Cinco de Mayo is a really big festival in Puebla with a parade, a fair, cultural and dance performances and the whole city is on its feet, celebrating, having fun and there’s something going on everywhere. So you would think I had planned to be in Puebla for Cinco de Mayo. Three guesses as to what was actually the case. 😀
Exactly! I didn’t have the slightest clue. I literally set off that day with the people I got on well with from the hostel and well…. After we discovered the first roadblocks, we followed the crowds and suddenly found ourselves on a road or route that was completely fenced off and where everyone was already sitting and there was legitimately nowhere left to stand. As I know such situations from the Cologne carnival – except that I’m never late here because I know when to be where for a good spot – I sort of took the lead and looked for a reasonably okay spot. It was completely full. So finding a good spot would have been utopian.

When it finally started and military groups came marching along at the beginning, I still thought it was normal. But guys, I’ve never, ever seen so much military in a parade. It was military group after military group after military group and at some point I really wondered if we were going to see anything other than military groups. Because… it was really a lot `:D
At some point it became a little less military and finally it was really colourful and very interesting. 😊 There were groups of all kinds, colours and purposes. What particularly impressed me personally was a mountain of people representing a volcano, a huge snake that wound its way along the streets on wheels and a woman who sang Mexican hymns live on top of the float – unfortunately she drove past too fast to make a decent video.

After the parade – it was really long! But also cool 😊 – was over, we moved on and discovered the funfair at the top of the large military park in Puebla. I admit that funfairs are basically very similar all over the world. But of course there are still things that don’t exist here or are different. One thing that kept surprising me throughout my time in Mexico, for example, is how much more generous Mexicans are when it comes to ziplining or other activities for which you would actually rather travel to a place with a fantastic view, for example. My personal highlight was actually a mirror that stood at an angle to a printed picture of a magnificent castle room lying on the floor. I wasn’t so much interested in the splendour as I was in the play with the mirror – as you will no doubt notice from the photo 😀
On the same day or the next day – unfortunately I can’t remember exactly – I went out on my own and saw a theatre and then dance performance in the foyer of what was probably a cultural centre. Completely by chance. It was really cool and interesting and…. It’s unbelievable what a huge cultural treasure there is on this planet.

Cinco de Mayo, yes or no? I would say that depends on what type of person you are. Personally, I thought it was great and incredibly fascinating and I’m extremely happy to have happened to be in Puebla at that time. Nevertheless, I don’t think that this kind of hustle and bustle is for everyone. I would therefore recommend deciding on an individual basis. Although you do get a completely different feel for the culture of the country you are travelling to at such festivals. I personally remember that the atmosphere was really great and you could feel the pride of the people from Puebla 😊 So if you’re near Puebla and it’s Cinco de Mayo, I would highly recommend making a stopover in Puebla if you’re not completely shy. Because I personally just loved it. And you don’t experience something like this every day 😊