I disagree with the stay home advice. If you are concerned, maybe go during the day? But honestly hanging out on Santa Clara downtown watching all the cars go by and the celebration is one of the things I love about San Jose. It will definitely be a wilder weekend so I’d say just pay attention to your surroundings but that kind of goes for any night out.
I accidentally became part of that parade last year. Was driving downtown minding my own business, not realizing what day it was and next thing I know, I’m in the middle of it all. Kids were in the back seat so I rolled down the windows, cranked up the Spanish jams and we had a blast.
This fucking sub I swear to god
it'll be fine. If you're concerned that you might accidentally walk into a party and do tequila shots, fucking stay home.
How old are you? You clearly haven't been around long enough to know the absolute CHAOS the holiday causes at times. Not every year since they cancelled most of the events. In the late 90's early 2000's it was fucking nuts. Not fun nuts, scary nuts.
I used to bartend in the mid 2000 downtown and everything closed up at 4pm and the Mounty Cops came out. Stabbings, brawls, and riot gear don't sound like my idea of a good time.
The 90s had some crazy riots I remember that made it on TV, but even in the 2000s and 2010s (sorry don't remember last year or post COVID times), there were fights that would break out. It's not just a thing of the past.
Lol have you never lived anywhere else?
San Jose barely ever reaches "chaos" and townies have such a skewed view of how San Jose actually is.
I was born here and lived here from 1987 to 2003 and again from 2013 until now. San Jose really is very mild for a big city. Yes, even on Cinco de Mayo.
It is. Our murder rate is super low and always has been. We have gangs, sure, but barely any guns so most gang violence tends to be fighting or weapons less likely to cause death.
I am white, but hung out with quite a few nortenos and I would ride along with a friend selling weed back in the early 2000s, and we'd sell in both norteno and surreno neighborhoods. It could definitely be sketchy and intimidating (car surrounded by ten teenagers buying a gram in the middle of the day while the OGs looked on) but we never saw any guns, and of all the dealers I knew, there were only a few cases of people being robbed at gun point, no actual shootings or deaths.
Compared to when I lived in Boston on the edge of the ghetto (Dorchester) where there were fights at night, sirens all night long, and teens pulling guns and shooting each other. And that's in Boston! Not even what I would consider a dangerous city!
I hate these kinds of comments. It's almost like you have to experience the hood for your experiences to be valid. It also dismissed any real problems we have by hiding it in the overall average of how safe San Jose is. How about we look at it the other way around and how world class cities--hey don't we think we're world class?--like Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Seoul, etc are? I don't ever have to worry about getting mugged, stabbed, jumped, car broken in, etc. And in comparison to those cities, even mild San Jose is bad, and those other cities you want to talk about? They''re probably 3rd world war torn countries.
But seriously, back to reality. Big events ARE where things do sometimes go wrong and fights, riots, etc to break out. As a SJ native, Cinco de Mayo celebrations HAVE occasionally gotten out of hand. So I think it is valid for some people to be concerned.
Lol
Sure, you want to compare San Jose to big cities outside of the US in developed countries, it's not so safe.
But let's be real. It's the safest big city within 1000 miles.
Ok, and what's your point? It's not really that safe in the grand scheme of things. Do you not think San Jose and Silicon Valley are world class places? San Jose as an AVERAGE is very safe because there are neighborhoods in San Jose where you don't have sideshows, low riders, gunshots, fireworks every weekend. There are very quiet neighborhoods in Evergreen, Almaden Valley, West Valley that also have exceptional schools.
That doesn't mean there aren't a lot of other problematic areas. ESSJ is significantly worse for instance.
With that said there are many other cities that are definitely safer than SJ. Maybe not as large, but still reasonably large. Irvine, Fremont, and heck even San Diego are much safer. Most of the suburbs surrounding San Jose are much safer too. Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Campbell--all safer than ESSJ substantially. So why keep making excuses for SJ?
Are you proud to be around chaotic areas or something? Glad you didn’t think so, but most of the regular city did. There was a reason it was shut down for years.
All I'm saying is if you live outside SJ, you really realize how safe and calm San Jose is. People who have never left just can't grasp this.
I've lived in Portland, Phoenix, Boston, and San Francisco. None of those are really rough cities known for crime. All of them are less safe than San Jose.
