Starting tonight, longtime “North Sider” Gilbert Martinez says he will be a prisoner in his own home.
Even though Denver’s largest Cinco de Mayo event doesn’t officially kick off until Saturday morning, Martinez expects his neighborhood to be overrun by cruisers through Sunday night.
“I might not mind it so much if it was just one day, but when (Cinco de Mayo) falls on a Thursday, I won’t leave my house all weekend,” said Martinez, a retired postal worker who lives at Grove Street and West 19th Avenue.
“I went to the store and bought what I needed so that I don’t have to leave my house.”
No doubt, plenty of folks will be out on Federal Boulevard as the annual tradition of Cinco de Mayo cruising begins. Community activists, neighbors and police plan to work together to make sure the activity on Federal doesn’t get out of hand.
“We want the celebration to be fun, yet respectful to the community,” said Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson.
Denver police, Denver CopWatch (an organization that monitors police) and United Families for Safe Cruising plan to be out observing the scene through Sunday as celebrants gather and cruise the streets.
The holiday street-watch began after a 1997 Cinco de Mayo celebration turned into a near- riot between police and revelers as rocks and bottles were thrown. No one was injured, but two police-car windshields were broken.
Since then, police and community activists have discussed strategies to ensure a safe and peaceful holiday.
“Police came to the table to keep the peace, and it makes for a win-win situation,” said activist LeRoy Lemos.
About a 6-mile stretch of Federal Boulevard from West Evans to West 50th avenues will be designated for cruising. Two emergency lanes will be open, and traffic may be re-routed onto eastbound West Colfax Avenue or onto westbound West Sixth Avenue. Some streets that intersect Federal also will be closed.
Curfew laws will be enforced at 11 p.m. for those under age 18, as will noise ordinances.
Cruising has always been a youthful American pastime in the spring, and Latinos combine it with lowriders and culture. Hundreds are expected to show off their custom rides during the four-day festival.
Martinez has lived in the area for 40 years, and while he sees cruising on Federal most weekends, it’s nothing like the grand scale of Cinco de Mayo.
“I used to cruise when I was a kid on 16th, but it was never like it is today, and this is basically the time when a lot of the cruisers will be out there thumbing their noses at authority,” said Martinez, who also sits on the Sloan’s Lake neighborhood association’s board of directors.
This weekend, more than 400,000 people are expected to attend the 18th annual Cinco de Mayo “Celebrate Culture” Festival at Denver’s Civic Center. A downtown parade Saturday will have more than 70 entrants and will feature a Navy F-18 flyover.
Cinco de Mayo commemorates the 1862 victory by Mexican forces, including ordinary citizens, over French soldiers. The battle took place in Puebla, Mexico, on May 5 of that year.
Throughout this weekend, the cruisers will be out in force, a tradition that has to be controlled for the overall benefit of the neighborhood, Martinez said.
“We have been trying to rejuvenate Federal by attracting investors to come in and open businesses in our neighborhood,” he said. “But the cruising really deters a lot of business owners. They don’t want to deal with the hassle either.”
Staff writer Annette Espinoza can be reached at 303-820-1655 or aespinoza@denverpost.com.
