A small but fun parade to celebrate Cinco de Mayo happened this past Sunday down Central Park West from 110th St. to 97th St. Plenty of Mexican pride was on display for all to see. The holiday, in actuality, marks a major victory for the Mexican Army on May 5, 1862, when 4,000 Mexican troops defeated 8,000 French troops at the Battle of Puebla. The French had decided to attack Mexico after it stopped making interest payments toward a major debt, but a devastating military defeat forever changed the fate of France in the Americas. The parade displayed traditional dancers and a mariachi band with a young gal with a tremendous voice. She was a definite crowd pleaser.
A float with a duet of singers belted out love songs that had the crowd singing along. Some beautiful gals were waving to the crowd from the Puebla float. The traditional dance and costume was a big favorite of the crowd. They danced with lots of enthusiasm and got the crowd excited. Another favorite were the cool cars with crazy hydraulics. Three cars were seen riding on only three wheels. Closing out the parade were the energetic chinelos in their traditional colorful costumes. A young boy dancer stole the show though. It was a quick parade lasting only an hour but there was plenty of display of Mexican tradition and culture.
NYC Parade Life 