Multiple entertainment performers, as well as food and business sellers, performed during the event at Spanish Springs Town Square.
Tyler Nelson dressed up for Cinco de Mayo celebrations in The Villages, and he brought his dog along.
Nelson, of the Village Rio Grande, was dressed in a sombrero and walking his dog. Geno, a Morkie, was dressed in a teeny-tiny sombrero.
With his mother, Barbara Nelson of the Village of Sanibel, Nelson attended the Cinco de Mayo Celebration in Spanish Springs Town Square.
The mother and son duo were overjoyed to be back out in the plaza for an event.
“(It’s) wonderful, great,” Tyler said. “(We’re) very pleased.”
Sombrero and pinata balloons, as well as streamers, were used to beautify the square. All over the square, vendors such as the Kettle Corn Cabin and Papa Pineapples set up shop.
The Mystic Jewels, Latin Ambition Band and the Spanish Folkloric Dance Group were among the entertainment artists who performed. Other groups, such as the mariachi group Mariachi Nacional de Mexico, were roaming around and performing.
Tyler and Barbara were not the only ones who dressed up for the Cinco de Mayo celebrations.
Mickey Johnston and Eileen Kelley, residents of the Village of Orange Blossom Gardens, dressed up as well.
The couple wore matching blue shirts with “Cinco de Mayo” written on them, which Johnston combined with a sombrero he bought in Mexico.
They were overjoyed to be able to attend an event in the square once more.
“It’s great to have it back,” Johnston said. “It really is. “The Villages always puts on a fantastic event.”
Kelly and Johnston have often visited the square for other Villages-sponsored activities, and they like dressing up for them as well.
“This is our square,” Johnston said. “We’re here all the time.” The Mystic Jewels was the night’s opening dance performance.
To commemorate the festival, the ladies wore clothes inspired by Latin culture and included dancing movements and music. With their dance performance, they also used tambourines and fans.
For the preceding two years, the group had been scheduled to perform at the Cinco de Mayo event, but COVID-19 and bad weather prevented them from doing so. The gathering was the first time the organization had been able to do so.
Karen Snyder, of the Village of Sabal Chase and one of the co-leaders, thought their performance went well.
“The audience always inspires us to do our very best, and we really just perform for the enjoyment of everybody, including ourselves,” she said.
– Attributed Source, The Villages Daily Sun