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Men’s Cinco de Mayo Costumes
Festive men’s Cinco de Mayo Mexican inspired costumes to celebrate the Mexican 5th of May. We celebrate the Cinco de Mayo holiday in the USA to celebrate the victory of the Mexican militia over the invading French army during the 1862 Battle of Puebla.
It is often mistaken as the holiday for Mexican Independence, but it is not. The Mexican Independence Day is the 16th of September. Incidentally, the only place in Mexico where Cinco de Mayo is celebrated is in the city of Puebla.
It is, however, as good an excuse as any to play Mexican music, eat delicious Mexican food, and drink Mexican beer or tequila-based Margaritas! So, put on your Mexican costume, hang a piñata, make some salsa, fry some tortillas, mash some avocados, refry some pinto beans, shake it up with a pair of maracas, and set up the blender to whip up delicious frozen margaritas!
Have a look at some awesome handwoven serapes and ponchos from Mexico that you can wear to participate in this fun Mexican-American celebration. You can also dress in a Mariachi costume or like a Mexican Matador dancing with the bulls.
Are you a semi-homemade DIY costumer? One of the easiest costumes to make for your Mexican-American costume party is that of a Mexican bandito (bandit) or vaquero (cowboy). Dress like a cowboy from the wild, wild west. Add a pair of cowboy boots, a sombrero, a pair of 6-shooters and a bandolero over one shoulder or both. Don’t forget to tie a bandana around your neck, or as a headband under your hat. Add a fake black mustache just for fun!
The costumes featured on this page are not meant to be racist or to profile the beautiful people of Mexico whom I so adore. These costumes are meant to wear just for fun at Cinco de Mayo parties. The higher-quality costumes are meant for theater productions. Please lighten up and don’t be offended. I am Hawaiian, Irish and I don’t get offended by stupid hula, pineapple head, and leprechaun costumes. It’s all in fun, folks.
Dress as a Mexican señor, as a regal Mexican Matador, or a player in a mariachi band. I have selected the best quality men’s Mexican costumes to wear in theater productions. I have also included inexpensive costumes to wear to the fiesta just for an annual day of fun.
Señor Mexican Serape Costumes
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Serapes are an inexpensive way to dress a señor for a Cinco de Mayo fiesta. They are woven in beautiful colors, they are warm if the day turns out to be chilly, they are inexpensive, and they are fun!
Wear a pair of these casual beach style pants to the fiesta under the Mexican serape. They are made for summer comfort on the tropical beaches of Mexico.
Huarache sandals are the perfect shoes to complete your casual Cinco de Mayo outfit. With the combination of a colorful serape or poncho, a pair of casual drawstring pants, and a pair of huaraches on your feet you have the perfect Mexican peasant costume to wear to the party.
Check it out! Is this hat cool or what? Wear it on your head…. or not. Use it on the food table to hold tortilla chips…. or not. Once the chips are gone and you’ve had way too much tequila…. put it back on your head. Better than a lamp any day!
Men’s Mariachi Costumes
Mariachi music is traditional Mexican folk music with a mixture of Aztec and Spanish influence. It’s a style of music that has been popular in Western Mexico since the 18th century. Traditionally the men wear elaborately decorated outfits called charros with large, heavily decorated sombreros.
Included with this deluxe charro outfit is the wool suit jacket and pants, the necktie, and a sash. The sombrero, the white shirt, and the black huaraches are not included with this mariachi suit. Hurraches and a hat may be purchased separately below.
Handsomely made in Mexico, a beautiful variety of handmade Mariachi Charro Sombreros with elaborately designed embroidery and braid. Wear a Mexican sombrero on Cinco de Mayo or on the true Independence Day of Dieciséis de Septiembre.
The tradition of fighting the bull in Mexico, and in other Latino countries, is not considered your typical sport as it is more of a performing art form. Every part of the bullfight is an intricate ritualistic choreography of the dance. With that being said, the European Union is trying to ban this centuries-old tradition in Spain. They have stated, “Bullfighting is a cruel practice that inflicts a great amount of pain and suffering on bulls.”
The Matador costumes I have found to feature here, pale in comparison to the beautiful craftsmanship that goes into the construction of an actual Matador outfit. The hand-embroidery alone, on an authentic Matador suit, takes hours and hours to complete and resemble military decorations.
The elaborate handiwork and decorations of the costume are a thing of beauty. They are called traje de luces in Spanish, meaning the “suit of lights” because of the reflective rhinestones, beads, and sequins, in addition to the gold and silver threads used in the costume decorations.
The suits are made in any number of colors from pale grays to vivid reds. Each suit takes the handiwork of 20 to 50 tailors and seamstresses. Some sew the uniform, others sew the sequins, beads, or rhinestones while others embroider. Still others attach the gold or silver braids of thread. Even with all those people working on one uniform it still takes over a month to complete.
Made in the USA by Tabi costumers out of their factory in Hollywood, this theater quality costume is made of high-quality fabrics. Included are the bolero jacket, high-waist matador style pants, and the hat. The shirt, socks and shoes are not included.
Matadors actually wear two pairs of socks. They wear a white cotton pair underneath as the 1st layer and a pair of pink silk stockings as the 2nd layer. This tradition dates back to the 16th century Spain.
Meticulously decorated with gold silk embroidery, tassels, sequins, braiding, and buttons. Each matador suit includes three pieces; the jacket, vest, and pants. A hat, socks and shoes are not included.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending how you look at it, the suits are made in China and not Mexico which is why the cost is so much lower than an American made or Mexican made outfit would be. Because of this, please pay closee attention to the sizing as Asian sizes are smaller than American sizes. Even though they are made in China, the craftsmenship of the costumes is amazing and made to look like authentic matador suits.
A matador hat is actually called a montera. This montera is not the best, but hard it’s to beat. This is the best quality bullfighter costume hat I could find. There are many different hats on various costume sites but they are so cheaply made I wouldn’t waste my time or many paying for the shipping, let alone the hat. This is the best costume hat I could find for the money. The only other place I found a better hat was on eBay. I found an authentic montera and by now it’s gone. All the other hats were also cheap and ugly.
Matadors wear black shoes called zapatillas. Zapatillas are similar to men’s dance shoes. They are a necessary part of the matador’s outfit. The style of the shoe allows the Matador to pivot gracefully around the bull. I wasn’t able to get any authentic zapatillas but I did find several pairs of similar dance shoes
which can easily be substituted.
As I already stated, it doesn’t get any easier than to create a bandito or vaquero costume to wear to a Cinco de Mayo party. All you need is a pair of old jeans or a pair of vintage striped pants. I would wear either a natural white peasant style shirt, a vintage Civil War costume shirt, or an American western style cowboy shirt. Tie a red bandana around your neck, slip into a ratty vintage vest and toss a sombrero onto your head. I recommend heading to the local Thrift Shop for the clothing. They are usually the best place to find the vintage items I need for a semi-homemade DIY kind of costume.
All you need after that is a pair of 6-shooters, an ammo bandolero to strap over your shoulder, a big black fake mustache, and a pair of cowboy boots.
We hope you have lots and lots of fun at your next Cinco de Mayo costume party dressed as your favorite Mexican character. Just remember to keep it frosty!
Before you leave, be sure to check out the Women’s Cinco de Mayo Costumes too!
Get your partner a costume and go to the party as a couple.
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