Living in Arizona does have some perks, especially when it comes to Cinco de Mayo. The celebrations seem larger and everything feels more authentic. The music, the food, the drinks and the people are all so much more vibrant on Cinco de Mayo.
When deciding on how to celebrate this glorious day in Arizona one quickly finds that one of the best places to spend your time and money is at the Cinco de Mayo Festival in Downtown Phoenix. For 26 years people have been able to find food from around the world, classic cars that glisten brighter than the Chrysler building, and Lucha wrestling that is best described as a comedy act, right in the heart of Phoenix. This year we decided to join in on the fun!
We purchased general admission tickets for $10 each plus some processing fees. There were options for VIP and Exclusivo VIP which will get you better access to the stage, a private bar and an air conditioned lounge. The festival starts midday and didn’t shut down until 10pm.
We arrived around opening time and were able to walk through the festival without too large a crowd. It amazed me to see all the different types of food, there was asian fusion tacos, traditional Korean Bulgogi, corn dogs, pizza and of course, mind-blowing Mexican treats like eloté, tacos, quesadillas and carne asada fries.
Due to some technical difficulties and bad timing, we were unsuccessful in our attempt to try some of the Mexican goodies, so we decided to take a chance on some American BBQ and believe me, it was the best decision we made all day!
We had the Crazy Fries from Dubb Ya Bee’s BBQ and it was perfect! The brisket was so juicy and the homemade BBQ sauce really escalated the simple dish to something almost sinful. Unfortunately, they were so delicious…we forgot to take a picture so we circled back and got photos of the booth instead and then ran in to this delightful gentleman who happened to share our love of Dubb Ya Bee’s BBQ as you can see by the BBQ sauce dripping down his chin!
If you’re in the mood for some bomb BBQ, I suggest you follow Dubb Ya Bee’s on Facebook to follow them around the valley.
After finishing our delectable lunch, we decided to continue our exploration of the festival. We came across a nice area for the children to enjoy themselves bouncing and running through all of the blow-up attractions. We stopped by the stage to listen to some interesting music from the Latino Rebel Band who began their set by dedicating the first song to the Phoenix PD and then promptly began to sing “I shot the sheriff”
Next up was our trip down classic car lane, we saw some of the most beautiful works of art that ever did grace the classic car world. The detailing to each car was magnificent. Every car had its own character from the type of glitter in the paint, the jeweling on the hydraulic switches to the etching on the engines. We took two different trips to this area of the festival in order to actually appreciate all the beauty of the different cars. The owners were all standing by and more than happy to answer any questions about their masterpieces.
On our way to find the Lucha Libre wrestlers we stumbled upon a Mariachi band who were all dressed in black and gold playing music that can only be described as soulful. It was impossible to not be drawn in by the music, so we stopped to enjoy their melodies for a few minutes.
Around 2 o’clock was when our main event began, the Lucha Libre wrestling! Our wrestlers were Zombie and Idiota. Zombie appeared to be much younger than Idiota and it showed. The quality of the wrestling was questionable at best but the amount of entertainment was immeasurable!
You can’t go wrong celebrating Cinco de Mayo in Phoenix but the downtown festival is where you will find me for years to come!
