By: Jessica Garcia Saligan & Marleen Medina
How did it start?
Cinco de Mayo is a holiday celebrated on the 5th of May. It’s a big celebration for the Mexican Army’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, during the Franco-Mexican War. According to Omar Gonzales, a lot of people think that Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican Independence Day, but it’s not.
Cinco de Mayo is not just celebrated by Hispanics, as Cinco de Mayo is to bring all the community together, and to show other people Hispanic creativity, traditional food, and other activities. They want to make everyone feel welcome and have a good time with each other. Cinco de Mayo is also a good time to bond with people and make new friends.
Where is Cinco de Mayo celebrated?
In St. Paul, Cinco de Mayo takes place on the West Side (Cesar Chavez St, St Paul, MN 55107). They close the street from Wabasha, all the way to 206 Robie St E, St Paul, MN 55107. Everything will be set up around 6AM, and they will start letting people in around 8AM in the morning. It ends around 8PM at night.
What will you find?
Once you go there, there is no parking. You will have to find a parking spot on the street and walk down. Once you walk down, you will see a lot of kids waiting with their school. Why? Well every Saint Paul Public School has an opportunity to walk in the parade and have their own banner with their school name and logo printed on it. Students are welcome to walk with their school, and they are able to give out candy to the people watching the parade from the sideline.
You will also find people doing traditional dance (like Folklorico, Danza Azteca), dancers, singers, and there’s even people dressed as princesses and people showing off their cars. At the corner of the Robie, you will a parking lot full of cool cars, and you will be able to ask the owners for a ride in their car, take pictures, and do tricks.
Cinco de Mayo has so many activities such as parades, family parties, dancing , mariachi
music, and traditional foods! Some delicious foods that are prepared and sold that day are: carnitas, barbacoa with white rice on the side, Mexican street corn, etc.
This event and celebration is something that you and your friends and family would definitely enjoy.
For more information about the history of Cinco de Mayo, please visit:
Plaid Line 