So what are we celebrating on Cinco de Mayo?

“Cinco de Mayo” is the one day of the year when Mexican culture is acknowledged and celebrated throughout the US and wherever else American culture can reach: A day full of carne asada, margaritas, colorful parades, tacos, and Coronas, Coronas, and more Coronas!

At the end of the day, when we find ourselves full regrets and a belly full of food and booze one may stop to ponder… what the heck was I celebrating anyway?

Cinco de Mayo as we know it is observed primarily in the US to celebrate Mexican culture and all that can be possibly associated to it. The exact origin of this event as a mainstream celebration is unknown, but what is known is that  it was adopted by the Chicano movement of the 1960s to create ethnic pride and has been widely exploited by the tobacco and alcohol industry ever since. Cinco de Mayo originated as an event to celebrate Mexican ethnicity for a social group that lacked personality and national identity in the US during times of social reform, but since then it has been manufactured into another ethnic drinking festivity better known as Drinko de Mayo.

      

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the historical day in 1862 when about 2,000 ill-equipped Mexican soldiers and townspeople defeated a better-armed force of more than 6,000 French troops in the City of Puebla, it was brought to the United States by Mexican immigrants during the 1920s.

 The holiday has been somewhat celebrated in the US by Mexicans since it occurred, and who can blame them after all it was one of the few chances they had to feel some pride and patriotism for their whatever was left  of their national identity at the time.  Mexicans in the US during the late 1800s were forced to call themselves Americans after the borders crossed them (after the Mexican-American War) and, considering that Mexico’s history is mostly full of oppression and disappointment for Mexicans, an opportunity to celebrate something about their culture was gladly welcome.

Nevertheless, the celebration has always been just regional festivity rather than being a national holiday in Mexico. In Mexico this event is remembered as La Batalla de Puebla instead of Cinco de Mayo, and it is just another moment in Mexican history that is celebrated for the heroic qualities displayed by a few Mexican against foreign invaders. In this context, Cinco de Mayo is comparable to the battle of the Alamo which celebrates heroic moments but by no means it single handedly embodies American culture.  The reality is that in Mexico this celebration is considered  fool’s gold since it was a battle that was won by the Mexican army because of the French army’s arrogance who rolled in the battle tired and unprepared. That mistake was corrected and eventually the French army marched into Mexico City and colonized the country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emperor_maximilian_of_mexico.jpg

So the irony is that here we are celebrating a victory of a battle when Mexico lost that war and became a French colony under the ruling of Maximilian the First, the monarch of the French colony of Mexico.

During the social reforms of the 1960s in the US, the Chicano movement emulated other ethnic groups by searching for an identity through their ancestry. They took this widely accepted celebration and used it to celebrate Mexican history and Mexican culture as a whole in hope to create a sense of pride and unity among the Mexican and Mexican-Americans in the United States.

Why Cinco de Mayo? Well my guess is because it avoided conflict of interest. No country wants to celebrate another country’s independence day, and the only significant military triumphs that were worth celebrating were against the United States, and well celebrating that it would had been ackward. The Chicano movement would have lack support if they had celebrated any Mexican military achievements against the United States.

However, its political purpose gradually diminished and it became more of a cultural holiday such as St Patrick’s Day or Oktoberfest with parades, festivals and many other all-you-can-drink activities. Eventually companies like Budweiser and Marlboro started pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars to associate their products to the celebration and increase consumption. Today this bubble has made a cash cow where everyone is more concern on pushing a glass in to not miss out on the revenue.

The increased promotion of Cinco de Mayo as a “party time” has blurred its significance and confused the public as to the real meaning of the holiday. Many people mistake Cinco de Mayo for Mexico’s independence, which took place September 16, 1810. While Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican celebration it is important to understand that it is not necessarily a celebration of Mexican culture, rather is the fabrication of the tobacco and alcohol companies to have another drinking holiday.

So don’t get it twisted fellas, stop calling this Mexican Independence Day, it really isn’t anything that calls for a celebration of Mexican culture. Nonetheless, if all you need is an excuse party with your Mexican fellas then enjoy the day for what it is, have some coronas, some tecates, and most importantly some tequilas and celebrate another drinking holiday Mexican style! SALUD!