9 Events To Celebrate Cinco De Mayo In Maryland

Cinco de Mayo, always observed on May 5, falls on a Tuesday this year, so the celebration of Mexican heritage and culture starts this weekend in many cities, including many across Maryland.

From Friday through Tuesday, Marylanders can celebrate Cinco de Mayo at Los Aztecas in Sykesville and Mount Airy with specials and deals.

On Monday and Tuesday, join the fiesta at Rosa Mexicano in National Harbor with drink specials and musical takeovers.

The Fire Station 1 Sports Bar & Restaurant in Silver Spring will host an Afro Soca Caribbean Vybz Cinco de Mayo Saturday starting at 10 p.m. until Sunday 3 a.m.

NOLA Seafood & Spirits and One Star Country Club will be shutting down the street in Baltimore for a Cinco de Mayo Block Party May 5 from 5 to 10 p.m. at 36 East Cross Street. There will be food vendors, adult beverages and a live DJ.

Captain's Daughter will host a Cinco de Mayo event May 5 from 5 to 9 p.m. at 100 Westgate Circle in Annapolis.

Dave and Buster's in Silver Spring is celebrating Cinco de Mayo with special deals and unlimited video game play.

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a brush in one hand and a fun drink in the other at Muse Paintbar at National Harbor. Registration is required.

DJ Medina will spin live Latin music for Cinco de Mayo at Blue Agave in Baltimore from 6 to 10 p.m. May 5.

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at Long Branch in Silver Spring May 5 with salsa dance class, a DJ in the park, pinatas for kids and food from local restaurants.

Cinco de Mayo marks Mexico’s 1862 victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla, when an outnumbered Mexican army pulled off an unlikely win.

The date is often mistaken for Mexico’s Independence Day, which actually falls on Sept. 16 — decades after independence from Spain was secured.

While May 5 is an official holiday in Mexico, celebrations there are generally modest and largely centered in Puebla, where parades and ceremonies commemorate the battle. In contrast, the holiday has grown into a major cultural and commercial event in the United States.

Cinco de Mayo celebrations here date back to Mexican American communities in California in the years following the Battle of Puebla. The holiday spread nationwide during the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and expanded further in the late 20th century, evolving into the widely observed — and often party-focused — occasion seen today.

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