Cinco de Mayo celebrated on Main St. Saturday

Once the Saturday’s Fire Muster concludes, crowds shouldn’t be in any hurry to leave downtown Yuma.

The annual Cinco de Mayo celebration hosted by the city of Yuma’s Heritage Festival will already be underway on Main Street and will continue till 11 p.m.

The free celebration of the Mexican holiday will bring together dance groups and musicians from Yuma and San Luis, Ariz., and Buyepongo, a Los Angeles band whose performances fuse hip-hop, punk, funk, jazz and tropical-style music from Latin America.

The sixth annual celebration is slated to begin at 3 p.m. Saturday with a welcome speech, followed by performances by students in the Gadsden Elementary School District’s Banda Sinaloense and its folkloric dance troupe from 3:45 to 4:30 p.m.

Following that the Glam Dance Team by Cindy, a girl’s modern dance program in San Luis, takes the stage from 4:45 to 5:15 p.m.

Dancers from Fuego Dance Studio in Yuma will perform from 5:30 to 6 p.m.

Buyepongo will play from 8:30 to 9:45 p.m., and DJ Money will provide music throughout the celebration.

Food vendors will be serving in the 200 block of Main Street, and face painting, craft tables and jumping castles will be available for youngsters in the Kids’ Corner area.

Zipline rides will be available for a charge.

The Mexican Consulate in Yuma will also provide historical exhibits related to Cinco de Mayo, with celebrates Mexico’s victory against the invading French Army at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.