The Battle of Puebla was properly commemorated at the Charleston Cinco de Mayo Festival on Friday night at the Visitor’s Center Bus Shed. Guests enjoyed authentic Mexican cuisine from El Dorado and Los Reyes and washed it all down with Cuervo margaritas and Dos Equis drafts. But the food and drink was little more than an afterthought. The focus of the event was dancing, particularly salsa. DJ Luigi Bravo of Latin Groove kept the dance floor packed with young and old alike. Dancing company Buen Aché performed traditional Afro-Latino dances on-stage. Amateurs did their best impressions of Latino pop stars as more experienced dancing partners made the moves from Dirty Dancing look like something out of a high school gymnasium. The only interruption to the pulsating movement of the crowd was for the Dancing with the Local Stars competition, which saw four local media mavens vie for bragging rights — Tara Lynn from Channel 2 and Ali Orozco were the winners. Proceeds from the event benefitted the Ryan White HIV care program at Roper St. Francis Healthcare. Check out a few more pics on our Flickr page. —Angela Hanyak 
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