At the Mall, Mariachi Instead of Muzak - Plaza Fiesta Mall in Atlanta

“ON a sunny day in early May, more than 12,000 people descended on the Plaza Fiesta Mall in Atlanta for a Cinco de Mayo festival celebrating Mexican heritage. Fourteen bands played mariachi; reggaetón, a sort of Latino rap; and banda, which is traditional Mexican brass music. There were carnival rides, and tortillas sizzled on grills.

The celebration was one of the ways that Plaza Fiesta caters to Atlanta’s fast-growing Mexican population. The shopping center is anchored by a Burlington Coat Factory store and a Marshall’s, but it also features Hispanic retailers like the Discolandia music store, as well as a sprawling mercado, or market, where 287 vendors in booths sell everything from quinceañera dresses to Western wear to religious statues.”

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