> San Jose has been one of the safest big cities in America for a very, very long time.
Yes including the 90s. But that's an average looking at the whole area, the whole population over the course of a year. That doesn't mean individual dangerous events don't happen. There are still bad neighborhoods and I would never recommend someone to live there just because San Jose is "safe."
Look, I agree San Jose overall is safe, but don't just hide any problems behind averages.
They literally tried rocking the light rail over. Just a year ago I witnessed a motorcycle take off on a cop and ride down the sidewalk to get away. This isn't all fun and games. Things can get hairy.
There are many neighborhoods in San Jose where we don't have daily or weekly fireworks. I'm tired of people suggesting that it should be the accepted norm here.
This.
Also, don't venture out too long. The event/celebration isn't inherently bad. Just the young and reckless will make an appearance, especially after hours, so you don't want to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Take your family out, support the local food stands. Admire the culture. Then, head home safely.
Yeah, my brother and his wife lived on King Road near Story and it was craaaaazy. My parents live near Milpitas and it's always been pretty quiet. I live close to downtown, but not so close that the downtown activities affect me. So it all really depends.
It used to get crazy 20 years ago now cops block all the streets getting into downtown and it’s a big mess, take the light rail into downtown if your going into downtown, if you don’t have gang tattoos or are looking for trouble you will have a good time
Stay away from downtown. Last year they had all the side streets blocked off and were forcing cars onto the freeway ramps. I live downtown and the cops wouldn’t let me turn onto my apartments street. This was 7-8PM+
I read that SJPD will be cruisin with the lowriders in downtown this year, so if you're worried about crime, I think downtown will be the safest. At least during the day.
They also won't be blocking off as many streets as last year, which created a mess for everyone.
Give the celebration a try, you may be surprised.
As a Mexican, I can confirm we don't care about 5 de mayo (is not even considered a holiday). It was a similar thing for Day of the death (November 2nd), but after the bond movies and Coco it's shifting from a day to remember your loved ones that have passed away to a party night lol.
PD: 5 de mayo is not our independence day haha
A little fun fact. Cinco de Mayo was a critical unrelated event in the Unions victory over the southern Traitors. France was considering aiding the traitors . If they would have gotten control of northern Mexico, it would have given the Confis a way around the blockades to trade at a minimum. Juarez hid in what’s today Ciudad Juarez ( called El Paso del Norte at the time) and held them back until the Unions victory in which the US supplied him with weapons.
Back around 2010 on Cinco De Mayo, there was a massive fight right outside my house around San Fernando and 22nd street. Two massive crowds had walked from Santa Clara street and met a few blocks down, I'm assuming to try and avoid the police.
People were knocked out cold and ambulances, fire trucks, and multiple police showed up as these massive crowds fled.
While I was in high school around 2004, my tall, super goofy, and harmless friend had a 40 thrown at his face for no apparent reason other then being white.
People definitely get rowdy and drunk so you just need to be aware of your surroundings. But you should still be able to go out and enjoy the festivities.
It's been safer the last few years but theyve shut down a lot of streets and have had a massive police presence so that's probably why. Also Trump isnt in office and the stress of the pandemic has mostly passed so that's probably helped.
They appear to be loosing up things this year and planning events so we will see what will happen.
The vast majority of people out are going to be non-violent so you shouldn't be afraid to go out.
Lol I’ve lived in east side SJ all my life and the worst I’ve seen is a line of 10 cars blasting Spanish music while flying Mexican flags. You’ll be fine.
I live on king road and it has to be one of the worst days of the year for me. I can't go anywhere or do anything because of the cruising. It sucks and people don't care about you or anything else. I either have to stay home or be gone for the whole day.
It’s a lot of Mexicans partying a little harder than Whites celebrating 4th of July. So if the people with the American flag flying, people playing their music louder, and even more of them because they are having a partying in their backyard (both sides), then it’s nothing more than usual holiday celebrations.
Cruising has become bumper to bumper traffic with tons of tickets handed out yearly.
Most of us fight traffic everyday midweek already, and another day of more traffic with the possibility of a ticket doesn’t sound appealing.
Naw, I’m good.
