5/3/08
5 De Mayo
In the United States, 5 de Mayo has turned into the "Mexican St. Patrick's Day." Basically, it's
a day to show Raza Pride and have a good time. But what is the holiday based on? Fool, you better
not say "Mexican Independence Day" cuz someone will slap you upside the head. Let me kick a little history:
History:
As many of you know, Cinco de Mayo is a holiday that commemorates the victory of the Mexican army
over the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Things started when Napoleon III of France sent 7,000 troops to Mexico
to collect on a debt the country owed him. The real reason he sent them was so they can take over and eliminate the Mexican
government and establish a monarchy loyal to France. The greedy fucker knew that if he did that, France would
effectively have a base in the Western world and could expand from there.
France's military general underestimated our Raza's strength, and he honestly thought he could control the whole country with his 7,000 men. When the fighting started on April 28th, the Mexican army was beaten in Alcuzingo Pass and were forced to retreat to Puebla. On May 5th, General Lorencez (France) decided to move in for the kill even though there was a large concentration of Mexican troops in Puebla. The French were overwhelmed by the strong defense, and were quickly defeated as they ran out of ammunition and lost the battle advantage. With over 400 French killed and only 83 Mexican fatalities, the French retreated giving Mexico the victory.
Significance:
A lot of people sum up the Battle of Puebla as a single battle victory, big deal. In fact, when Napoleon III found out about his loss, he sent 29,000 troops and took over Mexico City and established emperor Maximillian there. France got what it wanted, so what's the big deal? Well, Mexico's victory in the Battle of Puebla was significant because it was just that: the "little guy" stuck it to the "big guy" and actually won. Not only that, but it forced Napoleon III to rethink his strategy and realized he couldn't take over Mexico just like that. The victory also boosted the morale of the people, leaving a "si se puede" attitude. Although Mexico City was overtaken by France in 1863, the victory in Puebla created unity and allowed Mexicans to retain a small government. Four years later, Mexico regrouped and defeated Maximillian. If Mexico had lost in Puebla, France would have taken over on its' first try and likely would have remained in control. You can't underestimate cultural pride and morale.
Celebration:
Cinco de Mayo is a national holiday in Mexico, but not a federal one like September 16th (Independence Day) is. Actually, it's not celebrated as much as it is here in the US, so usually you see people that come from Mexico be like "What the fuck?" when they see all the parades that go down in Cali. The significance of the celebration in the states is obviously not the historical one, but what it represents: La Raza. It's a Chicano holiday here, so everything Mexican can be appreciated on 5 de Mayo, from Mexican beer, tequila, and margaritas, to Aztec dancers, mariachi, Mexican music and car shows. It's a day to BBQ and be proud to be Mexican. Obviously, it's also a good day to schedule big Mexican boxing fights (De La Hoya), and for big corporations to cater their products to Mexicans by using words such as "Mucho grande fiesta" in their marketing for hopes of a sales spike. Oh, I forgot "Baja", yeah if it says "Baja" I'm inclined to think it's authentic and buy it.
Oppression:
Over the past few years, I've heard people say stuff like "I don't think we should be celebrating this here. No need to be waving Mexican flags, how about waving American flags on 4th of July." Man, how fucking stupid. First of all, it's not Mexican Independence Day you stupid fuck, so it's not competing with 4th of July. It's not even officially recognized as a holiday in the US, so it's not like we as a nation are celebrating. People that want to celebrate do so, and as you can see there's a lot of people that do. Plus, you don't see people bitching about St. Patrick's Day and Oktoberfest, which are Irish and German holidays (respectively). There's no harm in it, it's more like a cultural spotlight. But I bet you see the same people that talk shit about 5 de Mayo running around wearing green and pinching those that aren't like little girls (when they're not even Irish). God forbid people have culture, some get scared. "Oh my God, the brown people are uniting!"
Anyway, now you have a better idea of where the holiday came from. If you or your family has a tradition of celebrating 5 de Mayo, send me an email and tell me about it.