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Bonita Springs’ first Cinco de Mayo celebration drew in hundreds of visitors Sunday, but came short of attracting the diverse crowd its planners had hoped for.

The Bonita Springs Assistance Office organized the event to raise money and bring the area’s Hispanic and Caucasian communities together at Riverside Park on Old 41 Road in downtown Bonita Springs from noon to 7 p.m.

Despite a diverse selection of amusements, including classic rock and Latin music, Mexican and carnival-style food, margaritas and beer, and a rock climbing wall and laser tag, only a handful of Caucasian visitors speckled the largely Latin American crowd.

“It’s a day for all Hispanics to get together,” Juan Gonzalez said after finishing a set with his Naples-based duranguense band, La Obscuridad de la Sierra.

Cinco de Mayo is commonly mistaken as Mexico’s Independence Day, which is celebrated on Sept. 16. The holiday actually celebrates Mexico’s initial, morale-boosting victory against the French in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The holiday is largely ignored in Mexico, the sole exception being in the state of Puebla, but has taken on a different meaning in the United States, where it focuses on celebrating Mexican-American culture much like Oktoberfest celebrates German-American culture.

“Oh yeah, I had lots of fun,” Gonzalez, 21, said. “I just like the fact that lots of people came out today to enjoy our day of Cinco de Mayo.”

Lois Hollands, executive director of the Bonita Springs Assistance Office, which provides financial help to those in need, hoped the event would pick up more steam when asked two hours after it began. The event competed directly with the Taste of Collier and Taste of Estero events, which took place at the same time.

“It was our intention we would have more of a mix,” Hollands said, taking a break from the sale of event T-shirts and raffle tickets for a free stay at the Trianon Hotel.

Newly elected Bonita Springs Mayor Ben Nelson was also put to work.

“These kinds of activities could evolve into a real mixing of the communities. On St. Patrick’s Day, everyone really becomes Irish,” Nelson said behind the booth where he spent the day serving up margaritas. “I think this can turn into something like that. I hope, slowly but surely, they’ll start coming together more.”

Jeanne Mathieu, 58, came together with her 3- and 6-year-old granddaughters at the event. The family set up beach chairs in front of the stage and was preparing to check out the kid activities moments after arriving.

“I was hoping there would be more of a crowd,” said Mathieu, who is white. “I don’t care what nationality you are. I think everyone should get along. It’s nice to see people getting along and having fun.”

Jorge Maldonado, 28, of Bonita Springs and Kristen Sepik, 22, of Estero made a date out of the event. When asked about the diversity of the crowd, Sepik said, “it’s right here.” She’s white and he said he’s “100 percent Mexican.”

But Maldonado said it wasn’t the Mexican theme that drew him. It was the distance.

“There’s all kinds of events, but it’s closer,” Maldonado said. “Why go so far when you got something going on here?”

Perhaps the large Hispanic turnout was also due to the large numbers of Hispanic families living near the event. Proximity didn’t matter much to Abel Carmona, 50, though, he came from Naples to get a little bit more culture. Carmona said he is a fifth-generation Mexican-American.

“Lee County is more into the culture than Naples,” Carmona said. “Naples is more into the rich culture.” Carmona added that he would much rather celebrate Cinco de Mayo than attend a wine tasting on Fifth Avenue South.

Just before a reenactment of the Battle of Puebla in front of the band shell, during which Hispanic actors portrayed both the Mexican and French fighters, Hollands renewed her hopes for the event.

“We’re looking for ways to unite the Caucasian and Hispanic communities. Since they are such a large portion of our community, we wanted them to feel welcome,” Hollands said. “We’re hoping it will catch on.”