ST. LOUIS — Cinco de Mayo is a celebration rooted in Mexican heritage and celebrated by many in St. Louis.
Cherokee Street hosts the bi-state's largest Cinco de Mayo festival. After two years off due to the pandemic, the district is preparing for its big block party.
"Every year you want that day to come faster and faster," said Salvador Rico Flores Jr., owner of The Taco and Ice Cream Joint.
Flores says Cinco de Mayo is an important time of year for his restaurant because it signals the end of the cold season when no one wants to come out to eat.
"It's a relief because summer is coming up and it gives us energy," he said.
The Cinco de Mayo energy will spill over into the festival on Saturday. The annual festival is always on the first Saturday of May.
"Cherokee Street will be closed between Jefferson and Nebraska with three grand stages of music, 80 vendors filling the streets with food, drinks, different shopping opportunities and a wrestling ring," said Emily Thenhaus, Festival Organizer and Executive Director of the Cherokee Street Community Improvement District.
Another mainstay of the Cinco de Mayo Festival on Cherokee is the community art parade. Neighbors participate every year by dressing up, dancing and singing through the street.