From the diaries by susanbhu. Donde esta Corona, hombre?! (Burp. Ole!) Oye hombre, donde esta mi Corona? (My main man eegee said to say that instead.)
Did you know that tomorrow today is Cinco de Mayo? I was reminded of the holiday last night while channel-surfing and the annual Cinco de Mayo Corona commercial came on the screen. They’re so clever huh? Wow I’m thirsty.
All snark aside, I wanted to take this opportunity to raise awareness in the BooTrib community about the true meaning of Cinco de Mayo as well as the deliberate attempt to hijack the cultural celebration.
Follow me…
There’s a widespread myth that Cinco de Mayo is celebrated as Mexican Independence Day. That’s not true, their actual Independence Day is diez y seis de Septiembre, or September 16th. Cinco de Mayo serves as the commemoration of the Mexican Army’s victory over the French in 1862 in the Mexican state of Puebla.
The victory was a glorious moment for Mexican patriots, which at the time helped to develop a needed sense of national unity, and is the cause for the historical date’s celebration.
Unfortunately, the victory was short lived. Upon hearing the bad news, Napoleon had found an excuse to send more troops overseas to try and invade Mexico again, even against the wishes of the French populace. 30,000 more troops and a full year later, the French were eventually able to depose the Mexican army, take over Mexico City and install Maximilian as the ruler of Mexico.
Maximilian’s rule of Mexico was also short lived, from 1864 to 1867. With the American Civil War now over, the U.S. began to provide more political and military assistance to Mexico to expel the French, after which Maximilian was executed by the Mexicans – today his bullet riddled shirt is on display in the museum at Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City. So despite the eventual French invasion of Mexico City, Cinco de Mayo honors the bravery and victory of General Zaragoza’s small, outnumbered militia at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.
MexOnline.com
The celebration of Cinco de Mayo has gained in popularity in the United States with a growing number of Latinos in communities across the country. Unfortunately over the past few years, Cinco de Mayo has been commercialized and linked to the beer industry. Think about it, when you read my diary headline, did you think of a margarita or a Corona? That shows their success.
Over the past few of years, Latino activists in the U.S. have tried to re-claim the true meaning of Cinco de Mayo. They host community events featuring Mariachi and Folklorico performances that celebrate the culture of the Mexican people. It’s a well-needed alternative to the fiestas that have become a huge drunken spectacle. So tomorrow today, before you squeeze that lime into your Corona, remember that the Almighty Dollar drove the marketing campaign to get you to happy hour on “Drinko de Mayo”
To read more about the hijacking of Cinco de Mayo by the liquor industry, I invite you to check out the following articles:
The News-Sentinel – Fort Wayne, IN
Salud!
Here’s a quick salsa recipe that I use:
Ingredients:
1 can whole tomatoes or 3 fresh tomatoes
4 tbs. garlic powder
2 tbs. salt
1 cup of cilantro, chopped
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
3 chili tepins or 1/2 tbs. of red pepper seeds, it depends how hot you want it.
Put everything except the cilantro and green onions in the blender. Blend it until you have a paste. Then pour it into a bowl with the chopped cilantro and green onions. Mix it all up and Andale! you have salsa.
My salsa never tastes as flavorful as Sunny Farm’s. Que?
P.S. How’s my Spanish at the top of the diary? Bueno?
Oh, and how do you belch in Spanish?
I’m not sure, I belch in Spanglish. 🙂
Oh, and it will probably read better as Oye hombre, donde esta mi Corona? Thanks for putting it up on the main page!
Damn, I miss San Diego, transplanted Kansan here and not a decent mexican resturant to be found. Used to go to Mexicali for Cinco de Mayo, they have one of the best celebrations of all the border towns that I have seen. Anyway, your salsa recipe is good, I will have to dig up my own and post it if I can remember it or find it. I miss Carne Asada and fortunately my wife is spanish/indian/italian/english, what a combo, who makes the best Pico de Gayo. We will be enjoying that and a wonderful Carnitas, mexican pork, well done with lots of cilanto, garlic and well can’t give away a family secret.
Everyone enjoy the celebration of a great Mexican victory.
Salude
I feel your pain, I lived in Oklahoma for a few years with my parents when I was a kid. Luckily my mom cooked all the goodies from home. Enjoy the carnitas!
Please share your family secret. We won’t tell.
Easy recipe:
Chopped tomatoes (fresh, never canned)
Chopped onions (same)
Lime juice
Cilantro
Jalapeño or other peppers (optional)
Mix the tomatoes and onions in about a 2:1 proportion or whatever looks good to you, add lime juice and cilantro to taste. Most people add jalapeños or other peppers, but the Omir household’s cultural heritage is that of the Wimp, so we don’t.
Serve with tortilla chips.
Hey, do you like me use of authentic Mexican measurements? 🙂
“or whatever looks good to you” yep, that sounds about right. Thx 4 the recipe!
but the heck with it, stuff like this doesn’t need a recipe.
One time we got an onion that was so strong we had to cut in about three times as much tomato just to make it come out right. Wheee-eww!
I’m growing tomatillos in my garden for the first time this year and the plant is already huge and covered with baby tomatillos. I have a recipe for the pork stew-like green chili (chili verde con puerco? – I’m horrible at Spanish, but I try). But I’d really like to be able to make some green salsa also. I’m growing tomatoes, peppers, and cilantro, too, so I’m well on my way to trying your red recipe – in a few weeks when they’re ripe, anyway.
