Cinco de Mayo is kind of the St. Patrick's Day of Mexico. There's a historical connection, celebrates the heritage of those from it's home country, but now it's mostly an excuse to party here in the US.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
For me, the Longmont Cinco de Mayo celebration means the following things:
- Reason to hang out at Roosevelt Park all day, preferably in the sun.
- Fun people watching and booth visiting. It's a good way to learn about community resources in Longmont.
-Festival food. Tacos, mangos, smoothies, roasted corn, Marco's Hotdogs, & more.
- Signals the beginning of festival season.
- Mariachi Vasquez!
This was the 10th year the festival has been held in Longmont and it seems to get bigger every year. They are proud to be a drug and alcohol-free event, in hopes to promote a healthy community image. Though I wouldn't turn down a margarita in the park it helps to make the event all the more family friendly. The kids can come get their faces painted without getting stepped on by festive drunks. It's nice.
They have 2 main stages with music and dancing all day long. I missed the Aztec dancers this year but they are a favorite any time I get to see them. You can sometimes find them performing at the Longmont Museum and Cultural Center as well.
The Mexicano Folklorico Dancers, and the Bailes de mi Tierra groups are EXTREMELY adorable. One is the little ones and teens, the other is a group of seniors. They wear amazing costumes and try their very best to keep in step. There were a couple of dancing groups I didn't get to see this year but I'll try to be on time next year...oops.
I made darn sure I was there to see my favorite group of Cinco de Mayo- Mariachi Vasquez.
Beautiful, talented, fabulous family. They've been coming to Longmont (from Tucson, AZ) in some capacity for 17 years, according to Papa Vasquez. I've seen them at the Longmont museum as well and they never fail to impress me. Aside from the music, they are all dressed in amazing outfits and look like they have a lot of fun together. The host kept saying the family was "going in different directions" which makes me worry they might not come back but I hope they do!
For the car fanatic, there's a classic car/lowrider show, what one can only call "pimped out" bicycles, and a Hop Off Contest.
I'll always love a proper classic car over a muscle car or a lowrider, but I can appreciate them as the art that they are.
I'd never seen a Hop Off contest before but it was...entertaining. It's like live video games which consist of only bouncing your car around. I've never seen a car stand up on end in real life so it's something to witness.
This year I finally got to see the results of the Chihuahua Beauty Contest! The place is swarming in tiny puppy cuteness all day long. It's painful to not be able to pick up every single one and snuggle it.
This years winner was Cricket, and I think he can thank his teeny hat for the win. You can't get much cuter than that. Runner up was Oso, and...someone else cute that I can't remember. If I ever get myself a tiny dog we will enter that contest, we will have matching outfits, and we will win!
This awesome festival is completely free, aside from food vendors and shopping, and it has something for the entire family, dogs included. Really there's no reason NOT to go to Longmont Cinco de Mayo every year!
I only heard them momentarily before I found my lovely friend Rachel at the Intercambio booth but here's a couple pictures of the group 2012.
To see more about this, check out their webpage-
http://longmontcincodemayo.org/home.html
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
For me, the Longmont Cinco de Mayo celebration means the following things:
- Reason to hang out at Roosevelt Park all day, preferably in the sun.
- Fun people watching and booth visiting. It's a good way to learn about community resources in Longmont.
-Festival food. Tacos, mangos, smoothies, roasted corn, Marco's Hotdogs, & more.
- Signals the beginning of festival season.
- Mariachi Vasquez!
This was the 10th year the festival has been held in Longmont and it seems to get bigger every year. They are proud to be a drug and alcohol-free event, in hopes to promote a healthy community image. Though I wouldn't turn down a margarita in the park it helps to make the event all the more family friendly. The kids can come get their faces painted without getting stepped on by festive drunks. It's nice.
They have 2 main stages with music and dancing all day long. I missed the Aztec dancers this year but they are a favorite any time I get to see them. You can sometimes find them performing at the Longmont Museum and Cultural Center as well.
The Mexicano Folklorico Dancers, and the Bailes de mi Tierra groups are EXTREMELY adorable. One is the little ones and teens, the other is a group of seniors. They wear amazing costumes and try their very best to keep in step. There were a couple of dancing groups I didn't get to see this year but I'll try to be on time next year...oops.
I made darn sure I was there to see my favorite group of Cinco de Mayo- Mariachi Vasquez.
Beautiful, talented, fabulous family. They've been coming to Longmont (from Tucson, AZ) in some capacity for 17 years, according to Papa Vasquez. I've seen them at the Longmont museum as well and they never fail to impress me. Aside from the music, they are all dressed in amazing outfits and look like they have a lot of fun together. The host kept saying the family was "going in different directions" which makes me worry they might not come back but I hope they do!
Maybe someday...I'll be able to hug Papa Vasquez. He's like Mexican Santa and I love him.
This lady was about to dance her red shoes off and the little boy seemed to be trying to bring everyone's attention to the commotion.
For the car fanatic, there's a classic car/lowrider show, what one can only call "pimped out" bicycles, and a Hop Off Contest.
I'll always love a proper classic car over a muscle car or a lowrider, but I can appreciate them as the art that they are.
I'd never seen a Hop Off contest before but it was...entertaining. It's like live video games which consist of only bouncing your car around. I've never seen a car stand up on end in real life so it's something to witness.
This year I finally got to see the results of the Chihuahua Beauty Contest! The place is swarming in tiny puppy cuteness all day long. It's painful to not be able to pick up every single one and snuggle it.
This years winner was Cricket, and I think he can thank his teeny hat for the win. You can't get much cuter than that. Runner up was Oso, and...someone else cute that I can't remember. If I ever get myself a tiny dog we will enter that contest, we will have matching outfits, and we will win!
This awesome festival is completely free, aside from food vendors and shopping, and it has something for the entire family, dogs included. Really there's no reason NOT to go to Longmont Cinco de Mayo every year!
I only heard them momentarily before I found my lovely friend Rachel at the Intercambio booth but here's a couple pictures of the group 2012.
To see more about this, check out their webpage-
http://longmontcincodemayo.org/home.html
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