Cinco de Mayo is a celebration that marks the victory of the Mexican Army over the French at the Battle of Puebla. at Puebla, Mexico, 100 miles east of Mexico City on the morning of May 5, 1862.  Many people in the United States celebrate this significant day by having parades, mariachi music, folklorico dancing and other types of festive activities whether they are of Mexican descent or not. 

Locally, the Cherokee street party is getting bigger very year but in its fifth year it's still pretty much a neighborhood thing. Hopefully it will keep growing. And while the holiday is Mexican in origin pretty much every Hispanic group in the city is represented there. We went down last year (2002) to see the parade and enjoy the food and bands. It was fun so we'll probably go this year, too.

The Color Guard
followed by the King and Queen in 
a horse-drawn carriage

Most of the "floats" were flatbeds towed by trucks. There were also several custom vans and trucks with local business advertising on the side. Nothing terribly fancy.

 A Mariachi band (on a flatbed)

Nothing says "Fiesta" like a fiberglass Clydesdale with a sombrero (on a flatbed).

The Banana Bike Brigade 
(which has nothing to do with Mexico but they are in a lot of local parades)
Kind of like Art Cars on two wheels.

 An adorable group of little dancers (on a flatbed)

Aside from the parade they had pony rides, food booths, beer & margarita sellers, crafts, and music (both from radio station booths and live).

Of course, I had fun people-watching (as usual).

This pair was really cute. She wanted to dance and he wasn't really sure about it. I wish you could see him better, Mom put a lot of effort into making him looking good from boots to cowboy hat.