Kicking Up Their Heels for Cinco de Mayo

It’s a bit like two-stepping--with a lot of hip movement.

Loose clothing is recommended. And a couple of beers will help, too.

That was the advice from Fred Navarez, 65, of Camarillo, on how best to rock to the rhythms of Latin band Nuestro at Ventura Harbor Village’s Cinco de Mayo celebration Sunday.

“Cinco de Mayo is getting to be a real celebration in the U.S.,” said David Llanes, the band’s conga player. “It is an opportunity for Americans to learn about Mexican culture.”

A sign hanging from one of his conga drums read, “Parking for Mexicans only. All others will be towed.”

“Only joking,” Llanes added.

The Mexican festival brought about 150 people, many with folding chairs and coolers, to the Harbor Village lawn. While the crowd ranged from infants to retirees, the older couples were among the most avid dancers.

Dressed in a white lace shirt from Mexico’s Yucatan region, a red straw hat crowned with an assortment of flowers and bright red chile earrings, Irene Navarez followed her husband’s lead with skill. The two have had some time to practice--they met in the eighth grade and have been married for 43 years. Fred Navarez, who is a keen follower of Nuestro, got the band to play at his retirement party in 1990.

Nuestro began playing nearly 15 years ago, under the leadership of Ruben Palazuelos. The nine-member band performs frequently at local venues and has played at the Santa Barbara Bowl and the Pasadena Civic Auditorium for the Chicano Music Awards, Palazuelos said.

The free concert was put on by the local chapter of a musicians union to commemorate the holiday, which celebrates Mexico’s defeat of an invading French army in 1862. The festival was a boon for Harbor Village merchants as the crowds flooded their stores during frequent intermissions.