Denver's Westwood neighborhood to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with vision for new marketplace

As Coloradans prepare to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, one Denver neighborhood wants to you join a celebration of cultural pride that also supports local small businesses and artisans.

Cinco de Mayo en Westwood seeks to champion and preserve the identity of the Westwood community.

"This year's our fourth annual Cinco de Mayo celebration and we're really excited, it's going to be this year up at the intersection of Morrison Road and Perry Street," said Damaris Ronkanen, one of the entrepreneurs championing efforts to create a sense of place in Denver's Westwood neighborhood.

"On this table, you'll see a lot of our local artisans that we work with," she explained on a tour of her shop.

Ronkanen owns Cultura Craft Chocolate, which invites visitors to experience chocolate in a new way.

Now, the Westwood community will showcase El Tianguis, a traditional Mexican or Central American open air market being developed by BuCu West.

"In Westwood for a long time we've seen that the neighborhood has been asking for a place to go where they don't have to pay for everything and they don't feel like they're rushed. They can kind of just be and experience community," said BuCu West Executive Director José Esparza.  

El Tianguis will accommodate 18 local food and art vendors.

During a recent weekend when Westwood hosted its Pozole Festival, visitors got a taste for vision of the Tianguis marketplace, and the broader effort to turn this section of Morrison road into a destination.

"The hope is that people are walking more in this neighborhood. There isn't as much traffic, it's a little slower," said Esparza. "Cinco de Mayo will be really a great way to see the site and where the Tianguis will be and also experience Westwood, because we're going to close down Morrison road."

Cinco de Mayo en Westwood takes place this Saturday from noon to 8 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., along Morrison Road between Patton and Quitman.