Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with ABC13 at the big parade downtown Saturday

Saturday, May 4, 2024

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HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- One of the city's biggest Hispanic celebrations returns Saturday morning to Downtown Houston.

The LULAC District 8 Cinco de Mayo Parade will bring dozens of colorful vehicles and floats downtown, and a brand-new parade route just blocks from city hall.

ABC13 will be livestreaming all the sights and sounds on Saturday at 10 a.m.

The celebration is important to Mexican Americans, but is not, as it is often misidentified or confused with, Mexico's Independence Day. (That would be El Grito on Sept. 16.)

Still, it's pretty pivotal.

Cinco de Mayo actually commemorates the Mexican army's victory over France at the Battle of Puebla, during the Franco-Mexican War.

"For us, Cinco de Mayo is very precious, and it should definitely be appreciated not just by Latinos, but by everyone," said Mary Ramos, who has been organizing the parade for 28 years. "Everyone in the community is welcome."

WATCH: 2023 LULAC Dist. 8 Cinco de Mayo Parade

Astros legend Jose Cruz was honored as a co-grand marshal during the return of the LULAC Houston Cinco de Mayo Parade in 2023.

The parade draws thousands to see mariachis, wagons adorned with colorful papel picado, and even dinosaurs, as was the case with Supernova Furniture's award-winning float during last year's parade.

ABC13 was there in April when LULAC presented Ana Abrahams, best known for her high-energy furniture store ads, with her trophy. She promised another over-the-top float for this year's festivities.

Ramos said the parade has grown exponentially over the years, keeping pace with Houston's growing Latin and Hispanic communities, which make up 45% of the city's population.

"For a few years, there was just 12 of us that did the entire parade," Ramos said. "Now we get dozens and dozens of volunteers from all over."

2024 LULAC Cinco de Mayo Parade Route