The first festival in many years to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in San José was held with the efforts of community members, merchants, political representatives and law enforcement agencies.
Hundreds of people peacefully enjoyed the parade and so far the police have not reported any violent incidents related to this festivity.
The lowriders participated for the first time and there was also a mariachi.
The festival turned out to be a success in the logistical aspect since the parade started on time, there was a lot of organization and a lot of security. However, on Monday, one day after the event, we spoke with some merchants in the Tropicana parking lot where the parade ended and they were not satisfied with the results of the celebration.
“The Cinco de Mayo celebration for merchants was disastrous because we had to close early due to several disorders by intoxicated and violent people,” said Benjamín, a merchant.
Benjamin said they usually close the store at 8:00 p.m., and on Sunday they were forced to close at 5:00 p.m.
“I think there is a need for more organization or for the celebration to be held far from the city where it does not affect business,” said Benjamín.
And although the authorities did their best to maintain order, business owners believe that much more needs to be done.
“There was police presence, but I think it is not enough to handle such a large number of people,” said Benjamín.
Other merchants said they agreed with this.
“Sales were a little low due to the movement and there were not the same sales that we had on other weekends or last year,” added Abel Sixto, salesman.
And they assured that the parking lot was full, but not with customers.
“They came and parked here and went there. Likewise, a month and a half ago there was another event there and they parked here and no longer let other customers from other places enter,” said Sixto.
Another celebration was held in the center of San José where there was also a police presence, lowrider cars and vehicles with flags from their windows.
Telemundo 48 contacted the police and said agency issued the following statement:
“We have been working hard this morning to obtain information about the weekend operations. But, most likely, we will not have the report prepared today and we will do our best to have it ready on Tuesday.”
In general, the people who came out to celebrate seemed to be satisfied with the family event that made history since it had never been done before in the heart of the Latino community of East San José.
