Downtown Cinco de Mayo event
draws hundreds

Alyssa Rivera dances with other member of the dance group Paso Del Norte for a crowd of people during the 7th Annual Celebracion de Cinco de Mayo in downtown Gallup. The group is from El Paso. [photo by Daniel Zollinger / Independent]

By Karen Francis
Staff writer

GALLUP – The mariachis were playing and traditional dancers were swaying to the music on Saturday in downtown Gallup for the 7th annual Celebracion de Cinco de Mayo.

Hundreds came out for the afternoon activities to celebrate. Booths, contests, concessions and entertainment were provided for the audience at the Millennium Media parking lot. The celebration was sponsored by several local businesses.

Sammy Chioda said that it came about because he had wanted to put on such an event for Gallup .

“I used to go out of town or was out of town for events like this and always wondered why Gallup didn’t have anything like this for Cinco de Mayo. Every other place had one except Gallup ,” Chioda said.

Chioda said he was pleased with the turnout.

“I love it. I think it’s great,” he said. “It’s a good thing for the community to embrace. It’s just really nice to bring culture and music to the community.”

Chioda said his favorite part of the event was seeing people happy.

“I like to see the smiles,” he said. “You’re touching their lives. That’s what it’s all about – giving them a day to celebrate and enjoy the fiesta.”

Betty Gurule and Kathy O’Bryan were enjoying the celebration on Saturday.

“It’s fantastic,” Gurule said. “It’s the best in the world in my opinion. It is so awesome, especially with Sammy C. running it.”

Her favorite part of the day was listening to award-winning mariachi singer Antonio Reyna perform.

O’Bryan said she is there every year.

“I love it. It’s something good for the community but there’s never any place to sit,” she said.

The two were watching the Taco Bell Eating Contest held at 2 p.m. on the main stage.

Ten contestants were selected for the taco eating contest. Observers yelled out encouragement as the contestants dug into the tacos for a $100 first prize.

“Some people like to see this instead of cage fighting,” Chioda joked. By the end Tyrone Jose won the $100 by eating seven tacos.

Jazmine Holmes, the only woman in the contest, gave him a run for his money, finishing four tacos.

“It’s harder than you think,” she said.

“I was really intimidated at first because these guys were big, but I did good,” she added.

This was the first time Holmes participated in such a contest and at 8 and half months pregnant, she thought it was a good time to try. She skipped breakfast in preparation.

Holmes has lived in the area for about a year now and enjoyed the day’s activities. “To come and have a celebration for Cinco de Mayo, it’s really cool,” she said.

Patty Lundstrom, who is running for re-election in House Dist. 9, was handing out caramel apples at the festival.

“I think this is a good way to get the people out. We’ve been here since 10 o’clock and we’ve just been seeing waves of people coming in and that’s good for the community,” she said.

The dance troupe Ballet Folklorico Paso Del Norte with four couples came from El Paso , Texas to perform five dances for audiences throughout the day.

Cinco de Mayo festivities continued into Saturday evening when a mariachi concert featuring Nelson Martinez and Los Primos was scheduled at El Morro Theater.