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STORY: In the local spectacular, families line the streets to watch residents dressed in period costume act march on streets to represent Mexican and French troops preparing for battle. Real guns are used as well as model canons to dramatise the battle.

"I have been participating since I was a child," says re-enactor Guadalupe Lopez. "It's a very nice tradition, very nice because we all come together, we dance, we sing, we do a lot of things and we beat France."

Cinco de Mayo marks the Battle of Puebla that took place on May 5, 1862, when Mexican forces overcame Napoleon Bonaparte's encroaching French army. It has evolved over the decades and is a symbol of Mexican unity and patriotism today.

This year, Mexico City's government declared the re-enactment of the Battle of the 5th of May at the Penon de los Banos an intangible cultural heritage of the city, as it is considered one of their most significant traditions and has been performed annually since the first decades of the 20th century to the present day.