Mexican Independence Day celebration
held Sept. 12 in St. Paul’s West Side

By Tim Spitzack | Editor | September 2026

Mexican heritage will be on full display Saturday, Sept. 12 when St. Paul West Side Fiestas hosts its annual Mexican Independence Day celebration in conjunction with the West Side Boosters’ annual football fiesta. The day will feature a car show, live music, several dozen food and craft/merchandise vendors, and a kids’ zone with family-friendly games and activities. Activities will take place 9 a.m.-6 p.m. in and around Castillo Park, 149 Cesar Chavez St.

The music schedule is Los Alegres Bailadores, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; Selena Hiland, 12:45-1:30 p.m.; Miguel Angel Fernandez, 1:45-2:45 p.m.; Rafael Rivera y sus Joyas Norteña, 3-4 p.m.; and Sonido Puro with Shaila Carbajal, 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Football players and cheerleaders from the West Side Boosters will kick off the football fiesta with a march beginning at 9 a.m. near Robert and Clinton and traveling to the playing fields at El Rio Vista recreation center. Games will be played 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Grades 1-3 will compete first, followed by grades 4-6 and then grades 7-8.

The nonprofit West Side Boosters Youth Athletic Club, established in 1970, runs sporting programs that youth can join regardless of their ability to pay for registration fees or equipment. Programs include football, flag football, basketball, baseball, T-ball, softball, volleyball and cheerleading. St. Paul West Side Fiestas was established in 2024 as a committee of the West Side Boosters to organize the annual Cinco de Mayo fiesta and the Mexican Independence Day celebration. For more information, visit westsidefiestas.com.

Mexican Independence Day is celebrated September 16, commemorating the day in 1810 when priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla delivered his famous speech, “El Grito de Dolores,” calling for Mexico to break free from Spanish rule. While the official independence was finalized on August 24, 1821, September 16 marks the start of the Mexican War of Independence. St. Paul’s West Side neighborhood is referred to as “District del Sol” in recognition of the large number of Mexican descendants living there. According to the most recent Minnesota Compass survey, about 22% of the neighborhood is Latino.

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