So, according to Wikipedia, Cinco de Mayo commemorates the 1862 Battle of Puebla, in which a small Mexican army defeated a large French army, marking the last time that a country in the Americas was ever invaded by Europe. Huh, who knew. In honor of Napoleon III getting his ass kicked, every year on May 5th, we gather to engage in the time-honored tradition of cheap tequila shots, taco specials, day drinking, and bad fake Spanish. We’ve collected the best parties and food and drink specials in the borough so that you can go forth and celebrar. Enjoy yourself, but for the sake of Jesus Cristo, make sure you leave the sombrero at home.
PARTIES
Derby de Mayo
Brooklyn Stable , 486 Metropolitan Avenue (Williamsburg)
Saturday, 2pm – 9pm, FREE
Why celebrate the Kentucky Derby and Cinco de Mayo separately when you can take a shot of tequila after drinking your mint juelp? Brooklyn Stable will provide you with that opportunity on Saturday with a screening of the derby and food and drink specials all day.
Cinco de Mayo Party
Brooklyn Fireproof, 119 Ingraham Street (Bushwick)
Saturday, 7pm – 2am, $5
Nothing says “Cinco de Mayo” like rock and roll. Well, salsa probably does. But in addition to rock and roll, this party will also have reggae, which is close enough
Cinco de Mini
Mini Manor, 24 Havemeyer Street (Williamsburg)
Saturday, 8pm – 2am, $5
The already kind of Americanized Mexican holiday gets a little more Americanized with a good old fashioned keg party. But, there’s also a promise of tequila, horchatas and a pinata, so it will still be pretty Mexican.
Cinco de Mayo at the Cobra Club
Cobra Club, 6 Wyckoff Avenue (Bushwick)
Saturday, 9pm – 4am, FREE
It’s the day before Cinco de Mayo, so what better time to listen to American country music. These guys probably aren’t Minutemen types though.
Lucha Libre: The Thrillist Taco Knockout
Villain, 50 N. 3rd Street (Williamsburg)
Sunday, 1pm – 5pm, $45
Now this is a Cinco de Mayo party. In addition to music and a DIY hot sauce station, chefs from around Brooklyn are showing up to put their spin on tacos. The $45 ticket gets you five tacos and unlimited beers. Price too steep for you? We’re giving away two tickets to our email subscribers, so sign up on the right if you want a shot at them.
Guactacular 2013
The Bell House, 149 7th Street (Gowanus)
Sunday, 2pm – 9pm, $12 for afternoon/$15 for evening/$28 for all day
Hey, everyone loves guacamole, so why not have a whole spectacular devoted to it? Your ticket will get you access to 20 homemade guacs that will be so good you’ll never buy it in ha store again. The evening show has a taping of The Sporkful podcast in addition to a second round of guac makers from restaurants and food community folks fighting it out to be the people’s choice in guacamole.
Cinco de Mayhem
Public Assembly, 70 N. 6th Street (Williamsburg
Sunday, 8pm – 2am, $10
OK, so industrial music and dubstep probably don’t have much to do with Mexican independence. But come on, it’s called Cinco de Mayhem and the poster has awesome flame graphics. Anyway, you’ll probably be drunk and looking to dance by 8 anyway, right?
FOOD AND DRINK SPECIALS
The Habitat, 988 Manhattan Avenue (Greenpoint)
Drink: $1 off all tequila, $1 off margaritas, $4 Negro Modelo drafts, $4 Dos Equis drafts
Palo Santo, 652 Union Street (Park Slope)
Food : $25 pre fixe meal with mole poblano + beer or sangria, vegetarian options available
Drink: $5 32 oz. Mexican beers, $5 micheladas
Black Horse Pub, 568 5th Avenue (South Slope)
Food: “Mexican food specials”
Drink: $4 shots of tequila, $5 margaritas
Nuevo Mexico, 489 5th Avenue (South Slope)
Drink: Happy hour from 3pm-11pm, free jello shots, $5 margaritas, $6 michelada
Food: $5 taquitos
We miss anything? Leave it in the comments.