Groups gathered for Cinco de Mayo festivities at El Pueblo de Los Angeles historic monument, Los Angeles’ oldest sector, to commemorate the 137^th annual celebration.  Though a larger music festival was held the weekend prior, there were plenty of musicians, dancers and other entertainers that drew crowds of people—some clad in traditional Mexican attire to honor the holiday.  Decorated with colorful flags, the main plaza and gazebo at the south end of Olvera Street sent music booming throughout the corridor and its numerous plazas as churro eating passer-bys looked on with enthusiasm.  Olvera Street’s marketplace was likewise brimming with shoppers and diners who were serenaded by the many Mariachi bands.

Cinco de Mayo celebration / Photos by Courtney Cady

Despite all of the festivities, a grim picture loomed under the over hangs of the shops on Olvera Street’s brick lined passageway.  Signs reading SOS, or Save Olvera Street, littered the walls as petitioners passing out fliers and gathering signatures could be seen every few vending kiosks.  The posters, fliers and petitions are being made in attempt to thwart the city’s efforts to privatize the historical monument, which would result in an increase in rent as high as 200-900 percent.  The soon to be 80 year old monument preserved in 1930, is being threatened by amendments on Proposition H, an initiative passed in 1992 that assured merchants of Olvera Street negotiated long-term leases in an effort to preserve the area.  Though many shoppers support these vendors daily, petitioners warned that such an increase in rent would put a strain on businesses that could result in the eviction of generations of merchant families from Olvera Street, which may eventually lead to the unfortunate demise of the monument and all of its celebrations, including the Cinco de Mayo festival at El Pueblo de Los Angeles.

Cinco de Mayo is a holiday honoring the improbable defeat of the French by Mexican forces on May 5, 1862 in the Mexican city of Puebla.  In the United States Cinco de Mayo is widely celebrated in recognition of Mexican American heritage, despite the general lack of observance outside of Puebla within Mexico. Some celebrators at this year’s festivities on Olvera Street carried Mexican flags, held signs for freedom, liberty, and immigration reform, using the holiday as a means to express ethnic pride.