Latest news with #CincodeMayoParade
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Little Village Mexican Independence Day Parade to proceed despite ICE concerns
Note: The video attached to this story is WGN's coverage of the 2024 Little Village Mexican Day Parade. CHICAGO (WGN) — Despite fears of immigration enforcement and deportation raids, the annual Little Village Mexican Independence Day Parade will proceed as scheduled. The area's chamber of commerce on Monday issued a statement confirming its commitment to the Sunday, September 14th parade down 26th Street. Last week's popular Cinco de Mayo Parade on Cermak was canceled due to fears over the Trump administration's immigration policies and their impact on the community. The two-day Michelada Fest scheduled for July was also canceled. Feb. 2025 | Little Village protests mass deportations, raises concerns over Trump administration's actions 'This parade is more than just a celebration — it's a declaration of who we are,' Jennifer Aguilar, the chamber's executive director, said in a statement. 'We will not be silenced by fear-mongering, we will not hide, and we will not be intimidated. We stand proud and united, and we are determined to move forward with this cultural experience for our community and all who join us in celebration.' Chicago's annual parade has grown to hundreds of thousands of spectators. Mexico gained independence from Spain on Sept. 16, 1810. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Things to do in Metro Detroit: May 2-4
Attend Detroit's 60th annual Cinco de Mayo Parade. It runs 2.4 miles between Woodmere Street and Clark Park on Vernor Highway, and this year's theme is past, present and future. Sunday, starting at noon. Free! 🎶 See Waajeed and other local DJs and musicians at the Heidelberg Project's 39th birthday event, hosted at Spot Lite. There are both nighttime music and daytime activities. Saturday, starting at 11am, with live music starting at 7pm. Daytime activities are free, and tickets for the evening's music are $23 in advance. 🏺 Buy pottery from Pewabic students during the historic pottery center's annual spring sale. Saturday, 10am-5pm. Free to enter. 😋 Shop local vendors and grab some food at the Hamtramck Night Bazaar. Saturday, 4-9pm. 🎣 Learn about sturgeons, wildlife conservation and fishing at Riverfront Fish Fest at Milliken State Park on the riverfront. Saturday, 10am-2pm. Free! 💬 Experience a sculptural tribute to gun violence victims at MOCAD, and attend a panel discussion about the project. The free discussion is Saturday, 1-2pm. $12 museum admission.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Why Detroit held a 2025 Cinco de Mayo parade when Chicago, Philadelphia canceled theirs
Despite rain, wind, cold and worries about immigration crackdowns, the community of southwest Detroit celebrated Mexican culture with its annual Cinco de Mayo parade. The event kicked off at the intersection of Vernor and Woodmere, as the sounds of Latin music filled the air and Mexican flags breezed across a lineup of cars and trucks at the start of the parade. This year represents a milestone for the Cinco de Mayo Parade, as attendees marked the 60th year of celebrating Mexican heritage, community and resilience in southwest Detroit, and inviting attendees from across the state and beyond. Maybe it was due to the weather or fear from the tense political climate, local officials, business owners and community members noticed that fewer people attended this year's festivities compared to previous years. Though an organizer estimated the parade crowd to be about 8,000, and parade goers showed up, eager to celebrate and pass along the tradition to future generations. Beth Reyes, a 52-year-old southwest Detroit native, noticed a different tone at the parade this year, which she attributes to the Trump administration's policies. 'It seems more quiet,' Reyes said. 'It's usually more cheerful and I've been to the parade in the rain before.' She came to the parade from Warren with her husband because she felt it was more important this year than ever to show up. Many of her older family members — uncles, grandparents and others of older generations — decided not to attend for the first time ever, she said. 'I'm here to represent and stand here for my people, rain or shine,' Reyes said. The Cinco de Mayo Parade honors the 1862 Battle of Puebla, when a Mexican army defeated French forces, and is celebrated more in the U.S. than in Mexico. Cristian Rubio, the assistant general manager at Armando's, a Mexican restaurant on West Vernor, said as he looked out his window he saw fewer Latinos watching the parade this year. Rubio, a 30-year-old southwest Detroit native, is part of a few Latino social media groups that he said were raising the alarm about the parade as a potential site for immigration raids. 