I was in Menlo park this weekend and my friends took me to downtown San Jose on saturday, and it was wierd cuz all the exits on the freeway for that area were closed. I've never seen anything like that before. The cops even had road blocks trying to keep everyone away from the bars/clubs. We had to seriously find a back way.

 

That sounds like standard procedure for such an event as Cinco de Mayo. This reduces the chances of a riot, which could include destruction of property, theft, fighting or even homicide