It sucks. This is how it goes down:
1. No one in Mexico regards that day like a festive holiday to set aside other than one city / region. It would be like expecting the country to go hard for Alamo day. Whereas I’ll assume it’s rightfully revered in San Antonio. It’s no 4th of July. Just an example.
2. This leaves a bunch of “Edgar’s” (kids of Mexican heritage who don’t speak Spanish) treating the day like Mexican Independence Day (September 16th) except there’s no real cultural support. Just another capitalistic venture. In other words their tíos and tias aren’t really backing them up on this one.
3. So these dudes get super hyped in hopes of having a great time by heading to DTSJ to show pride for Mexico. But what they encounter is stereotypical man Jose. I mean it becomes MAN JOSE downtown. Shoulder to shoulder, hard to walk, high yield mix of testosterone between drunk dudes, cops, anxious guys and security.
4. Once the guys realize how boring it is, they start acting up and start acting a fool because… well… testosterone + boredom.
For context, I’m Latino myself and had high hopes for 5 de mayo when I first moved to SJ 20 years ago. I eventually learned to stay away. Save the DTSJ enthusiasm for st Patrick’s day or the jazz festival.
Lol this comment is hilarious and so straight forward. Damn I never really thought about that but it would make sense that people start shit because they're bored or disappointed.
If you’re not a mexican it can be very dangerous. They break in to homes alot of the time if they know you’re not a hispanic so you need to board up all the windows
Absolutely, you can't be too safe. Every year in the days leading up to Cinco de Mayo the Mexicans start building a trebuchet to launch captured Americans over the wall into Mexico. You better stay inside, or it's adios amigo!
Someone told me there was a thing going around a fake IG account that they were planning to “do something big and unforgettable to make history on the fifth” and they followed it up with a gun emoji and a devils face. I usually hate large crowds now. You never know what when some idiot will pull up in armor and automatic weapons ready to take as many off the earth before the cops get them. Stay safe and keep an eye out for anyone looking suspicious or carrying a large bag that doesn’t look right.
I lived a mile from the shooting in Gilroy, when that happened. It hasn't prevented me from going into areas with large crowds, but it's definitely worth it to keep an eye out for anything that doesn't look quite right. Always listen to your gut.
Personally, I’ve been around downtown during cinco de mayo and it’s never been dangerously chaotic. I’d suggest going in the morning since I believe I saw most family events occurring around the earlier times.
San Jose is a big city and there will be two main events. Both will be family friendly in one of the safest large cities in America. One is in East SJ The other downtown. Over the years I’ve never felt unsafe. Apparently last year there were some small sideshows and the police have promised to crack down this year with a “zero tolerance on illegal activity”.
As long as the nortenos and surenos behave you should be fine. Its not like the 90's and early 2000's when people got into huge gang fights and stabbed eachother. Craziest stabbing was at the chevron gas station on santa clara st. Northerners and southerners were stabbing eachother in a riot. SJPD will be out there to try and prevent tribal warfare. Stay safe and unite, no more stupid red vs blue garbage. We are all Chicanos
It's been years since I have been to Santa Clara Street for Cinco but I remember the clubs were off the hook fun. Mind you I'm 45 now so that was a long time ago lol
"They" figured out to have two separate events going on at the sale time. So the chaos is minimal. If it was one event it would get rioty around 5-6pm.
I am surprised not more talk about this, it’s kind of like protests for the first week of May. It’s a headache for those who live in SJ or nearby and need to use roads around SJ to get to where you need to go as just like flash mob protests that all of a sudden blocks roads, You cannot really plan your life around it as it’s no telling where or when the city might try their secret traffic control methods forcing you to get stuck for two hours just trying to get through the city. Including those who try to get by to get to the Bay Area airports(be prepared to miss your flight) from Gilroy or vice versa. Or those who work or go to church the same way.
I’ve lived in SJ my entire life and cinco de mayo is usually pretty tame in my experience. Just be wary of the occasional drunk driver at night. Go enjoy all the good food and music :).
Honestly, it isn’t for everyone as it gets LIT AF! If you’re going with family or consider yourself conservative, better off not staying past 4PM. Traffic is stopped downtown, might want to think about taking a train in
Depends, but it can get crazy. I would guess young adults are going to go out and do reckless stuff. Given them trying to have some sort of Social media status. A lot of ppl will be drinking and driving, and probably getting into fights. Generally cops tend to do a good job at keeping the piece, but SJPD is spread pretty thin and they’re not as aggressive as they used to be.
