Men, women and children, dressed in traditional Mexican attire, proudly strolled through downtown Denver on Saturday as dozens of bright and intricately painted low-riders bobbed up and down and side to side, blaring hip-hop and Spanish-language music through the streets.
The parade opened the weekend-long Cinco de Mayo Festival at Civic Center park to celebrate Mexican culture.
“It feels good to get the chance to share my culture for two days,” said Jacqueline Mendoza, a dancer for Fiesta Colorado. “My mom is Mexican-American and my dad is actually from Mexico, and he didn’t share too much traditional Mexican culture with me so I learned each time I went to dance.”
Mendoza performed during the festival and said she has been dancing since she was 5 years old. She now knows the stories behind each traditional number.
Some men in the parade wore traditional charro clothing — a sombrero with a tan, black, or brown suit decorated with gold accents — and rode horses making them trot and dance. Others, like Diaranka Martinez of la Invasora 87.7 FM, held strong fists in the air as their floats went by, symbolizing solidarity and resistance.
“It’s Mexican pride,” she said. “We are here and we absolutely need to be unified.”
Martinez referred to the country’s current political climate and mentioned President Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall between Mexico and the United States. She said she thinks it is important now more than ever for people to come together, especially Latinos.
“This isn’t going to separate us,” she said. “Mexicans are strong and we work as hard as we can and we want to make the USA better.”
Some celebrated Cinco de Mayo by dancing to the Mariachi music that played at the main Greek Amphitheater at Civic Center while onlookers clapped along. A free Zumba dance fitness class was offered early Saturday morning and other local talent like the funk group Chilli Willi entertained at the Great Lawn off Bannock Street.
Servicios de la Raza, a non-profit that provides access to legal services, mental and physical healthcare, victim’s assistance and more to low-income and Spanish-speaking communities, had a booth at the festival. Lizbeth Campuzano, a victims’ advocate at Servicios de la Raza, said a number of people told her that they have experienced violence because of their identity, but did not know what to do.
“They’re afraid and they don’t know if they should report it to the police because some are undocumented, and they don’t know if they will be safe,” she said. “People of color have a hard time accessing legal services, especially, and when there is a language barrier where they don’t speak English, that can be really difficult. Everyone has rights, even if they’re being deported.”
Mi Familia Vota, another non-profit at the event, works to civically engage Latinos, and encouraged people to register to vote. Carla Castedo, director of Mi Familia Vota, said she has noticed that many people were at the Cinco de Mayo celebration to show support of Latinos and undocumented immigrants.
“Tons of people have also come up to us and said that they have been volunteering and are trying to get others registered to vote,” she said. “There are a lot more allies this year. They’re here in solidarity and to say that Colorado will not stand for the hateful rhetoric we have been hearing lately.”
