On the eve of Cinco de Mayo, Noemi Jimenez and Araceli Santander showed up at St. Cecilia School and Academy in south St. Louis at 5 p.m. Joined by three other moms from the parish, they took over the school’s kitchen to cook some of the top delicacies from their native Mexico.
Mole. Tamales. Tostadas. Rice and beans. They headed to their humble homes in this Latino enclave well past midnight. They were back to cook again at 10 a.m., eager to finish the menu for St. Cecilia’s first Cinco de Mayo fundraising fiesta.
By 6 p.