OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Every year Omaha celebrates Mexican heritage with a Cinco De Mayo parade. This year, the event was postponed to June due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On Saturday, the community gathered to finally see their culture on display on South 24th Street.
"We want to enjoy being with our culture and our people and support especially now after the pandemic," said Alma, a parade attendee.
Groups walked the street in the South Omaha neighborhood, dancing, singing, playing music, and more as they celebrated the holiday a month later than usual. On display were Mexican traditions with vibrant clothes, low riders, and even horses.
"I am very glad to be a Mexican. I’m here to support the events. Since I’m not in Mexico, why not come here?" said Guadelupe, a parade attendee. "It feels great, we needed it. I feel like being home was very sad. Being able to come out here is great. I’m enjoying it. We dressed up. You can tell we are happy and came out here to support."
Organizers of the events say they're happy they're finally able to host the annual parade since the ongoing pandemic pushed it back.
"We have a lot of people in our community with a lot of talent with music and dancing. We’re just really happy for the opportunity to display that and all the work they put into that talent city-wide," said Annadelia Morgan, the event manager.
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This year is the 100th anniversary of these celebratory fiestas.
"Initially these festivals started out in the 1920s. After the revolution, the Mexican consulates throughout the United States realized there was a diaspora and they wanted to promote culture within these small communities that were growing, and so this is the result from those times and here we are celebrating 100 years of those celebrations. But the beauty about this, it has evolved into the celebration of all Latinos to take pride in we are Americans," said Anna Hernandez, President of Cinco De Mayo Omaha.