'People were warning each other about not being around possible raids,' Rubio said. More: Amid fears of immigration raids, Detroit's Cinco de Mayo Parade will still go on More: Metro Detroit bars, restaurants celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Kentucky Derby Others say the lower turnout was due to the weather. Omar Hernandez, owner of Mexicantown Bakery, did notice smaller crowds at the parade, but said he believes it's because of bad weather, not the political climate. As a business owner, he said he supports President Donald Trump's efforts to bring jobs back to America. Hernandez says lower turnout for the parade hasn't noticeably lessened traffic to his bakery. Over at the Patton Park Recreation Center, a Bad Bunny song blasted from speakers at the Cinco de Mayo festival, but not many were around to hear the boastful beat. Alma Cruz, president of the Mexican Patriotic Committee of Metro Detroit, which plans the annual Cinco de Mayo parade and festival, said the Sunday festival usually brings up to 250 people. This year's Sunday festival, however, saw significantly fewer attendees at any given time, she said. Around 3 p.m., there were about 20 people walking around the shops and food trucks. The weather forced some vendors to go home because the strong wind damaged their tents, Cruz said. The parade, overall, still had a sizable showing given the weather, according to Cruz. She estimates close to 8,000 people still showed up to the event. 'It was a beautiful representation of who southwest Detroit is,' Cruz said. 'We show up and show out.' Rosendo Ortehua, a Lincoln Park resident who was working the Galindo's Taste of Mexico food truck, saw fewer sales this year during the Sunday festival — just 15 by 4:30 p.m. Last year, he made around 300 sales. 'We brought a lot of food, expecting 300 people,' Ortehua said in Spanish. At the festival, Herlanda Orozco, 53, said she knows her community and it wasn't just the weather that kept crowds small. 'Latinos don't care,' Orozco said. 'If it's raining or snowing, they still come. These next four years, they're gonna be like 'no'.' Despite the lower turnout, rain and worries about immigration enforcement, parade goers said the Cinco de Mayo festivities are an important way to celebrate heritage and resilience. Mauricio Hernandez has attended the parade for the last 10 years, ever since he and his family moved from Chicago. He was going to skip this year's because of rumors that federal immigration enforcement officers might attend the event. But he didn't want his son to miss out on the parade. 'I want to bring my child out here," Hernandez, 33, of Detroit said. 'He's a 4-year-old. So I really wanted to come out here, have fun, see the parade.' Inside Rodriguez Vaquerita, a store on West Vernor selling hand crafted boots, hats and apparel, 30-year-old Noel Morales said he's been watching the parade since he was 4 years old, when he moved from Mexico to southwest Detroit. It's a tradition he wants to pass on to future generations. "The Cinco de Mayo parade here, we use it in Detroit as far as us celebrating our culture, bringing something back to community, and not only that, but showing the new generations a little bit of something about where we come from. Maybe they haven't had an opportunity to go home and visit, so that's what they're seeing here," he said. José Hernández, 72, stood in front of Chilango Bakery, his sister's business, under an awning protecting him from the rain. Hernández, who's originally from Mexico, moved to Detroit 12 years ago. Before moving to Lincoln Park, he lived in southwest Detroit but this is only his second time attending the Cinco de Mayo parade. He anticipated fewer people would attend because of the intimidation and fear he says the Trump administration has instilled in many community members. 'Even those that follow the law perfectly,' Hernández said in Spanish. 'There will be less people who want to expose themselves.' Hernández said he sees the parade as more than a daylong celebration. 'I see it as a rebellion,' he said. 'To make us feel that here we are, that they need us, that we are not dispensable.' The theme of rebellion was apparent during the event. One car displayed a green poster taped to a side window that read: 'DERROTAR DONALD TRUMP,' which translates to Defeat Donald Trump. It belonged to By Any Means Necessary, or BAMN, which has participated in the parade since 1985. Kate Stenvig, Detroit national coordinator for the organization, said part of the group's mission is to defend immigrant rights and stop the administration's attack on immigrants. Local leaders in Philadelphia and Chicago canceled their parades, citing ongoing immigration crackdowns. In Detroit, there was disagreement among community leaders about whether the parade should go on, with some saying the risk of gathering publicly is too great amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. But one organizer said the thought of canceling the parade was never considered. Doing so would be standing down, one supporter said. And canceling would ignore those who want to celebrate Latino heritage, the organizer said. Tonia Patino, a business owner in southwest Detroit and board chair of the Southwest Detroit Business Association, said she was torn on the idea of canceling this year's event. 'It's kind of a double edged sword, just because we want to be sensitive to the undocumented and those who fear ICE deportation,' Patino said. 'But at the same time our businesses in this business corridor have suffered tremendously, just from the lack of patrons being in their stores, in their restaurants. Sales are down. And so events like this draw people outside of the community.' Contact Nushrat Rahman: nrahman@ Follow her on X: @NushratR. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit held a 2025 Cinco de Mayo parade as Chicago, Philly canceled
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Why Detroit held a 2025 Cinco de Mayo parade when Chicago, Philadelphia canceled theirs