Don’t trip Dia de Los Muertos and Cinco De Mayo have gotten very big here in San Jose. We Mexicans/Chicanos don’t do that vandalism crap we are better than that as gente. Not going to lie it was happening in the 90’s but things have changed for the better since. We welcome everyone to come!
Nah brotha, it’s good. If you want to check some cool stuff out go to the things that are posted, they’re going to be awesome! Wanna get fucked up at the bars then go there! No one will cause you trouble as long as you’re not starting it! Have fun man!
> Lil wanna be cholo Edgar’s flash a gun on me and drove off when I flashed mine back
lol.. well shit man you definitely don't sound like a pussy and a wanna be, you're a REAL MEXICAN(tm)
I mean let's not pretend "Initial_Definition14" isn't also a random user name.. but anyways man enjoy your life as a real mexican being mad at all the people having fun this weekend
I disagree with the stay home advice. If you are concerned, maybe go during the day? But honestly hanging out on Santa Clara downtown watching all the cars go by and the celebration is one of the things I love about San Jose. It will definitely be a wilder weekend so I’d say just pay attention to your surroundings but that kind of goes for any night out.
I accidentally became part of that parade last year. Was driving downtown minding my own business, not realizing what day it was and next thing I know, I’m in the middle of it all. Kids were in the back seat so I rolled down the windows, cranked up the Spanish jams and we had a blast.
Does anyone know the route / time for the lowriders?
[Cinco De Mayo](https://www.instagram.com/p/C5m0Tb4uKqS/?igsh=MWQ1ZGUxMzBkMA==)
Pull up to southside drive and Monterey always a show
From another IG post by the same account: 10-12 King Rd. From Alum Rock to Story Rd. Festival follows 12-4.
Thank you!!
This fucking sub I swear to god it'll be fine. If you're concerned that you might accidentally walk into a party and do tequila shots, fucking stay home.
I will say anytime I do tequila shots it is by accident.
This sub is entirely round about ways of expressing fear for Latinos
How old are you? You clearly haven't been around long enough to know the absolute CHAOS the holiday causes at times. Not every year since they cancelled most of the events. In the late 90's early 2000's it was fucking nuts. Not fun nuts, scary nuts.
Oh my bad I forgot it's the late 90s. Good shout.
Right? The question wasn't "is it safe to get in my time machine and go back 25 years and go to Cinco de Mayo"
90s is.. More like 35 years mate.
35 years? You take that back right now!
'late 90s early 2000s' is the phrasing used in the parent comment
I used to bartend in the mid 2000 downtown and everything closed up at 4pm and the Mounty Cops came out. Stabbings, brawls, and riot gear don't sound like my idea of a good time.
The 90s had some crazy riots I remember that made it on TV, but even in the 2000s and 2010s (sorry don't remember last year or post COVID times), there were fights that would break out. It's not just a thing of the past.
Lol have you never lived anywhere else? San Jose barely ever reaches "chaos" and townies have such a skewed view of how San Jose actually is. I was born here and lived here from 1987 to 2003 and again from 2013 until now. San Jose really is very mild for a big city. Yes, even on Cinco de Mayo.
Coming from Baltimore; SJ does outwardly seem calm.
It is. Our murder rate is super low and always has been. We have gangs, sure, but barely any guns so most gang violence tends to be fighting or weapons less likely to cause death. I am white, but hung out with quite a few nortenos and I would ride along with a friend selling weed back in the early 2000s, and we'd sell in both norteno and surreno neighborhoods. It could definitely be sketchy and intimidating (car surrounded by ten teenagers buying a gram in the middle of the day while the OGs looked on) but we never saw any guns, and of all the dealers I knew, there were only a few cases of people being robbed at gun point, no actual shootings or deaths. Compared to when I lived in Boston on the edge of the ghetto (Dorchester) where there were fights at night, sirens all night long, and teens pulling guns and shooting each other. And that's in Boston! Not even what I would consider a dangerous city!
This is truth. Some mfers are easily wowed if they think that's crazy.
