special Collections — more on this photo is here.

Info about the Six Flags Railroad is here; more about the Ferrocarril Fiesta Train is here.

Apparently those tamales (with a face lift) are still around? I LOVE THESE GUYS!

six-flags_dancing-tamalesvia GuideToSFOT.com

Ken Collier is The Man for all things Six Flags. See his great site, here.

Other Flashback Dallas posts on Six Flags Over Texas can be found here.

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Copyright © 2016 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.