Free Cinco de Mayo celebrations will be held in downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach Friday, Carson, Venice and Union Station Saturday and Los Angeles State Historic Park Sunday.
A celebration will be held at Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles from 2-9 p.m. with activities, music, entertainment, food vendors and classic films.
The celebration at the 2nd & PCH retail center in Long Beach will run from 5-7 p.m. and include fiesta character performances and meet and greets from 5-6 p.m., music, ballet folklorico dancing and entertainment by performers from the Bell Gardens-based Thee Academy from 6-7 p.m. and balloon twisting and face painting from 5-7 p.m.
Carson’s 46h annual Cinco de Mayo celebration will be held from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at Carson Park. Entertainment will be provided by Banda Maguey, La Sonora Dinamita with Vilma Diaz, Mariachi Santa Monica and various groups and individuals from the Carson area.
There will also be food booths, game booths, arts and crafts, a car show and cultural displays.
A Cinco de Mayo parade will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at Lincoln Boulevard and California Avenue in Venice, followed by a festival at Oakwood Park from 11 a.m.-6 p.m., including Aztec dancers, folklorico and mariachi performances along with rapper Baby Dog and the Venice High School band.
There will also a face painter, food trucks and a classic cars display.
The celebration at Union Station will be held from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, featuring a special ambient set in the Ticket Concourse by the Bolero band Tres Souls.
The norteño band Los Huracanes Del Norte will be the featured performers at Sunday’s festival at Los Angeles State Historic Park in Chinatown. Other performers include Ana Bárbara, Mi Banda el Mexicano, De Casimiro Zamudio, Kanales, Joss Favela, Nuevos Rebeldes and José Torres.
The festival will run from noon-8 p.m.
Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory of a 4,500-man Mexican militia over a larger, well-equipped French expeditionary force at the original Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.