Cinco de Mayo originated with Mexican-American communities as a way to commemorate the cause of freedom and democracy during the first years of the American Civil War, and today the date is observed in the United States on May 5 as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.
There are several local celebrations to enjoy:
Taqueria Autentica is collaborating with Yellow Plum in Bloomfield for a Cinco de Mayo party. Enjoy TA’s killer Mexican food and drink Yellow Plum’s amazing cocktails.
Taqueria Authentica & Yellow Plum Cinco de Mayo Party
Yellow Plum, 1099 Broad Street, Bloomfield, NJ
Monday, May 5 from 4 pm – 10 pm
Another collaboration happens in Montclair when chef Adam Rose, the chef and owner of Villalobos, the authentic Mexican restaurant coming to Montclair in June, will collaborate with Pig & Prince Restaurant and Gastro-Lounge to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Villalobos will offer a pig roast, tacos & more at $45 per person for the meal and Pig & Prince hosts and offers up drinks for purchase.
Villalobos & Pig & Prince Cinco de Mayo Party
P & P, 1 Lackawanna Plaza, Montclair, NJ, 07042
Monday, May 5 from 4 pm – close
$45 per person for food. Reservations at 973.233.1006 or email
Senorita’s in Bloomfield throws its annual Cinco de Mayo party with food, drinks, a DJ, giveaways and more. Margaritas for $5, Hornitos Tequila shots $5, Coronas for $3…. get a designated driver and go celebrate!
Senorita’s Cinco de Mayo Party
285 Glenwood Avenue, Bloomfield, NJ
Monday, May 5
Reservations at 973-743-0099
Actually, Georgette, Cinco De Mayo celebrations originated as a commemoration of a rare (at the time when it actually happened) victory by Mexican revolutionary forces at the “battle” (really more of a skirmish) of Puebla over Franco-Belgian troops who’d installed Maximilian on the “throne” of Mexico.
Today, it’s beloved here in the US by bar owners as an excuse during which to sell a lot of booze. In Mexico, it is something more for the kernel of hope it provided to Juarez and his associates. But it certainly did not originate in “Mexican-American communities,” nor does it have much to do with the Civil War in America. And the war between Emperor Napoleon III’s mercenaries and Mexico’s indigenous people (though many of Maximiian’s generals were in fact Mexicans) also conveniently provided the Foreign Legion (you surely remember them, for well over a hundred years they’ve been used as France’s prime instrument for its imperialist aspirations) with its own most sustaining myth of its courage and dedication, another shootout during which a wooden arm played a key role.
It might help, in other words, if you actually knew something about Mexican history. I thus recommend T.R. Fehrenbach’s history of Mexico, ‘Fire And Blood.’