Adrian's Cinco de Mayo Parade and Festival renamed in memory of Chico Martinez

ADRIAN — The kickoff to Adrian's warmer weather festival season is returning this weekend and has been renamed in honor of one of its leading supporters and organizers.

The Cinco de Mayo Parade and Festival will mark its 23rd annual edition Saturday, May 6. It continues to be held the Saturday immediately after the calendar observance of Cinco de Mayo on May 5. The holiday celebrates the Mexican army’s victory over France May 5, 1862, at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War.

And while most of the details surrounding the parade and the festival will not change this year from previous years, Chico Martinez will have his memory live on through the festival he cared about dearly, as current organizers, including his wife, Teresa, have renamed the event Chico’s Annual Cinco de Mayo Parade and Festival.

Martinez, 56, an Adrian activist and community leader, died Nov. 8, 2022, at his home with his family present from complications of stage 4 lung cancer, which he was diagnosed with in 2019. His obituary said he will be remembered as a giving man, “someone who went above and beyond in everything he was involved with in the Adrian community.”

“(Cinco de Mayo), the parade and the festival were such a huge part of his life,” Teresa Martinez said. “This year’s event is the one I’m going to say is for Chico. It’s really, truly for him.”

Having been involved in the process of putting together the festival in the past, Teresa said she was aware of the work that went into making the yearly festival happen. What she began to realize even more so after her husband’s death was the time and effort Chico invested into the parade and festival.

“Now, as I’m doing this on my end, I understand why he did what he did,” she said. “He put so much love into this and a lot of his heart and a lot of his personal time. He was always known for being so giving of himself to the community.

“The other day, some things were finished and completed (for the festival),” she continued. "I just broke down and I couldn’t stop crying. It was something that I had worked on for the parade and with it being completed, it made me realize the love that I have, not only for him, but the love he had for me and his community.”

After the parade through downtown Adrian has finished and people make their way to the Farmers Market Pavilion on Toledo Street for the festival portion of the day, 23 purple and yellow balloons, representing the 23rd annual Cinco de Mayo Parade and Festival, will be released in Chico’s memory.

The purple balloons, as explained by fellow event organizer Bobbi Delacruz, are for Chico’s favorite color. The yellow balloons, she said, represent cancer awareness. The balloon release and a special song in Chico's memory, sung by local teen singing sensation Rio Doyle, will be some of the planned memorials for Martinez, said Delacruz, who worked with Martinez on the last eight Cinco de Mayo festivals.

“It’s been an emotional time for us to plan this without him,” Delacruz said. “We have had our bad days and we have had our good days. Nobody knew the community quite like Chico did. He was always willing to help out.”

The parade, will follow the same route as in years past: at 1 p.m. it will head east on Maumee Street from Greenly Street to North Dean Street. Lineup for the parade starts at noon at the corner of West Maumee and Greenly streets. Also, within custom of past parades, there is no registration form, no entrants list and no required fees to be part of the parade. It was customary, Delacruz said, for Martinez to announce the specifics of the parade and invite any and all to participate.

“Everybody just kind of shows up for the parade,” she said. “There are not any registrants or entrants. Chico wanted this to be a community event so that anyone is more than welcome to join in the parade and be a part of the celebration.”

Other longtime organizers of the Cinco de Mayo Parade and Festival include David Atkinson and Roberto Torres.

“We all have some big shoes to fill,” Delacruz said.

Entertainment and all musical acts during the festival at the Farmers Market Pavilion, 115 Toledo St., are scheduled for 4 to 9:30 p.m. The lineup of acts includes Groupo Illusion from Pontiac, Los Aztecas from Toledo, singer George Salazar from Holland, dance performances from Tropa de Niños Pequeños and a performance of the national anthem from local singer Andi Jo Taylor.

Public recognition of all military veterans and servicemen and women will be one of the first things conducted at the Farmers Market, Delacruz said. Martinez, who served with the Michigan Army National Guard for more than 25 years, found it important to recognize and thank those who fought and gave of their life to defend the country, Delacruz said.

In correlation with the downtown happenings Saturday, the Adrian District Library will have events on site for kids and teens, and the Lenawee YOUTH Council will have various stations for kids this year, Teresa Martinez said.

As a fully outdoor event, people are encouraged to bring their lawn chairs and their dancing shoes for later in the afternoon and evening, Delacruz said.

Because of financial support and donations from the community, the Adrian Diversity Parade and Street Fund, which is managed by the Lenawee Community Foundation and was introduced as a community fund by resident Bob Behnke, has been able to pay for all city costs related to parade, street closure and pavilion fees, Delacruz said.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Adrian's Cinco de Mayo festival renamed in memory of Chico Martinez