When I was growing up in San Jose in the 1970s and ‘80s, Cinco de Mayo meant parades and festivals, with mariachis, charros on horseback and lots of Mexican food.
It looks like San Jose is going back to those traditions with this weekend’s two days of celebrations, taking place downtown and in East San Jose.
A lot of this has been the work of San Jose City Councilmembers Omar Torres and Peter Ortiz, as well as many businesses, community partners and other elected officials. Last year, there was a lot of blowback after law enforcement closed streets and freeway exits and a sense the city wasn’t making as much an effort to embrace Mexican American culture for Cinco de Mayo as it could.
That’s definitely changing this year.
On Saturday, there’s a lowrider show planned in front of SAP Center and part of Barack Obama Boulevard, starting at 9 a.m. and running to 3 p.m., with mariachis, folklorico dancers, food trucks and a beer garden. A Salsa Festival will start at Plaza de Cesar Chavez at 1 p.m., with live cumbia, salsa and old school music until 8 p.m.
Then on Sunday, May 5, two parades are planned. A lowrider parade will take it low and slow along King Road from Alum Rock Avenue to Story Road, starting at 10 a.m. and culminating at a festival at Emma Prusch Farm Park at noon.
There’ll also be a downtown parade at 9 a.m. starting at San Jose City Hall at Sixth and Santa Clara streets and going to Plaza de Cesar Chavez. A festival there, running from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., will include music, food, vendors and lucha libre wrestling.
All that’s missing is the charros riding on horses. Maybe next year.
IT’S TACO TIME: Another Cinco de Mayo-adjacent event Saturday is the inaugural Taco Throwdown at Blanco Urban in San Jose’s San Pedro Square. Nineteen different eateries as diverse as Sushi Confidential, LB Steak, Rollati Ristorante and El Halal Amigos will be providing their taco interpretations in this inaugural event supporting the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley.
Is it a competition or a food festival? It seems like it’ll be a little bit of both. A general admission ticket includes five tacos, but you can also get an all-you-can-eat or all-you-can-eat-and-drink pass. The audience will help judge who leaves with the Taco Throwdown championship crown.
The festivities run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and you can check out the lineup and get tickets at www.tacothrowdownsv.com.
NIGHT AT THE IMPROV: City Lights Theater Company never fails to throw an entertaining party, and there are always a few surprises. Its Black & White Time Warp Gala at the Westin Sainte Claire in downtown San Jose on Saturday night was a great example.
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Executive Artistic Director Lisa Mallette was just launching into a speech about artists when she was interrupted by Toby McChesney, vice provost for graduate programs at Santa Clara University. As they were heading into the fund-a-need portion of the evening, she playfully chided him and said the interruption was going to cost him a $1,000 donation, which he happily agreed to.
Then another person interrupted her for $1,000. And another. Before long — and well before Mallette could finish her speech — auctioneer Matt Roben had to step in to make sure everyone’s impromptu donations had been properly accounted for. Who knows? Maybe “Interrupting Lisa” will turn into a new fundraising tradition for City Lights.