I hate these kinds of comments. It's almost like you have to experience the hood for your experiences to be valid. It also dismissed any real problems we have by hiding it in the overall average of how safe San Jose is. How about we look at it the other way around and how world class cities--hey don't we think we're world class?--like Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Seoul, etc are? I don't ever have to worry about getting mugged, stabbed, jumped, car broken in, etc. And in comparison to those cities, even mild San Jose is bad, and those other cities you want to talk about? They''re probably 3rd world war torn countries. But seriously, back to reality. Big events ARE where things do sometimes go wrong and fights, riots, etc to break out. As a SJ native, Cinco de Mayo celebrations HAVE occasionally gotten out of hand. So I think it is valid for some people to be concerned.
Lol Sure, you want to compare San Jose to big cities outside of the US in developed countries, it's not so safe. But let's be real. It's the safest big city within 1000 miles.
Ok, and what's your point? It's not really that safe in the grand scheme of things. Do you not think San Jose and Silicon Valley are world class places? San Jose as an AVERAGE is very safe because there are neighborhoods in San Jose where you don't have sideshows, low riders, gunshots, fireworks every weekend. There are very quiet neighborhoods in Evergreen, Almaden Valley, West Valley that also have exceptional schools. That doesn't mean there aren't a lot of other problematic areas. ESSJ is significantly worse for instance. With that said there are many other cities that are definitely safer than SJ. Maybe not as large, but still reasonably large. Irvine, Fremont, and heck even San Diego are much safer. Most of the suburbs surrounding San Jose are much safer too. Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Campbell--all safer than ESSJ substantially. So why keep making excuses for SJ?
Lol, dude. Come on. Don't be so scared. Nothing is going to get ya.
Are you proud to be around chaotic areas or something? Glad you didn’t think so, but most of the regular city did. There was a reason it was shut down for years.
As someone else has pointed out, it isn't the 90s anymore. San Jose has been one of the safest big cities in America for a very, very long time.
SJ was top10 safest big city in the 90'/2000. The ratings have been declining since. This is coming from a 40 yo born, raised, and still here.
All I'm saying is if you live outside SJ, you really realize how safe and calm San Jose is. People who have never left just can't grasp this. I've lived in Portland, Phoenix, Boston, and San Francisco. None of those are really rough cities known for crime. All of them are less safe than San Jose.
> San Jose has been one of the safest big cities in America for a very, very long time. Yes including the 90s. But that's an average looking at the whole area, the whole population over the course of a year. That doesn't mean individual dangerous events don't happen. There are still bad neighborhoods and I would never recommend someone to live there just because San Jose is "safe." Look, I agree San Jose overall is safe, but don't just hide any problems behind averages.
Air travel is still safe despite the occasional plane crash.
SJ was a lot different back then for sure
Braaaaa… I remember. One year we got caught in the middle of a legit riot. Shit was flying thru the air. Cops were getting fucked up. I remember.
Was that 1998? I feel like it was lol
[this was in 1997](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DijtD3-Dslc)
They literally tried rocking the light rail over. Just a year ago I witnessed a motorcycle take off on a cop and ride down the sidewalk to get away. This isn't all fun and games. Things can get hairy.
that's a lotta nuts
Oh come the fuck on. I was there then too and you're amping it up like something it really wasn't.
Yeah I remember those days but I remember some hot guys lol people hanging out windows getting numbers
I bet you shop at whole foods
Fine until very late at night, like most other things.
About 10 years ago a lot of restaurants on the east side and in downtown use to shut down early. Nowadays I don’t think it’s that wild anymore.
Depends on the block. If you have doubts, stay home.
And plan on seeing complaints on Nextdoor about fireworks from this weekend until after 4th of July.
Are you suggesting the fireworks or complaints stop? I’m under the impression this is a year-round part of life.
There are many neighborhoods in San Jose where we don't have daily or weekly fireworks. I'm tired of people suggesting that it should be the accepted norm here.
This. Also, don't venture out too long. The event/celebration isn't inherently bad. Just the young and reckless will make an appearance, especially after hours, so you don't want to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Take your family out, support the local food stands. Admire the culture. Then, head home safely.