Despite rain, wind, cold and worries about immigration crackdowns, the community of southwest Detroit celebrated Mexican culture with its annual Cinco de Mayo parade. The event kicked off at the intersection of Vernor and Woodmere, as the sounds of Latin music filled the air and Mexican flags breezed across a lineup of cars and trucks at the start of the parade. This year represents a milestone for the Cinco de Mayo Parade, as attendees marked the 60th year of celebrating Mexican heritage, community and resilience in southwest Detroit, and inviting attendees from across the state and beyond. Maybe it was due to the weather or fear from the tense political climate, local officials, business owners and community members noticed that fewer people attended this year's festivities compared to previous years. Though an organizer estimated the parade crowd to be about 8,000, and parade goers showed up, eager to celebrate and pass along the tradition to future generations. Beth Reyes, a 52-year-old southwest Detroit native, noticed a different tone at the parade this year, which she attributes to the Trump administration's policies. 'It seems more quiet,' Reyes said. 'It's usually more cheerful and I've been to the parade in the rain before.' She came to the parade from Warren with her husband because she felt it was more important this year than ever to show up. Many of her older family members — uncles, grandparents and others of older generations — decided not to attend for the first time ever, she said. 'I'm here to represent and stand here for my people, rain or shine,' Reyes said. The Cinco de Mayo Parade honors the 1862 Battle of Puebla, when a Mexican army defeated French forces, and is celebrated more in the U.S. than in Mexico. Cristian Rubio, the assistant general manager at Armando's, a Mexican restaurant on West Vernor, said as he looked out his window he saw fewer Latinos watching the parade this year. Rubio, a 30-year-old southwest Detroit native, is part of a few Latino social media groups that he said were raising the alarm about the parade as a potential site for immigration raids. 'People were warning each other about not being around possible raids,' Rubio said. More: Amid fears of immigration raids, Detroit's Cinco de Mayo Parade will still go on More: Metro Detroit bars, restaurants celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Kentucky Derby Others say the lower turnout was due to the weather. Omar Hernandez, owner of Mexicantown Bakery, did notice smaller crowds at the parade, but said he believes it's because of bad weather, not the political climate. As a business owner, he said he supports President Donald Trump's efforts to bring jobs back to America. Hernandez says lower turnout for the parade hasn't noticeably lessened traffic to his bakery. Over at the Patton Park Recreation Center, a Bad Bunny song blasted from speakers at the Cinco de Mayo festival, but not many were around to hear the boastful beat. Alma Cruz, president of the Mexican Patriotic Committee of Metro Detroit, which plans the annual Cinco de Mayo parade and festival, said the Sunday festival usually brings up to 250 people. This year's Sunday festival, however, saw significantly fewer attendees at any given time, she said. Around 3 p.m., there were about 20 people walking around the shops and food trucks. The weather forced some vendors to go home because the strong wind damaged their tents, Cruz said. The parade, overall, still had a sizable showing given the weather, according to Cruz. She estimates close to 8,000 people still showed up to the event. 'It was a beautiful representation of who southwest Detroit is,' Cruz said. 'We show up and show out.' Rosendo Ortehua, a Lincoln Park resident who was working the Galindo's Taste of Mexico food truck, saw fewer sales this year during the Sunday festival — just 15 by 4:30 p.m. Last year, he made around 300 sales. 'We brought a lot of food, expecting 300 people,' Ortehua said in Spanish. At the festival, Herlanda Orozco, 53, said she knows her community and it wasn't just the weather that kept crowds small. 'Latinos don't care,' Orozco said. 'If it's raining or snowing, they still come. These next four years, they're gonna be like 'no'.' Despite the lower turnout, rain and worries about immigration enforcement, parade goers said the Cinco de Mayo festivities are an important way to celebrate heritage and resilience. Mauricio Hernandez has attended the parade for the last 10 years, ever since he and his family moved from Chicago. He was going to skip this year's because of rumors that federal immigration enforcement officers might attend the event. But he didn't want his son to miss out on the parade. 'I want to bring my child out here," Hernandez, 33, of Detroit said. 'He's a 4-year-old. So I really wanted to come out here, have fun, see the parade.' Inside Rodriguez Vaquerita, a store on West Vernor selling hand crafted boots, hats and apparel, 30-year-old Noel Morales said he's been watching the parade since he was 4 years old, when he moved from Mexico to southwest Detroit. It's a tradition he wants to pass on to future generations. "The Cinco de Mayo parade here, we use it in Detroit as far as us celebrating our culture, bringing something back to community, and not only that, but showing the new generations a little bit of something about where we come from. Maybe they haven't had an opportunity to go home and visit, so that's what they're seeing here," he said. José Hernández, 72, stood in front of Chilango Bakery, his sister's business, under an awning protecting him from the rain. Hernández, who's originally from Mexico, moved to Detroit 12 years ago. Before moving to Lincoln Park, he lived in southwest Detroit but this is only his second time attending the Cinco de Mayo parade. He anticipated fewer people would attend because of the intimidation and fear he says the Trump administration has instilled in many community members. 