I love tomatillo salsa, but unfortunately don’t know how to make it. If you find a good recipe, be sure to share it!
I post an update on my garden at Frankenoid’s Saturday Morning Garden Blogging over at dKos – last Saturday, doodlebug promised to get back to me with a tomatillo and chipotle salsa next Saturday. If S/he comes through, I’ll share.
All this talking about food is makin my hungry. I think our office needs to do a margarita lunch in celebration for Cinco De Mayo 🙂
Tsk Tsk 🙂
Janet, what is your address? I love tomatillos. Only thing is: They’re a bit of a nuisance to prepare — skinning, etc. But the end result. To die for.
I always thought it was Mexican Independence day until about two days ago when local news happened to mention the facts you pointed out..although of course with not as much detail. Couldn’t get all that in their half minute in depth report, don’t ya know.
Had to get back to the runaway bride story of course.
Well, at least they took time out from the Breaking News to give the day’s history some of the spotlight. I hear that one of the major Latino advocacy groups is calling for her apology for telling the police that a Hispanic man was one of her kidnappers… I’m sure we’ll hear for days about the case.
by the way thanks for the link from the picture to the website. I signed up for their newsletters…and liked the art gallery especially.
Good, hope the advocacy group keeps on her about that.
when the Seattle newspaper ran an article on this very subject. They quoted a Mexican student studying up here as saying that she had to go look up what the 5th of May was all about, because it wasn’t that big a deal in Mexico. Maybe something like Flag Day in the US.
Cinco de Mayo is my 11 year wedding anniversary — how could I ever forget?? 😉
Cheers,
spiderleaf
Happy Anniversary!
Why thank you!
And I’m glad the army was victorious!
(but please stop saying Corrona, you’re making me thirsty… 😉
I’m more inclined towards Tecate. Don’t take me for a prude with this diary, I just wanted to raise awareness of the holiday. Cheers!
Mmmm… Tecate… okay, that’s it, I’m grabbing a beer. 😉
No offense at all, you raise valid points and it’s a trend I saw increasing each of the last 11 years in LA… it’s almost like they were trying to turn Cinco de Mayo into “spring break”.
I didn’t know that Corona (or the other alcohol companies) were trying to co-opt Cinco de Mayo. Thanks for pointing that out.
It’s a pretty big thing here, usually completely overshadowing the September 16th celebrations. Although that is slowly changing and those are getting more media airtime as well.
Thing is, I believe any number of Americans think Cinco de Mayo is an American holiday. At least, many here do… that it was started by Mexican Americans, in the US, and has little to do with Mexico at all. Which, typically, might be why so many are trying to claim it, including the beer companies. It’s a really fun and colorful (and tasty!) celebration though, regardless.
What is also catching on more among Californians in general is the Day of the Dead celebration, probably because it’s such an interesting tradition.
Good diary, thanks for reminding us a bit about the history.
Thanks for the commentary, you’re correct, it has become an American holiday because Mexican Americans use Cinco de Mayo as a celebration day of their culture and contributions to the U.S. It’s more widespread here than in Mexico, where the celebrations are concentrated in the state of Puebla. And I agree, it is a tasty celebration 🙂
I think it’s good that it’s become an American holiday, because for one thing the anti-immigrant people seem to get very little traction attacking the holiday by saying it’s mostly celebrated here and not much in Mexico.
Basic reaction seems to be “Oh yeah? And that’s bad… how? You’ll have to pry my chiles rellenos from my cold dead hands” and all that.
Plus it helps encourage people to learn the combined histories. I actually had someone one ask me… older guy, well read, well educated, considers himself an intellectual (but as he is a rabid Republican, I don’t) .. anyway, he asked me… “Why do so many places in California have Spanish names, anyway?”
Sigh.
You’ve got to be fucken kidding…good lord, did your mouth fall open and drop to floor on that one? That has left me pretty much speechless.
Yeah, I was pretty speechless for a minute. Plus, I had to make sure he was serious! (sadly, he was). Mind you, he wasnt’ a native Californian, but still… the history is everywhere, it’s almost impossible to unaware that a good part of California history is Mexican history.
Of course, anyone who’s had a 4th grader go through California schools knows somewhat, because the kids have to do that project on those awful missions (which apparently they are treating with much more historical accuracy, nowadays, so that’s a good thing).
Only knew it was an important day for the Mexicans and if faced with the alternatives above would probably have suggested independence day (which I marked in the poll).
I had no clue on the ‘liquoring-up’ of the day. Maybe it’s not that much in the commercials here in the NY-area, don’t watch much anyway.
Thanks Man, for giving me more knowledge on the history of Mexico.
I share the history because for alot of Latino Democrats, its our history too. I speak as someone who’s family was in the Arizona area before it was part of the U.S. Thx 4 reading
http://www.redjellyfish.com/posterstore/6739/mexico.html This is a cool link for anyone interested in looking at artwork or posters pertaining to Mexico and/or Mexican artists. Which as it turned out I’d already had several paintings on my revolving desktop pictures..
Awesome link, thanks chocolate ink. hey, that rhymed! </delirium>
you’re welcome..art is always cool so hope someone, anyone checks it out. And I believe that link since it happens to be an ecological site if you happen to buy a print through them a portion of the money goes toward the rainforest preservation or other environmental issues.
All I know is that they better not mess with Love day.