For most people in San Antonio, Fiesta® has ended for the year. But for one of the top Fiesta royals, the real work is just getting started.
In May, Ronnie Suarez was named the next Rey Feo, or “Ugly King.” This title is earned through fundraising, not social status. Suarez, who will be Rey Feo LXXVIII (78), will be crowned in October, along with Reina de la Feria de las Flores Kylie Rodriguez, a UT San Antonio neuroscience student and last year’s Miss Fiesta, and Reina Linda Tracy Walters-Badillo, a San Antonio dentist.
These three will serve as goodwill ambassadors for the city all year, especially during Fiesta 2027. Their main mission, raising money for scholarships, is less well known but even more important. Since 1976, the Rey Feo Scholarship Foundation has raised over $11 million to fund more than 7,000 scholarships.
Ronnie A. Suarez, Rey Feo 78
Over the coming months, Suarez, the owner of Integrity Roofing, is expected to raise at least $300,000 for scholarships to colleges, trade schools and the First Responders Academy at San Antonio College. But he plans to raise much more.
His goal isn’t just to meet a number, but to chip away at what he calls “the gap”: the difference between the number of students who apply for scholarships and the number who receive them. “This year we received 1,400 applications — a record— and we will give out 100-plus new scholarships,” Suarez said. That’s a big gap.
In recent years, Rey Feo campaigns have grown much larger. Some candidates have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in at least one case, a campaign received a seven-figure donation early on, far surpassing expectations.
The Rey Feo Scholarship Foundation doesn’t just award new scholarships each year; it also continues supporting awardees while they remain in school and maintain their grades. Scholarships are renewable for up to four years and up to $10,000, as long as recipients stay enrolled and maintain their grades. “We currently have 248 students with traditional scholarships, 144 students in trade schools and 50 at San Antonio College’s First Responders Academy,” said the foundation’s Executive Director Jennifer Barbaro.
The scholarship program began in 1947, when members of LULAC Council No. 2 created a “People’s King.” This was a more populist alternative to traditional Fiesta royalty and a way to raise money for education.
The Rey Feo Consejo Educational Foundation is a separate group of former kings and community leaders that works with the Scholarship Foundation. Consejo members choose the new Rey Feo each year, produce and host Rey Feo events, and support the scholarship effort. It was founded in 1982 by two-time Rey Feo Logan Stewart, who helped secure Rey Feo’s place as official Fiesta royalty.
“From day one, Rey Feo was about education,” Suarez said. He added that reading student applications has only strengthened his commitment. “I get to review their applications each year and help grade them. These students love their city and are already volunteering to help others. They really deserve it, and it’s a joy to help them,” he said. “The most moving experiences for me are the scholarship awards luncheons. The students come with their families, and each one goes on stage to receive their scholarship. For many, these scholarships change their lives.”
Those events also made a strong impression on Karina Aguillon, this year’s Reina de la Feria de las Flores. “I went to the scholarship luncheon in 2025, and just seeing the looks on so many faces — then going to schools and seeing how people reacted and knowing how impactful the scholarship money would be — it really feels good knowing you raised money for this,” Karina said. “These kids — they’re going to be the future where they’ll be teachers and doctors and lawyers. I feel so grateful I was able to raise $150,000 with help from my dad and his friends.”
Karina’s father, Thomas Aguillon, served as Rey Feo in 2010. “Karina was only a year and a half old then,” he recalled. “This year, it felt amazing to see her as La Reina De La Feria De Las Flores. My wife Melissa and I have both worked hard and supported several other Rey Feo courts. It’s something our family does together. Watching Karina visit schools and speak to other students, and seeing her grow, was a wonderful experience.”
That kind of generational involvement isn’t unusual. Families return, volunteers stay engaged and former participants become donors and mentors — because they’ve seen what the scholarships can do. The 2026 Rey Feo LXXII, Dr. Damaso Oliva Jr., is the son of Rey Feo XLIV. Over the years, the Rey Feos and their families have formed their own tight-knit community. But it’s a community open to all. You can even spot former King Antonios or members of the Texas Cavaliers and their wives and children in the gold and white outfits of a Rey Feo court.
Fundraising fuels it all. Rey Feos, Reina Lindas and Reinas de la Feria — and their supporters — host events, call donors and mobilize networks of friends, family and colleagues. Campaigns stretch for months, building toward totals that reflect collective effort. Barbaro has seen it all. “Fundraisers, galas, sponsorships, little grants, barbecues, concerts, individual donations… all kinds of events that are open to the public. And skeet shooting — I remember that one because I loved it,” she said.
Former Rey Feo Sonny Melendrez has one of the most memorable and unusual fundraising stories. In 1989, when two candidates competed for the crown by raising the most money, Melendrez was $20,000 short with only a few weeks left. To catch up, he agreed to a stunt that was almost unbelievable. “Our program director said, ‘I know how we’re going to raise that money — we’re going to bury you alive!’” Melendrez recalled. And that’s exactly what happened, thanks to a promoter who traveled from city to city, burying local celebrities in front of car dealerships and other places to draw crowds.
In a grassy area in front of Northside Ford, Sonny climbed into a wooden box with a microphone, a small fan and a cushion and was buried six feet underground. A viewing tube running from the surface into the “casket” allowed onlookers to see his face. He would stay interred until he raised $20,000. “People came from all over, making donations — the biggest one was $5,000 from H-E-B. Most of the donations were small — $5 or $10, but people kept coming. It took 19 hours, but we made the goal.”
He said the ordeal was worth it. “One, because the money was going to scholarships… to fulfill the dreams of people like me. The other thing was going to schools as Rey Feo and giving coins and medals and encouragement — and seeing the light in their eyes… it’s incredibly heartwarming.”
Rey Feo began as a protest with a purpose — a satirical challenge as to who got to wear a crown in San Antonio, and a way to raise money for education. Over time, it has become much more — a tradition, a network and a powerful fundraising engine.
For a year, one man wears the crown and bears the title. But the real power of Rey Feo is measured somewhere else — in classrooms, in careers and in the lives of students who might not have made it there without the scholarship.
The crown lasts for a year. The scholarships last a lifetime.
To contribute, visit www.reyfeoscholarship.com.
