Today is the Cinco de Mayo — the Fifth of May, a major holiday in Mexico — and in New Iberia, a group of 10 local children ages 8 to 12 will be dancing traditional Mexican and modern dances in honor of the holiday tonight at El Chile Verde.

The children are of Mexican, Honduran and Caucasian descent, but all, said Erlinda Mendoza, a Jeanerette resident who has been organizing the dances for the past few years, have a bit of Latin in them. She said that is why the back of the shirts they wear when they practice say “Latin Spice.”

“Latin spice is a spice of all different kinds,” she said. “A love of music, style, of everything — of dance — they want to do it. They want to learn a different culture.”

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Another example of that would be children dancing traditional Cajun dances on “Cajun day,” she said.

On the Cinco de Mayo, the kids will be dancing the “Jarabe Tapatillo,” also known as “The Mexican Hat Dance,” La Raspa, The Chameleon, and to Shakira, Beyonce and a new song called “Apple Bottomed Jeans.”

Mendoza said most people think the Cinco de Mayo is the anniversary of Mexico’s independence. However, Cinco de Mayo is the date the Mexicans got the Spanish out of Mexico in the Battle of Puebla. Sept. 16 is Mexico’s actual independence day.

The 10 children performing are Brianna and Alejandra Mendoza, Bryan and Jurgen Solano, Maria and Christian Cruz, Alyssa Melchor, Alyssa Babb, Trevor Amy and Brandon Andrews. The Cruzs are from Lydia and all the others live in Jeanerette.

Brianna, 12, is Erlinda’s daughter and the oldest of the group. Her favorite dance is the Jarabe Tapatillo, “because all the kids participate.”

The Jarabe Tapatillo is also the favorite of Bryan Solano, 7, and Alyssa Melchor, 8.

Jurgen Solano, 11, said his favorite part of all is the sombreros “because they’re colorful.”

Alyssa Babb, 9, said her favorite was the Shakira dance “because all the girls do it. It’s just fun.”

Christian Cruz, 9, said his favorite — and also least favorite — part was dancing with his sister Maria, 7.

“She already knows it and she started after me,” he said. Maria said the dancing was fun.

“I like it because I’m getting used to it,” she said.

Alejandra “Ally” Mendoza, 9, said The Chameleon, in which the boys wear cowboy hats and spin their partners around, is her favorite. She likes the dances “because a lot of people can understand Mexico’s freedom.”

Next year, Mendoza hopes to get sponsors for the event, so that she will no longer have to borrow sombreros.

For now, the group is pooling money and Mendoza brings back traditional clothing on her annual trips to her parents’ hometown of Nueva Leon, Mexico.

The group performed Saturday and will be performing their dances again at 7 p.m. today at El Chile Verde.