Cinco de Mayo

It’s Cinco de Mayo and if you’re of Mexican descent, you know at least one thing about it: the pseudo-holiday is just another reason for the masses (i.e. gringos) to go out and get wasted on copious amounts of cheap Mexican beer and shudder-inducing Jose Cuervo margaritas. Not that the masses need a “historical” excuse to drink and party. There are plenty of reasons to get plastered, what with the sluggish economy and depressing unemployment rate, which still stands at 8 percent. For better or worse, Cinco de Mayo is largely considered by many in this country as an opportunity to crash a fiesta (i.e. happy hour), eat a couple of tacos, listen to mariachi music, and gulp down some Coronas. It’s also obvious the drink specials in honor of Cinco de Mayo are a tacky and heavily commercialized ruse to persuade people to carelessly waste money on booze. How did Cinco de Mayo, which literally means fifth of May, become such a mockery? 

I’m a Chicana who identifies strongly with her Mexican roots, and I find it bothersome that the people consuming cheap tequila on Cinco de Mayo are blissfully unaware of its origins and apathetic of its cultural significance. And I’m not the only Chicana who feels this way. Many of my friends, who also have Mexican roots, deride the “holiday” and avoid participating in any of the festivities. But I’m not here to rain on your Cinco de Mayo parade. You can sip on the discounted Mexican alcohol (who drinks Cuervo anyway?) and eat greasy nachos but not before reading a little history lesson on the origins and significance of Cinco de Mayo (SPOILER: it’s not just another beer-drinking holiday, like St. Patrick’s Day).

How many people reading this blog entry believe Cinco de Mayo is a major holiday in México? Or that it represents México’s independence? It seems there are many misconceptions about such a popular holiday in the United States. Even people of Mexican descent get Cinco de Mayo all wrong.

First, Cinco de Mayo does not commemorate the independence of México. September 16^th is México’s Independence Day, which is the day in 1810 when Miguel Hidalgo (a priest and one of the greatest revolutionary figures in México) issued a proclamation known as “El Grito de Dolores.” On the morning of the 16^th, Padre Hidalgo called mass and in front of a crowd of 300 Mexicans and Spaniards, he urged his parishioners to abandon their homes and join him in a struggle for freedom against the Mexican royal government. México eventually achieved its independence from Spain in 1821.  

Second, Cinco de Mayo celebrates the victory of 4,000 Mexican soldiers against 8,000 French forces at the Battle of Puebla on the morning of May 5, 1862 in Puebla, México. On July 17, 1861, President Benito Juárez issued a moratorium and stated all foreign debt payments would be suspended for two years. México had never experienced financially stable times and the country underwent a severe economic crisis during the 1850s. The Mexican Treasury was nearly bankrupt after several consecutive wars and México owed hefty sums to France, Britain and Spain. They were demanding repayment and México, as they say in Spanish, “no tenía donde caerse muerto.” In other words, México couldn’t even afford to dig its own grave, let alone repay substantial foreign debts. Needless to say, the three European nations of France, Britain and Spain greeted the moratorium with hostility and armed forces. They sent naval forces to Veracruz in order to demand reimbursement. Britain and Spain negotiated with México and eventually withdrew. But France saw this as an opportunity to expand its empire and seize territory in México. At the time, the French Army of Napoleon III was considered the premier army in the world. So if the French ruler went around issuing military threats, you best believe he meant invasion business. Late in 1861, a well-armed French fleet stormed Veracruz. They expected to march from the port city to México City without encountering much resistance. Indeed, President Juárez and his government were forced to retreat. But they eventually sent troops, under the command of General Ignacio Zaragosa, to Puebla to confront the French. The Mexican troops consisted almost entirely of indigenous soldiers. General Zaragosa's troops were outnumbered and also severely under-equipped. La Batalla de Puebla raged on for two hours, after which time the French were forced to retreat to Orizaba. The Mexican military prevailed under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza and overcame overwhelming odds to defeat a much larger, better-trained and equipped French army.

Third, Cinco de Mayo is mostly observed in this country. Cinco de Mayo is a regional holiday, limited primarily to the state of Puebla. Although other parts of the country commemorate the event with a parade or festival, it isn’t widely celebrated in Mexico like it is in the United States. In fact, it's virtually ignored. September 16^th (Mexican Independence Day) gets top honors as the largest national patriotic holiday in Mexico.  

Fourth, Mexicans and Latinos living in California during the American Civil War were the first to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the United States. Then, during the rise of the Chicano movement in the 1940s, Cinco de Mayo started to become a fashionable holiday to celebrate. But while the holiday crossed over into the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, it didn't gain popularity until the 1980s when marketers, especially beer companies, capitalized on the celebratory nature of the day and began to promote it.

Fifth, there isn’t a fifth. Lists just always look more legitimate and well rounded with a number 5 or a fifth in a series.

And there you have my fine historical lesson. Now you know more about Cinco de Mayo than you did 10 minutes ago. But will that stop you from knocking back a Tecate or Dos XX this evening? Probably not. Just remember: while there might be many people (i.e. Gringos and Mexican-Americans) looking for any excuse to party on Cinco de Mayo, there are others, like me, who care about its origins and cultural significance. Although La Batalla de Puebla on Cinco de Mayo appears militarily insignificant in light of France's subsequent invasion, it did inject Mexicanos with pride and patriotism. Since its independence from Spain in 1821, México had suffered one tragedy after another. But for one brief moment in history, Mexicanos could look upon the rubble of a battle in triumph instead of defeat.

It’s important for me to reflect on an event like La Batalla de Puebla and remember fighting is in my blood. Mexicanos never give up the fight or lay down their arms in the face of impending doom. Even after the odds look incredibly grim and victory is nowhere in sight, a Mexicano always stands tall, proud and fearless. They say the guerreros come from Guerrero but if you look back in time, there are guerreros in every Mexicano. So while I don’t care for Cinco de Mayo and its commercialization, it hasn’t lost its real meaning for me, despite the advertisement industry.

On a different note, there’s a supermoon (when the full moon is closest to the Earth) rising this Saturday on Cinco de Mayo. If you’re going to toast to something this Cinco de Mayo, toast to the lunar spectacle. At least it’s a more fitting toast to give on a day that shouldn't even be celebrated here, assuming you're not holding a Cuervo margarita in your hand (shudders).