A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016
XX PAGE TITLE XX
HERMISTON
BOARDMAN
McKenzie Park, organiz-
ers shifted the focus of the
Cinco de Mayo celebration
four years ago to make
it more multicultural, in-
viting people of all back-
grounds to experience a
taste of Mexican heritage.
The event has grown each
year in both participants
and attendance.
This year, the parade
doubled its participants,
according to de la Cruz,
as did the dancing horse
— caballos bailadores —
competition, where riders
led horses to live music.
A panel of judges evalu-
ated the horses based on
appearance, speed, luen-
cy and skill of the rider.
Sunday, Carlos Pinto, of
Hermiston, took home the
three-foot, irst-place tro-
phy in the dancing horse
competition, but De la
Cruz said the competi-
tion brings more than just
entertainment
because
watching Mexican Charros
and their dancing horses is
a big event in Mexico.
“When I was a kid, we
used to go watch it, the
Charros,” he said. “They
would be dressed beau-
tifully in their full cos-
tume with the hat and they
would have their horses
dance in front of the band.
It is something I still re-
member.”
For Cinco de Mayo,
Hermiston’s Latino com-
munity brings that experi-
ence to the next generation,
children who may not have
smaller than in past years
due to falling on Mother’s
Day weekend, but it will
still feature plenty of fami-
ly-friendly fun.
“It should turn out to be
a really nice celebration,”
Richards said.
A welcome and salute to
the lags will kick things off
at 4 p.m. A handful of live
bands, which will be intro-
duced by DJ Kora, will ill
the air beginning at 5 p.m.
and continue into the night.
A small carnival will of-
fer people a chance to play
games and win prizes. In ad-
dition, food will be plentiful
with a number of vendors
on hand serving up familiar
Mexican fare as well as oth-
er food and drink items.
Richards said with a di-
verse community, the event
helps in celebrating the heri-
tage of Hispanic community
members. It’s important, she
said, to welcome others and
to honor their culture.
“We like to keep that tra-
dition going,” Richards said.
Sometimes erroneous-
ly referred to as Mexico’s
independence day, the date
actually marks Mexico’s
1862 victory over France
at the Battle of Puebla. In
the United States, Cinco de
Mayo has evolved into a
celebration of Mexican cul-
ture and heritage.
For more information,
contact
541-481-3014,
info@boardmanchamber.
org or visit www.facebook.
com/boardmancincode-
mayo.
continued from Page A1
continued from Page A1
STAFF PHOTOS BY JENNIFER COLTON
Above: Memembers of mariachi band Los Temerosos sing and
play down Second Street during the Cinco de Mayo parade
through downtown Hermiston.
Top right: Children throw candy from the back of a pickup in
Sunday’s Cinco de Mayo parade through downtown Hermiston.
Middle right: Riders wave to the crowd during Sunday’s Cinco
de Mayo parade through downtown Hermiston.
Lower Right: A mariachi band plays while horses — and their
riders — compete in the caballo bailando competition Sunday
in front of Hermiston City Hall.
set foot in Mexico.
“When you bring in an
event like this, people start
researching to see, ‘What
is Cindo de Mayo?’” de la
Cruz said. “Now our chil-
dren and our grandchildren
can learn about their own
culture. Now our neighbors
can learn about our cul-
ture.”
About 80 percent of
Hermiston’s Latino popu-
lation hails from Mexico,
de la Cruz said. In Mexi-
co, the country’s indepen-
dence day — Sept. 16 — is
a larger celebration, but in
the United States, Cinco
de Mayo has taken hold as
“the” holiday to celebrate
latino cultures, similar to
St. Patrick’s Day or Ok-
toberfest celebrating Irish
and German cultures.
Sen. Bill Hansel, R-Ath-
ena, served as the opening
speaker for the event and
recognized the growth of
the Hispanic community in
Umatilla County.
“When I was irst elect-
ed to serve as a Umatilla
County Commissioner in
1983, the largest non-white
population was Native
Americans. Our county did
not have many Hispanics
who made this community
their home,” he said Sunday.
“Now all that has changed.”
Hansell highlighted the
work ethic, faith and fam-
ily focus of the Hispanics
he has known in Umatilla
County.
“Hispanics are commu-
nity leaders,” he said. “For
our region’s economy, I’m
glad you’re here.”
Making
the
Cin-
co de Mayo celebration
multi-cultural extends that
focus out into the commu-
nity and into surrounding
communities. Participants
in the dancing horse com-
petition came from as far
as Yakima; mariachi bands
traveled from Hood River
to be part of Hermiston’s
celebration.
“Our goal it to make this
an event people of all cul-
tures can come to and en-
joy,” de la Cruz said. “This
is a Latino culture event,
but we want everyone to
feel comfortable. We want
to celebrate together — it
doesn’t matter what culture
you come from.”
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