Led by a "mikoshi" portable shrine, the parade marched through main streets. It features members of an association of people from Okinawa beating drums, young Mexicans in "cosplay" dress-up, new-look cars and performers dancing a mix of traditional Japanese "yosakoi" and "soran" dances.

"I got into it as Mexican people cheered me on, although the thin air made me breathe hard," Satomi Yamada, one of the yosakoi-soran dancers, said.

Concerts of traditional Japanese music such as performances with a 13- stringed harp called the koto and a karate demonstration are also part of the event through Sunday.