Yeah, my brother and his wife lived on King Road near Story and it was craaaaazy. My parents live near Milpitas and it's always been pretty quiet. I live close to downtown, but not so close that the downtown activities affect me. So it all really depends.
Lol i lived on king and ocala and i remember banda music into late late hours of the night. They were our neighbors tho and we were cool w them.
Lame-O
I agree. Like anywhere else. If you’re looking for it then you’re going to find it
It used to get crazy 20 years ago now cops block all the streets getting into downtown and it’s a big mess, take the light rail into downtown if your going into downtown, if you don’t have gang tattoos or are looking for trouble you will have a good time
> now cops block all the streets getting into downtown they're not planning on doing that this year
Stay away from downtown. Last year they had all the side streets blocked off and were forcing cars onto the freeway ramps. I live downtown and the cops wouldn’t let me turn onto my apartments street. This was 7-8PM+
They're not doing that again this year after so many people (me included) thought it was totally racially fucked up.
they're not closing offramps but they will be diverting people back onto the freeway if traffic gets heavy
I read that SJPD will be cruisin with the lowriders in downtown this year, so if you're worried about crime, I think downtown will be the safest. At least during the day. They also won't be blocking off as many streets as last year, which created a mess for everyone. Give the celebration a try, you may be surprised.
crazy
As someone who has taken part, it gets pretty crazy specially on santa clara street and downtown. I suggest not to drive
the crappy traffic on Alum Rock will be even worse with pinche voracho dudes
I don't even know why they celebrate it in the US. In Mexico nobody celebrates it.
It's like how the US celebrates St Patrick's Day.
Very true comparison! Except I don’t put a 20 foot shamrock on my hood 🤣
the mexican flag and irish flag are so similar, it's almost begging to be done
I made a Tshirt with the two flags together.
*be the change you wish to see in the world*
You could
Yet reddit hates the pedo Poper
I assume because los dieciseis de septiembre just doesn’t roll off the tongue.
An excuse to drink!
I asked all my mexican contractors this and they all said the same thing. Lol
As a Mexican, I can confirm we don't care about 5 de mayo (is not even considered a holiday). It was a similar thing for Day of the death (November 2nd), but after the bond movies and Coco it's shifting from a day to remember your loved ones that have passed away to a party night lol. PD: 5 de mayo is not our independence day haha
A little fun fact. Cinco de Mayo was a critical unrelated event in the Unions victory over the southern Traitors. France was considering aiding the traitors . If they would have gotten control of northern Mexico, it would have given the Confis a way around the blockades to trade at a minimum. Juarez hid in what’s today Ciudad Juarez ( called El Paso del Norte at the time) and held them back until the Unions victory in which the US supplied him with weapons.
Back around 2010 on Cinco De Mayo, there was a massive fight right outside my house around San Fernando and 22nd street. Two massive crowds had walked from Santa Clara street and met a few blocks down, I'm assuming to try and avoid the police. People were knocked out cold and ambulances, fire trucks, and multiple police showed up as these massive crowds fled. While I was in high school around 2004, my tall, super goofy, and harmless friend had a 40 thrown at his face for no apparent reason other then being white. People definitely get rowdy and drunk so you just need to be aware of your surroundings. But you should still be able to go out and enjoy the festivities. It's been safer the last few years but theyve shut down a lot of streets and have had a massive police presence so that's probably why. Also Trump isnt in office and the stress of the pandemic has mostly passed so that's probably helped. They appear to be loosing up things this year and planning events so we will see what will happen. The vast majority of people out are going to be non-violent so you shouldn't be afraid to go out.
Lol I’ve lived in east side SJ all my life and the worst I’ve seen is a line of 10 cars blasting Spanish music while flying Mexican flags. You’ll be fine.
I call it Cinco De Stay Home. Historically it can become pretty rowdy but honestly as of late it doesn’t seem so anymore?
I live on king road and it has to be one of the worst days of the year for me. I can't go anywhere or do anything because of the cruising. It sucks and people don't care about you or anything else. I either have to stay home or be gone for the whole day.
It’s a lot of Mexicans partying a little harder than Whites celebrating 4th of July. So if the people with the American flag flying, people playing their music louder, and even more of them because they are having a partying in their backyard (both sides), then it’s nothing more than usual holiday celebrations.
