West Side Cinco de Mayo fiesta returns May 1-2

West Side Cinco de Mayo fiesta returns May 1-2
By Tim Spitzack | Editor | May 2026

St. Paul’s festival season kicks off May 1-2 with the return of the West Side’s Cinco de Mayo celebration, commemorating Mexican heritage and community pride. The event features cultural entertainment, music and dance performances, a car show, parade, activities for young and old alike, craft vendors and delicious food. The event is organized by West Side Fiestas, a committee of the West Side Boosters, a nonprofit youth athletics organization. People are encouraged to purchase a commemorative button to support the fiesta by contacting the Cinco de Mayo committee at info@westsidecincodemayo.com. Buttons cost $5 and include entry in a drawing held at 3 p.m. in Castillo Park. Proceeds support the West Side Boosters Youth Sports League. This year’s button was designed by Alyssa Marie Luna.

The following events were accurate as of press time but are subject to change. For more information, visit westsidefiestas.com.

Car show
The event kicks off Friday, May 1 with a car show held 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Harriet Island’s Target Stage parking lot, 49 Harriet Island Rd. You’ll find a wide variety of lowrider cars and bikes, hot rods, motorcycles and other custom cars. Food trucks will be on site. On Saturday, tricked-out vehicles will be displayed in the El Burrito Mercado parking lot, 175 Cesar Chavez St., from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. A deejay will enliven the atmosphere, and prizes will be awarded in various categories to car show entrants.

Parade
The parade begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the intersection of Wabasha and Cesar Chavez, and travels down Cesar Chavez to Ada Street. It will feature colorful floats, folkloric dancers, bands, community groups and more. Bob Cruz, executive director of the West Side Boosters, will lead the way as the grand marshal. New this year is prize money – $500, $300, $200 – to the top three entrants that demonstrate the most cultural awareness, vibrancy and artistic creativity.

Music and entertainment
The festival grounds are a bit smaller this year, with all activities between Robert and Ada streets. A Family Zone will be in Parque Castillo (Castillo Park) featuring crafts and activities, along with an artisan market and many food vendors. Entertainment will be on three stages. The line-up includes:

R&B Stage with beer tent

• DJ DMIL, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. with guest artist
  Main Stage at Robert and Cesar Chavez
• DJ Yobany, 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Stephanie Mendoza, 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
• Grupo Mio, 1-1:45 p.m.
• Prestigio del Norte, 2:15-3:15 p.m.
• La Mission Vallenata de Johnny Zamora, 3:45-4:45 p.m.
• Latin Funk and Soul (Music of Santana), 5-6 p.m.
  Cultural Stage at Parque Castillo
• Riverview Kids Band, 11:30 a.m.-noon
• Los Alegres Bailadores kid dancers, 12:15-1:15 p.m.
• Heritage Middle School Mariachi group, 1:30-2 p.m.
• Los Alegres Bailadores adult dancers, 2:15-3:15 p.m.
• Rueben Carbajal, 3:30-4:15 p.m.

Pro wrestling
Live pro wrestling by Midwest All-Star Wrestling returns this year but to a new location. Matches are held 1-3 p.m. at La Clinica parking lot, 153 Cesar Chavez St. Admission is free.

Sports tournaments
The annual adult softball tournament is being replaced this year with a flag football tournament at Gilbert de la O Field behind the Wellstone Center. A cornhole tournament will also be held on the baseball fields at El Rio Vista Recreation Center, beginning at 9 a.m. Teams may register the day of the event.

Projected turnout
Last year’s event attracted 30,000 people but West Side Fiestas co-chair Santino Franco said the committee is expecting a lighter turnout this year due to the continued presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minnesota following Operation Metro Surge. Nevertheless, he said the committee has heard only positive comments about their hosting the event in spite of the very difficult winter.

History
The West Side’s celebration – always held the weekend around May 5 – once attracted more than 100,000 attendees over a full weekend of events and had been called one of the top 10 largest Cinco de Mayo fiestas in the nation. It was first organized by the former Concord Street Business Association in 1985 (later renamed the Riverview Economic Development Association) and grew from a small community festival to a regional attraction. However, it became too much for the small nonprofit to manage and in 2009 the event was transferred to the St. Paul Festival & Heritage Foundation, which also organizes the St. Paul Winter Carnival. The Foundation eventually reduced the festival to one day, with an average of 60,000 people attending, then stopped organizing it altogether after canceling the event in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, a small Cinco de Mayo event was organized on the West Side by Reis Romero, a former volunteer with the traditional Cinco de Mayo West Side St. Paul. The next year, the West Side Boosters stepped in to lend a hand and the West Side Fiestas committee was established to carry the torch.

Cinco de Mayo (May 5) commemorates the unlikely victory at the Battle of Puebla, in Mexico’s state of Puebla, of a struggling Mexican army over Napoleon III’s massive French army in 1862. This was the first time the French Army had been defeated in decades. Although the French regrouped and overtook Mexico City, the Puebla battle is remembered for the euphoria it created, as well as the hope and patriotism, not just in Mexico but among Mexicans living in California at the time.

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