'Even those that follow the law perfectly,' Hernández said in Spanish. 'There will be less people who want to expose themselves.' Hernández said he sees the parade as more than a daylong celebration. 'I see it as a rebellion,' he said. 'To make us feel that here we are, that they need us, that we are not dispensable.' The theme of rebellion was apparent during the event. One car displayed a green poster taped to a side window that read: 'DERROTAR DONALD TRUMP,' which translates to Defeat Donald Trump. It belonged to By Any Means Necessary, or BAMN, which has participated in the parade since 1985. Kate Stenvig, Detroit national coordinator for the organization, said part of the group's mission is to defend immigrant rights and stop the administration's attack on immigrants. Local leaders in Philadelphia and Chicago canceled their parades, citing ongoing immigration crackdowns. In Detroit, there was disagreement among community leaders about whether the parade should go on, with some saying the risk of gathering publicly is too great amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. But one organizer said the thought of canceling the parade was never considered. Doing so would be standing down, one supporter said. And canceling would ignore those who want to celebrate Latino heritage, the organizer said. Tonia Patino, a business owner in southwest Detroit and board chair of the Southwest Detroit Business Association, said she was torn on the idea of canceling this year's event. 'It's kind of a double edged sword, just because we want to be sensitive to the undocumented and those who fear ICE deportation,' Patino said. 'But at the same time our businesses in this business corridor have suffered tremendously, just from the lack of patrons being in their stores, in their restaurants. Sales are down. And so events like this draw people outside of the community.' Contact Nushrat Rahman: nrahman@ Follow her on X: @NushratR. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit held a 2025 Cinco de Mayo parade as Chicago, Philly canceled
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Amid fears of immigration raids, Detroit's Cinco de Mayo Parade will still go on
While Chicago and Philadelphia have canceled Cinco de Mayo festivities this year amid fear over immigration crackdowns, Detroit's parade will still go on. This year represents a milestone for the annual Cinco de Mayo Parade, the 60th year of an event to celebrate Mexican heritage. "We've been planning this for the whole year. We have not canceled and a cancellation has not gone through our mind. ... Our residents are okay with it, the community is okay with it. We do listen to them, and so that's something they've asked us to continue," said Elizabeth "Lisa" Gonzalez, parliamentarian for the Mexican Patriotic Committee of Metro Detroit, the volunteer group behind the Cinco de Mayo Parade. She expects thousands of people to show up. Gonzalez, a community organizer and lifelong southwest Detroit resident, said the event is a way for young Latino people to recognize their roots and culture — Mexican, Salvadoran, Honduran and American. Though not everyone agrees the parade should go on. Samantha Magdaleno, executive director of the Southwest Detroit-based One Michigan for Immigrant Rights, said that some community members are planning to stay at home and celebrate with their own cookouts. Magdaleno's organization provides assistance to immigrants in need of resources. 'We have been advising people if you don't have status or if you have family members that you live with that don't have status, we've been advising them to not go to these kind of events,' Magdaleno said. 'We've been trying to tell them to be more aware and to be cautious, not to necessarily live in a bubble and hide, but at the same time to just be cognizant.' More: Venezuelan immigrant detained in Detroit by border agents tried to take his life More: Trump pauses crackdown on international students, including many in Michigan In light of other major cities canceling their Cinco de Mayo festivities, Magdaleno said that she thinks Detroit should've followed suit as a way to protest the Trump administration and its policies. 'I know there have been several community attempts to do a day without Latinos, a day without Mexicans, a day without immigrants. And I think this would have been the time to do it. ... There's a lot of outsiders that come to southwest Detroit to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, and I think this would have been the perfect opportunity to show them like, 'Look, no, we're not coming out. There's nothing to celebrate. This administration is abusing us, and you guys need to understand it,'" she said. Jaime Carrillo is the director and co-founder of Ballet Folklorico Moyocoyani Izel, a traditional Mexican folk dance group, and a business owner in southwest Detroit. Although he resides Downriver, he has heard concerns from patrons and members of his dance group. 