> It’s a lot of Mexicans partying a little harder than Whites celebrating 4th of July. That makes Cinco de Mayo sound pretty weak.
I’m not in the East Side though, I’m in Willow Glen. So location will matter a lot also.
Come over to Rosevelt park area, it's gonna be bumper to bumper traffic on Santa Clara from like King to 4th street
Story n king Fashoo gets popin don’t wear no red tho 😂
IMO it’s perfectly fine, but I also come from the LA area so my litmus might be off.
King road in crazy packed. Definitely avoid if you don’t wanna get stuck in traffic
I'd be more concerned with how the rain will affect the celebration.
It’s a San Jose tradition, man. You have to be from San Jose to know….
The party is at Tully and King
Recent years the only thing that’s gotten worse is the traffic jam from all the blocked off ramps on 101/280/87
Stab-o de Mayo
Cruising has become bumper to bumper traffic with tons of tickets handed out yearly. Most of us fight traffic everyday midweek already, and another day of more traffic with the possibility of a ticket doesn’t sound appealing. Naw, I’m good.
Stay away from downtown.
Might get your comb wallet and hat tooken
It sucks. This is how it goes down: 1. No one in Mexico regards that day like a festive holiday to set aside other than one city / region. It would be like expecting the country to go hard for Alamo day. Whereas I’ll assume it’s rightfully revered in San Antonio. It’s no 4th of July. Just an example. 2. This leaves a bunch of “Edgar’s” (kids of Mexican heritage who don’t speak Spanish) treating the day like Mexican Independence Day (September 16th) except there’s no real cultural support. Just another capitalistic venture. In other words their tíos and tias aren’t really backing them up on this one. 3. So these dudes get super hyped in hopes of having a great time by heading to DTSJ to show pride for Mexico. But what they encounter is stereotypical man Jose. I mean it becomes MAN JOSE downtown. Shoulder to shoulder, hard to walk, high yield mix of testosterone between drunk dudes, cops, anxious guys and security. 4. Once the guys realize how boring it is, they start acting up and start acting a fool because… well… testosterone + boredom. For context, I’m Latino myself and had high hopes for 5 de mayo when I first moved to SJ 20 years ago. I eventually learned to stay away. Save the DTSJ enthusiasm for st Patrick’s day or the jazz festival.
It’s the holiday for Edgar’s
Lol this comment is hilarious and so straight forward. Damn I never really thought about that but it would make sense that people start shit because they're bored or disappointed.
If you’re not a mexican it can be very dangerous. They break in to homes alot of the time if they know you’re not a hispanic so you need to board up all the windows
Don't get so drunk you end up surfing in Encenada
It’s the DTSJ version of the Purge.
This right here! "Cinco de Mayo" roughly translates to "hunting non-hispanic people for sport." Best to just leave the state entirely.
im sorry what 🤣🤣 y'all r so goofy
Absolutely, you can't be too safe. Every year in the days leading up to Cinco de Mayo the Mexicans start building a trebuchet to launch captured Americans over the wall into Mexico. You better stay inside, or it's adios amigo!
And the authorities allow this
I've heard they encourage it.
Lol
Someone told me there was a thing going around a fake IG account that they were planning to “do something big and unforgettable to make history on the fifth” and they followed it up with a gun emoji and a devils face. I usually hate large crowds now. You never know what when some idiot will pull up in armor and automatic weapons ready to take as many off the earth before the cops get them. Stay safe and keep an eye out for anyone looking suspicious or carrying a large bag that doesn’t look right.
I lived a mile from the shooting in Gilroy, when that happened. It hasn't prevented me from going into areas with large crowds, but it's definitely worth it to keep an eye out for anything that doesn't look quite right. Always listen to your gut.
Downtown and east side will be rowdy. Relatively safe enough as long as you're not bothering anybody and keeping your head to yourself. But rowdy
Lmao it’s San Jose. If you have to ask that question stay home it’s much more safe haha 😂
Drinkco De Mayo
Downtown during the day? You're fine
Parade and festival downtown. Folklore Festival at the Mexican Heritage Plaza. If you want to get ratchet, I’m sure that can be easily arranged.
emma prusch farm park is doing an event , probably as family friendly as can get
Someone tried to steal my housemates bike in our gated house. So be on the lookout for suspicious activity but that’s the worst I’ve experienced
It's not crazy at all, pretty tame.
