By Charley Falkenburg, Staff Writer
The Albert E. Hinds Community Plaza was in party mode on Saturday afternoon as people donned sombreros and gathered for a special Cinco de Mayo fiesta.
The Arts Council of Princeton and the Princeton Public Library teamed up to throw an annual bash on May 5 to celebrate Mexican culture and heritage. People of all ages came to the plaza adjacent to the library to join the festivities.
”It’s important for Mexicans to celebrate our holy days and get people to participate in our traditions,” said Veronica Olivares-Weber, a volunteer at the Arts Council.
Cinco de Mayo marks a point in Mexico’s fight for independence when a small, outnumbered Mexican army defeated the French in an 1862 battle.
Resident and volunteer Oscar Torres-Reyna compared the victory to David and Goliath and emphasized how the holiday is all about freedom.
”A small army defeated an imperial army that were trying to impose a monarchy on Mexico,” he said. “It allowed Mexicans to define their own destiny.”
Attendees at the celebration freed their own inner artists by creating paper flowers of all colors and building miniature cornhusk dolls.
Mr. Torres-Reyna explained how cornhusk dolls are traditional toys in Mexico and represent one of the ways Mexicans recycle.
”You can make something nice out of something you might have discarded,” he said.
In between the arts and crafts activities, people danced to music from Mexican pop rock band “Mana.” While some tried out their own dancing moves, nearly everyone surrounded an older couple from Ballet Folklorico as they danced around the plaza.
But the real excitement surrounded a big piñata that took five weeks to make. Children swarmed around it, adding their own designs via paint, glue, markers and a paper flower here and there.
Mr. Torres-Reyna said a piñata is a “must-have” in any Mexican celebration and that they are expected at any kind of party. Although this piñata was stuffed with candy, Mr. Torres-Reyna said a traditional piñata would spew apples, oranges and other fruits not Hersheys and Milky Ways.
Ms. Olivares-Weber said they left the piñata completely bare so everyone could decorate it and enjoy the creation process.
However, it did have seven paper spikes around it. In Mexican culture, these spikes represent the fight against the seven deadly sins. The breaking of the piñata represents the battle and the fruit or most likely candy is the reward.
”The pinata is the best part the kids love it because they know they are going to whack it and get all that candy,” added Mr. Torres-Reyna with a smile.

