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They come from Brazil, Germany, Ireland and elsewhere abroad, putting the international in Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Pilots from 22 nations were honored Wednesday in a mass ascension called the Flight of the Nations, with the playing of the national anthem of each country represented in the fiesta.

Mariel Merino, 24, is the first of only two women in Mexico to become a balloon pilot, she said.

"I love the fiesta," said the four-time visitor to Albuquerque. "I came here for the first time when I was 6 years old."

Although she began piloting her own balloon only a little over a year ago, Merino's father and brother are also pilots. Merino said she decided she would rather be up in the air than crewing on the ground, so she became a pilot - one of only 15 in Mexico, she said.

Merino said five Mexican pilots are in Albuquerque for this year's fiesta.

Her balloon is named Mariachi, and with its neon yellow, pink, purple and jungle-green stripes, it's a hard one to miss. This is Merino's first fiesta as a pilot, but the other pilots are set on making sure she has a good experience, she said.

"They treat me like a little girl because I am so young and I am a woman," Merino said. "I feel really well taken care of."

Merino said she feels proud to represent both women and a younger generation as part of the hot-air ballooning community, and is grateful for the guidance of the seasoned veterans she has come into contact with.

Pilot Daryl McKee of New Zealand is one of Merino's comrades. McKee, however, is significantly more experienced. This is his 12th or 13th year at the balloon fiesta — he's been to so many that he's lost count, he said.

"This is a nice city and a nice place to fly," said McKee. "When we first came here back in Õ91, I think it (the fiesta) was half the size."

McKee's pleasant balloon fiesta experience was eventually hampered by restrictions enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But he didn't let that stop him.

"It was too hard to get through customs," McKee said. "So we bought an American balloon from California and keep it in storage when we're not here."

McKee's blue-and-white balloon has a star on each side and is named Southern Cross.

Jose Maria Sanou of Spain is flying in the balloon fiesta for the first time, but he is no amateur in the skies.

Sanou is a balloon pilot instructor who has been flying hot-air balloons for 20 years and has been flying planes for 35 years.

He flies a red balloon with white stars named Comunidad de Madrid.

Sanou praised his first experience at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, saying he has been enjoying the weather and calling the event well organized — in Spanish.