Today marks the beginning of a three-day-long program of activities in Southwest Detroit and Mexicantown with the 58th Annual Cinco de Mayo Parade and Fiesta. This year’s celebration begins on Friday, May 5, with the opening of the Cinco de Mayo Fiesta on 21st & Bagley Street, in the Mexicantown Main Street district. Throughout the weekend, the festival will feature artisan vendors, food trucks, performances by local musicians and mariachis, community resources, and family-friendly activities. On Sunday, May 7, a procession of vibrant floats, dancers, and charros will bring the festivities to a close with the 2023 Cinco de Mayo Parade.

The origins of this event are traced to the early 1900s with Detroit’s small Hispanic community, which was mostly comprised of newly arrived auto workers and already established factory and railroad workers who celebrated customary patriotic events of their countries of origin. 

In 1923, a coalition of community groups formed the Mexican Patriotic Committee (MPC) in an effort to create collaboration and unity in the community. Since then, the MPC has been responsible for organizing activities that preserve and celebrate Mexican heritage. The group began hosting the Cinco de Mayo Fiesta and Parade events, to celebrate and recognize the Mexican army’s unlikely victory of the Battle of Puebla, which took place on May 5, 1862, near Puebla de Zaragoza during the Second French Intervention in Mexico. Today, the event maintains its identity as a one that honors Mexican traditions and culture of resilience through celebratory expression. 

With our commitment to hosting traditional events and fostering a vibrant, colorful, and distinctive Main Street district that are reflective of our community’s proud Latin American roots, Mexicantown Main Street is a natural partner and supporter of the Cinco de Mayo Parade and Fiesta. Members of our Promotion Committee work closely with the MPC’s Cinco de Mayo Celebration planning team. Planning for the event is a year-round process requiring a concerted community effort with and between many community stakeholders, including city departments, business owners, and volunteers. Our main job is to provide support with media relations as part of an annual strategy to promote cultural events and local businesses.

Our collaboration with the Mexican Patriotic Committee offers a great example of collaborative partnerships in order to create and support events that honor our community’s cultural traditions and heritage. 

If you are in the area, I invite you to come down to Mexicantown to experience our Cinco de Mayo Parade and Fiesta! Check out the sense of place forged through generations of entrepreneurs, culture keepers, and local leaders represented through this event and the neighborhood that it calls home.