Hermiston’s Cinco de Mayo returned to Festival Street on Sunday for its annual celebration and the location proved to be a hit with the partygoers.
“It’s better down here,” said Carlos Ramirez of Hermiston. “Everything’s all in one spot and people seem to like it better here.”
Jose Garcia, chair of the Hermiston Hispanic Advisory Committee, said the event turned out great – despite there being no plans in place for the celebration as late as early April.
“People were calling me and saying, ‘What’s going on? Is it going to happen?’ ” said Garcia. A quick phone call to Hermiston City Manager Byron Smith got the ball rolling.
“I called Byron, and he offered Festival Street,” Garcia said. “Then I called the radio station (La Lay) and they organized six bands to come and perform. Everybody got on board and within three weeks, we had it all planned out.”
Garcia said there was confusion within the community due to the fact a separate Cinco de Mayo event was also taking place on Sunday at the Eastern Oregon Trade & Event Center (EOTEC), also featuring live bands and dancing.
The last time Hermiston’s Cinco de Mayo was held on Festival Street was in 2016. The following year, the event moved to EOTEC, but some – including Garcia – said it lost some of the festive atmosphere in the move due to the vastness of the EOTEC property.
“I don’t know if the crowds were smaller, but it seemed that way,” Garcia said. “It’s much more of party atmosphere here on Festival Street.”
Garcia said he wanted the event to celebrate Mexican culture.
“That’s why we invited the low riders to bring their cars down here,” he said. “They are part of the community, and they were excited to be part of it.”
Dancing is another big part of the culture and was on display throughout much of the day – both two- and four-legged dancers entertained the crowds. First it was the dancing horses, and then folklorico dancers later in the afternoon.
The party got off to a quiet start late Sunday morning with overcast skies and windy conditions. But by late afternoon, the weather improved, and the crowd got bigger by the hour.
By the time the folklorico dancers hit the street, it was elbow-to-elbow.
“The place is packed,” said Garcia.
Vanessa Sanchez of Umatilla said she couldn’t decide what was her favorite part of Sunday’s celebration, but said she hopes the event returns to Festival Street next year.
“It’s called Festival Street for a reason,” she said with a laugh.
I think both groups could have gotten together and make one bigger and more successful, fun event. The way it went, gives ME the impression that our Hispanic community is divided. We don’t need that, we need to all work together.
The group that had the event at EOT center had start putting their plans our sometime in February.