'The main concern is the raids and stuff that ICE has been doing. That's the main concern that people are afraid that they're going to get caught up with something like that. And I'm not just talking about undocumented people, just people in general, because right now it seems like they don't care. As long as you fit the profile, they're either questioning you, pulling you over or basically harassing you," said Carrillo, 47, of Lincoln Park. The group hasn't participated in the parade in more than a decade but will be a part of the Cinco de Mayo festival following the parade at Patton Park. Carrillo also said Detroit police shut down last year's celebration early, but local vendors are hopeful that won't happen again. Many residents question the value in publicly celebrating their heritage when the freedom to be Mexican in America is seemingly under attack. 'Since Trump took office, there's been a growing sense of hostility in our community,' said Hector Vega, a Mexican American and southwest Detroit native. 'It no longer feels safe to gather publicly with our families. The increase in deportations and police presence has created a climate of fear.' In a Facebook post, Vega raised concerns about attending this year's parade, an event he attended a few times as a child. He cited concerns about ICE presence, but also urged other Mexican Americans not to share their culture for the 'drunken fun' of non-Latinos. 'For years now, Cinco de Mayo has felt co-opted — used by outsiders as an excuse to drink, party, and consume our culture without respecting our people,' he told the Free Press in an email. In the U.S. the holiday is often called 'Drinko de Mayo,' referring to the heavy consumption of alcohol in the name of Mexican pride. 'Mexicans — and Latinos in general — are known for our hospitality. We proudly share our food, music, and traditions. But lately, it's clear the U.S. government doesn't want us here,' Vega said, noting that he's witnessed families targeted by ICE simply for grabbing tacos at local food trucks. 'If we're not welcome here, that rejection should include our culture, too. You can't claim to love our food and festivities while hating the people behind them," he said. A longtime southwest Detroit community leader and resident, who requested anonymity to protect community members, said this year's festivities — which he described as a "great plus" for businesses and families — are going to be different. "There's a lot of fear in our community," he said. There are families that don't want to take their kids to school, to doctor's appointments, to worship or get groceries, despite having a legal status, he said. He thinks people are going to stay home. "There's a worry of themselves being picked up and their family members being picked up, their neighbors being picked up. There's a worry of just a possible violent confrontation, if people respond wrong, or if immigration responds wrong and doesn't follow the law themselves. There's worry about just how the events would be impacted," he said. He said he'd be perfectly fine if the parade were canceled. "Having first hand knowledge of cases of people that are detained, families, neighbors, friends, and just things that are going on in the courts, that has caused me to pause and I wonder if this is a really good idea," he said. It's a big weekend for restaurants, mom-and-pop stores, street vendors and taco trucks, whose livelihood could see a hit if attendance dips, but if their relatives, neighbors, friends and patrons are detained by immigration enforcement, that would also be a hardship, he said. Other longtime residents say the community is accustomed to border portal and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and people are eager to celebrate. "The general tone so far has been positive," said Maria Salinas, founder and executive director of Congress of Communities of Southwest Detroit. Salinas, a longtime southwest Detroit resident and community organizer, said the celebration has been going on for generations and "for us to stand down and not celebrate our Latino heritage is just something we're not going to do." The organizing committee has done its due diligence to ensure a safe, and festive environment, she said. Her organization is a vendor and has paid to be in the parade. Gonzalez said the community is looking forward to the celebration, but acknowledged there's "a little bit of anxiety." She said hasn't heard too much concern. Southwest Detroiters are used to having federal immigration agents around because of the neighborhood's proximity to the Ambassador Bridge, which connects the U.S. and Canada. "Border patrol and ICE are naturally in our neighborhood. They're in our backyard," Gonzalez said. "We live with them on a daily basis. This is how it's always been for many, many years since I was born and raised here in southwest Detroit." She said it's a personal choice if people want to stay home or join, but everyone is welcome. "Many people come from many parts of Michigan. We have people come from other states to come see this parade. We're known to have this parade every year. That's why we listened, we listened to what everybody wanted, what the community wanted ... what outside of the communities also wanted," she said. The weekend's festivities include a two-day fiesta at Patton Recreation Center, featuring music, vendors and food trucks, and a parade on May 4 along West Vernor Highway, with floats, marching bands and mariachis. The parade honors the 1862 Battle of Puebla and the Mexican victory over French forces. Organizers say the celebration will highlight diverse Latino ethnicities that make up the "rich cultural fabric of Southwest Detroit," according to the Mexican Patriotic Committee of Metro Detroit's website. Contact Nushrat Rahman: nrahman@ Follow her on X: @NushratR. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Southwest Detroit's Cinco de Mayo Parade still planned despite fears
