Since 1925, the Tucson Rodeo, also known as the La Fiesta de los Vaqueros, has attracted people from all over the country to this small desert town.

Ranked as one of the top 25 rodeos in the United States, the Tucson Rodeo features a variety of typical rodeo riding and racing, as well as events for children such as mutton bustin’ and the junior rodeo.

Another major draw: the vendors.

”It’s crazy to think that I show up in one spot and people from all over the area show up too,” said Alan Sanchez, owner and creator of Alan’s Lids, a popular Texas-based company with a booth at the rodeo for its third and final year.

Alan’s Lids offers a variety of hats, including felt or straw cowboy hats and even baseball caps. They also sell t-shirts, hoodies and, coming soon, jeans and boots. 

The booth was set up under two tents with two stations for customers to get hats shaped and customized to their liking.

Alan’s Lids is born

Sanchez, originally from Cleburne, Texas, started his business in May 2020, by shaping hats on the front porch of his house during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

‘“Everybody thought I was crazy,” he recalled.

As his love for shaping hats and cowboy culture grew, he decided to start a business.

Before the end of 2020 he started looking at potential warehouses to use as stores to sell merchandise.

“Whenever I first looked at it, I honestly imagined so much, and right now, that is what my store looks like: everything that I imagined,” Sanchez said. 

His shop is located 10-15 minutes off of a major road in Crowley, Texas, forcing customers to take a detour to get there. 

“I told myself: ‘I’m gonna make people come all the way to me,’ and sure enough, I did,” he said.

After finding success in Crowley, Sanchez decided to go bigger. In 2022, he and his team bought a 12 ft trailer and started booking rodeos. 

Tucson Rodeo

The Tucson Rodeo was Alan’s Lids first out-of-state venue. He said the team was nervous that Tucson might be too small to bring a good turn out. 

“We show up, and boy – was I wrong,” Sanchez said.

He set a sales goal for the week and “I made it on the first day,” he said.

The brand received positive feedback from customers, encouraging the company to continue visiting rodeos across the country. 

“It was the beginning of something that was nothing,” Sanchez said, “There’s no other place like Tucson, Ariz.”

Now, the company is back for its third and final year at the Tucson Rodeo.

“The reason I keep coming back is for the people of Tucson,” he said.

Erick Sanchez, Alan’s brother and coworker, said that Alan loves to make people happy.

“We don’t do it for the money,” said Eric Sanchez, “We put smiles on people’s faces.”

Daniella Maldanado has been buying hats at Alan’s Lids since the company first showed up at the Tucson Rodeo three years ago. She said that the hats are among the best she has ever had. 

“To me it’s special because of the culture. Growing up with it, growing up with the rodeo, growing up vaquero, going to Mexico,” she said, “It becomes a part of your identity, it’s not just a hat anymore.” 

Because Alan’s Lids is only in Tucson once a year, she buys a hat from them every time.

What the future holds

Despite its success at the Tucson Rodeo, this will be the last year Alans Lids is among the vendors, Sanchez said.

“We just have bigger plans for the future,” he said.

Instead of the rodeo circuit, he hopes to start hosting his own festivals with food, beverages and live music customers can enjoy while waiting in line for a hat. 

“I barely got off the flight today and they already have long lines. I mean, 30-50 people in line right now,” he said.

The goal of this new event is to make waiting to buy a hat more enjoyable and prevent customers from having to stand in long lines by providing entertainment, he said. The company hopes to take its festival across the U.S.

“We’ll be back to Tucson, that’s for sure,” Sanchez said. 

Next time, with his own event.

Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.