CLEVELAND — Cinco de Mayo isn’t Mexico’s Independence Day, but it is still widely celebrated in Ohio and across the world.

What You Need To Know

  • Mexicans are the largest origin group within the U.S. Hispanic population at 60%
  • Around one in five Americans are of Hispanic or Latino origin, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's latest report

  • The community’s growth also brings over many traditions, including Cinco de Mayo

  • Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862

Mexican music, food and traditions aren’t unfamiliar to Marin Leibas, who grew up with Mexican parents and has lived in Lorain for nearly 64 years.

“I love it, being Mexicano, or Chicano, they call us because we’re United States-born,” Leibas said.

Now, Leibas is helping bring back a long-time tradition in the community. He is leading dozens of people in parading the streets of northeast Ohio and is leading celebrations for Cinco de Mayo. Besides the parade, community members are also invited to try traditional Mexican cuisine, dance to mariachi music and watch the 2025 Little Queen Pageant coronation outside of Mexican Mutual Society. 

“We have an Aztec dance group coming that's going to be actually, be performed during the parade,” he said. “I've actually got some lowrider cars and some antique cars coming because, Mexicans, we love lowriders.”

Leibas said he’s hoping to educate older and young generations by commemorating Mexican history and heritage.

“We’ve assimilated so long, and we forgot some of the things that we grew up with,” he said.

Local group performs danza Azteca, or Aztec dance, which has its roots in pre-Hispanic tradition.
Local group performs danza Azteca, or Aztec dance, which has its roots in pre-Hispanic tradition. (Spectrum News 1/Tanya Velazquez)

Still, he isn’t alone in trying to reunite the community and reignite cultural customs.

Joel Arredondo followed in his family’s steps, serving his second term as president of the Mexican Mutual Society. 

The Cinco de Mayo celebration has been around for several decades, he said, brought to Lorain by his parents’ generation in the 1920s.

“They brought it, wanted to bring some of their traditions from Mexico, and that was one of them. It gives us a sense of pride, a sense of recognition and accomplishment,” Arredondo said.

As thousands of Ohioans prep for a full weekend of partying, Leibas said, he wants this year’s Cinco de Mayo celebration to center around one key principle.

“Cultural awareness, to bring that back to the community,” Leibas said. “Too many of our kids have walked away from the culture there listening to other music than their own. They're not being part of the the mainstream movement here.”