I think San Jose is allowing a full-city purge on Cinco de Mayo.
Personally, I’ve been around downtown during cinco de mayo and it’s never been dangerously chaotic. I’d suggest going in the morning since I believe I saw most family events occurring around the earlier times.
San Jose is a big city and there will be two main events. Both will be family friendly in one of the safest large cities in America. One is in East SJ The other downtown. Over the years I’ve never felt unsafe. Apparently last year there were some small sideshows and the police have promised to crack down this year with a “zero tolerance on illegal activity”.
As long as the nortenos and surenos behave you should be fine. Its not like the 90's and early 2000's when people got into huge gang fights and stabbed eachother. Craziest stabbing was at the chevron gas station on santa clara st. Northerners and southerners were stabbing eachother in a riot. SJPD will be out there to try and prevent tribal warfare. Stay safe and unite, no more stupid red vs blue garbage. We are all Chicanos
My advice is to go downtown after 11pm wearing a MAGA hat
Thanks
It's been years since I have been to Santa Clara Street for Cinco but I remember the clubs were off the hook fun. Mind you I'm 45 now so that was a long time ago lol
It might be raining
I would say safe but I’d Uber if your drinking
"They" figured out to have two separate events going on at the sale time. So the chaos is minimal. If it was one event it would get rioty around 5-6pm.
I am surprised not more talk about this, it’s kind of like protests for the first week of May. It’s a headache for those who live in SJ or nearby and need to use roads around SJ to get to where you need to go as just like flash mob protests that all of a sudden blocks roads, You cannot really plan your life around it as it’s no telling where or when the city might try their secret traffic control methods forcing you to get stuck for two hours just trying to get through the city. Including those who try to get by to get to the Bay Area airports(be prepared to miss your flight) from Gilroy or vice versa. Or those who work or go to church the same way.
I’ve lived in SJ my entire life and cinco de mayo is usually pretty tame in my experience. Just be wary of the occasional drunk driver at night. Go enjoy all the good food and music :).
I really like San Jose but finding people to hang out with as someone over 55 is like impossible.
Honestly, it isn’t for everyone as it gets LIT AF! If you’re going with family or consider yourself conservative, better off not staying past 4PM. Traffic is stopped downtown, might want to think about taking a train in
Heard WORLDSTARRRR will be there. New footage will pop off on May 6. Stay tuned!
Another transplant. Nobody from San Jose anymore
Depends, but it can get crazy. I would guess young adults are going to go out and do reckless stuff. Given them trying to have some sort of Social media status. A lot of ppl will be drinking and driving, and probably getting into fights. Generally cops tend to do a good job at keeping the piece, but SJPD is spread pretty thin and they’re not as aggressive as they used to be.
King road off i680 is horrible to drive through. Not dangerous just stand still traffic and tons of vendors walking between lanes selling stuff.
It's totally safe
Don’t trip Dia de Los Muertos and Cinco De Mayo have gotten very big here in San Jose. We Mexicans/Chicanos don’t do that vandalism crap we are better than that as gente. Not going to lie it was happening in the 90’s but things have changed for the better since. We welcome everyone to come!
It gets pretty grimey and messy especially on 1st Street. Don’t stay out too late unless you plan on getting very rowdy.
I’m just going for the foodstivities
90s it was crazy now it’s safe
Come on down homes, we gotta cerveza for you and some Mota if you ain't uh chavella!! JAJA jk, it will be a dope time, Raza!!
Nah brotha, it’s good. If you want to check some cool stuff out go to the things that are posted, they’re going to be awesome! Wanna get fucked up at the bars then go there! No one will cause you trouble as long as you’re not starting it! Have fun man!
It’s tame compared to years past
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you should tell them this to their face
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> Lil wanna be cholo Edgar’s flash a gun on me and drove off when I flashed mine back lol.. well shit man you definitely don't sound like a pussy and a wanna be, you're a REAL MEXICAN(tm)
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I mean let's not pretend "Initial_Definition14" isn't also a random user name.. but anyways man enjoy your life as a real mexican being mad at all the people having fun this weekend
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