CINCO DE MAYO

[JimT]

not-revolution-meme.jpg

cinco-de-mayo-meme.jpg

Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for 'Fifth of May') is an annual celebration held on May 5 to celebrate Mexico's victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, led by General Ignacio Zaragoza. Zaragoza died months after the battle from an illness, however, and a larger French force ultimately defeated the Mexican army at the Second Battle of Puebla and then occupied Mexico City ..........

.............. More popular in the United States than in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo has become associated with the celebration of Mexican-American culture. Celebrations began in Columbia, California, where they have been observed annually since 1862. The day gained nationwide popularity beyond those of Mexican-American heritage in the 1980s due to advertising campaigns by beer, wine, and tequila companies; today, Cinco de Mayo generates beer sales on par with the Super Bowl. In Mexico, the commemoration of the battle continues to be mostly ceremonial, such as through military parades or battle reenactments. The city of Puebla marks the event with various festivals and reenactments of the battle.
-wikipedia-

[Bill in Oregon]

Jim, I am sure that every May 5 millions of utterly baffled Mexicans look north of the border, scratch their heads and ask themselves why all these loco anglos have commandeered this minor event and make a big, boozy deal out of it while September 16 means nothing to them. I feel sorriest for the thousands of grocery checkers at Albertsons and Safeway who are forced to wear funny hats at work today.

[JimT]

A time to party and drink a lot .. for those who need an excuse maybe?

cinco.jpg

[2ndovc]

Jim I'm pretty sure you nailed it. Just another excuse to go out and be stupid.
jb

[Scott Tschirhart]

Now let’s think about this.

The Mexicans don’t have too many military victories that they can celebrate.

Let’s do our part in helping them celebrate this victory over the French. I know it’s not much, but what else do we have to do today?

[JimT]

Now let’s think about this.

The Mexicans don’t have too many military victories that they can celebrate.

Let’s do our part in helping them celebrate this victory over the French. I know it’s not much, but what else do we have to do today?

Untitled.png

[GunnyMack]

Just so long as I don't have to PRESS 1 for English.
The second battle was probably the last thing the French won...

[Griff]

...while September 16 means nothing to them...

Why that's the day new Chevy's come out!

[Grizz]

Zocalo, in Mexico City.jpg

.

I was in this Plaza on Cinco de Mayo in about '67 maybe? It was plugged with dancers and singers and mariachis and venders with good fireworks going off over head. Everyone looked pretty happy to me. I almost never saw anyone drunk in public. I did see where a household would open the front gate to corral someone who was too tipsy to be seen in public. I could walk city streets all night long and not see any disorder to speak of.

Contrast that to NYC, where I lived and from where i hitch-hiked to the Mx border. In NYC the drunks littered the sidewalks like tumble weeds. They were herded out of the financial and commercial districts by burly city cops, before the workers arrived, and a meat wagon followed behind to pick up the stiff ones.

Restaurants in Mexico D.F. kept a tip jar and gave a few coins to the pobrecitos who rented music boxes from the government so they could be self employed. They would stop into the entryway and play the hurdy-gurdy for a bit until a waiter tipped them! The government also rented shoe shine kits and people could make enough to buy food. The streets were clean. It was amazing, and my spanish was sufficient to get around and to converse with the locals. I doubt that the city is anything like that now...

[Ray]

And here I was logging-in to see the different versions of the jars of hellman's in the sink.....around here, it's jars of dukes'

[Grizz]

And here I was logging-in to see the different versions of the jars of hellman's in the sink.....around here, it's jars of dukes'

the tip jar could have been a mayo jar, but IIRCorrectly it was a clay jar . . . :)

[Scott Tschirhart]

Zocalo, in Mexico City.jpg
.

I was in this Plaza on Cinco de Mayo in about '67 maybe? It was plugged with dancers and singers and mariachis and venders with good fireworks going off over head. Everyone looked pretty happy to me. I almost never saw anyone drunk in public. I did see where a household would open the front gate to corral someone who was too tipsy to be seen in public. I could walk city streets all night long and not see any disorder to speak of.

Contrast that to NYC, where I lived and from where i hitch-hiked to the Mx border. In NYC the drunks littered the sidewalks like tumble weeds. They were herded out of the financial and commercial districts by burly city cops, before the workers arrived, and a meat wagon followed behind to pick up the stiff ones.

Restaurants in Mexico D.F. kept a tip jar and gave a few coins to the pobrecitos who rented music boxes from the government so they could be self employed. They would stop into the entryway and play the hurdy-gurdy for a bit until a waiter tipped them! The government also rented shoe shine kits and people could make enough to buy food. The streets were clean. It was amazing, and my spanish was sufficient to get around and to converse with the locals. I doubt that the city is anything like that now...

Interesting observations. I spent a lot of time in Mexico when I was younger. I always had a great time and I love the Mexican people. I would see children playing in public like we did when I was a child.

I remember Boquillas where this little girl was seated on an old Igloo cooler that was missing the lid. Her imagination was contagious. She had all she needed to be entertained. I remember how much fun an old appliance box was for me and my brother.

[JimT]

From 1972 until 1981 we went to Baja California Norte, Mexico every summer for anywhere from a week to nearly a month. We spent a lot of time in San Quintin on the Pacific Coast. I helped build a wing on a hospital there that Mexican Medical was sponsoring. They were a group of doctors from California who were donating time and money to build and staff the hospital.

We also spent a lot of time in San Vicente which is north of San Quintin. There is a Mission there called La Hai Roi where we would stay. We helped all the churches in the area. For instance, we took a group of teenagers in one year and while there we painted a Nazarene church, helped put a roof on a Baptist church and dug a hole and trenches to put in a septic system for an Assembly of God church.

I have always liked Mexico and enjoyed our time there. I find that the world is full of good people and if you don't pay too much attention to the minority who control the media you will enjoy meeting good folks.