PILSEN — Those looking for the ultimate Cinco de Mayo party should get in on the Pilsen Cantina Crawl, a neighborhood-sponsored bar tour that will take participants around to eight bars complete with mariachi music.
This is the first year for the Pilsen Cantina Crawl, which runs from 1-6 p.m. Saturday and is organized by several Pilsen community groups. Attendees should meet at Lalo's Mexican Restaurant, 733 W. Maxwell St. starting at 11:30 a.m. for registration.
Chloe Riley joins DNAinfo Radio to outline the Cantina Crawl through Pilsen:
Participants will be shuttled via trolley to Pilsen and University Village bars including Pl-zen Gastropub, La Vaca Margarita Bar, Simone’s Restaurant and Bar, La Taberna Tapas, Lalo's Mexican Restaurant, Honky Tonk BBQ, Harbee's Liquor and Tavern and Caminos de Michoacán.
Saturday’s event includes trolley transportation, one free specialty drink at each bar, appetizers and food samples, and entertainment by live mariachi, bands and DJs along the way. Early bird tickets are $40 or two for $60. After Friday, individual tickets will be $60.
Proceeds from the event will support Unisono, Pilsen’s arts and music festival, which takes place Aug. 17. This year’s festival will celebrate Women’s Empowerment and feature daily panel discussions. Musical lineup for the fest includes Mexican Institute of Sound, Girl in a Coma, Peligrosa and Vivian Garcia among others.
The crawl — which is the first large scale organized Cinco de Mayo event for Pilsen — will make stops at both newer neighborhood spots, like Pl-zen and Simone's, in addition to giving participants a taste of Pilsen's more established bars like Caminos de Michoacán and Harbee's.
"We wanted to do something fun in the neighborhood, which now has quite a lot of developing bars that have a lot to offer," said Ulises Zatarain of Unisono. "We also hope the crawl will help forge the connection between the bordering communities of University Village and Pilsen."
