The Gate: Cinco de Mayo

The saying is, "On Cinco de Mayo, everybody's Latino!" For more than two decades, the Maru Montero Dance Company has hosted an annual May 5 festival to commemorate Mexico's victory in the 1862 Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. The free day-long celebration on the Mall, featuring music, dance and crafts, is "a chance to make a party, and it's a family party," says Maru Montero, the dance company and festival founder. She calls it 100 percent cultural and open to Washington's diverse...